1915. "Eitel Friedrich, German ship taken over by U.S." The commerce raider Eitel Friedrich, a former passenger liner converted into an auxiliary cruiser for the German navy early in World War I, put into port at Newport News, Virginia, for repairs in March 1915 after sinking a number of British ships (and one U.S. merchant vessel) and taking on more than 300 British and French prisoners. After almost a month the captain decided to intern, and the vessel was towed to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where she remained under the German flag until being seized by the U.S. government in April 1917. (Harris & Ewing.) View full size.

Washington circa 1914. "H.E.F. & A.W.L. in Detroiter." Herbert E. French, driving, was the owner of National Photo Company; "Artie" Leonard was one of its photographers. They're at the Tidal Basin on the Inlet Bridge, with the Washington Monument in back. National Photo glass negative. View full size.

January 25, 1917. "U.S.S. Mississippi launching at Newport News. Miss Camille McBeath, sponsor." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Nov. 29, 1957. Sun through the clouds, very nice, but the truly stunning sight for most modern New Yorkers would be a nearly-empty Tappan Zee Bridge.

September 1916. "Kron Prinz Wilhelm, German ship, interned in U.S. in tow." The former passenger liner, pressed into service as a commerce raider by the Imperial German Navy at the start of World War I, being towed from the Norfolk yards to Philadelphia. During its eight months on the high seas -- after leaving New York Harbor with 2,000 tons of coal -- the converted 15,000-ton cruiser sank more than a dozen Allied ships and took hundreds of prisoners. Running low on supplies, its crew and prisoners beset by a variety of illnesses, the battered vessel sought refuge in April 1915 at Newport News, where its sailors were interned for over a year. After the United States entered the war, the ship was seized by the government, rechristened the USS Von Steuben and converted into a troop carrier. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

"Brooklyn Bridge and East River. April 1909." At left, the Manhattan Bridge under construction in this view looking east into Brooklyn with Manhattan Terminal at lower left. 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.

1909. "Consul Peter smoking." Peter, "famous monkey of the Parisian music halls," was an act at Oscar Hammerstein's Paradise Roof Garden in New York. As the subject of "Consul Crosses the Atlantic," he was also perhaps the first chimp movie star. George Grantham Bain Collection glass negative. View full size.

Cincinnati, Ohio, circa 1906. The sidewheeler Cincinnati passing under the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size.

September 4, 1897. Commodore H.M. Gillig's racing sloop Vencedor on Lake Erie. Photo by John S. Johnston. Detroit Photographic glass negative. View full size.

Circa 1910. "Annisquam Light. Gloucester, Massachusetts." Detroit Publishing Company glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.

Circa 1900. "U.S.S. Brooklyn wardroom pantry." Note the holiday decorations. The cruiser Brooklyn, commissioned in 1896, was a flagship in the Spanish-American War. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.

1916. "Indian Head, Maryland. Navy proving ground. Residence of George Swann, damaged by 16-inch shell that hit another in sandbank, and was deflected over country at 3/4 angle. The shell, where it stopped in dooryard." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.

1864 or 1865. "Deep Bottom, Virginia. Federal gunboat Mendota on the James River. Put in service May 2, 1864." From photographs of the Federal Navy and seaborne expeditions against the Atlantic Coast of the Confederacy. Wet plate glass negative, photographer unknown. View full size.

June 3, 1912. " Hampton Roads, Virginia. German squadron visit to U.S." Details of the port call here. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

1912. "German port call. U.S. battleship in Hampton Roads to greet German squadron." Harris & Ewing Co. glass negative. View full size | More here.