Robert E. Lee Monument, New Orleans, about 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.
The same monument in 2009:
In a bit of a departure from my usual northeast locations, I came across the c.1906 photo of the same statue that I photographed in 2009 while in New Orleans. The subject, given that it’s the south, is Robert E. Lee, and the statue has been there since 1884.
The view of the North End in Boston, from Boston Harbor, around 1930. Image courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
The scene in 2021:
These two photos show the North End of Boston from across the harbor at Charlestown Navy Yard. Many of the buildings in the North End are still there today, but the Boston skyline behind it has been completely changed – the once prominent Custom House Tower now blends in with the rest of the skyscrapers in downtown, although Old North Church in the foreground still stands out among the low-rises in the North End.
The view of Easthampton from the Summit House atop Mount Tom, between 1905 and 1915. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.
The scene in 2019:
The Summit House no longer exists, so I wasn’t able to perfectly re-create the early 20th century photo, but the 2019 photo shows the remains of the promenade that is in the foreground of the older photo. President William McKinley once walked along it, but now all that remains is the concrete that once supported the wooden boardwalk and the rusty metal railings that tourists once admired the view from alongside. The Summit House from the older photo was built in 1901, replacing the 1897 structure that had burned just three years later. The 1901 building also burned, in 1929, and the third one was closed in 1938. The site of the summit houses is now off-limits; it is the site of numerous radio and TV antennas for the Springfield area.
The view of Easthampton from Mount Tom, between 1900 and 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.
The scene in 2019:
Not much has changed in Easthampton in 100 years, at least nothing that it particularly noticeable from the summit of Mount Tom. President William McKinley would’ve seen a very similar view during his visit in 1899, but another famous visitor to the mountain, Jonathan Edwards, would’ve seen a very different view in the 1730s.
The view of Long Sands Beach in York, Maine, between 1900 and 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.
In 2011:
The landscape hasn’t changed much – not many of the present-day buildings are readily identifiable in the early 20th century photo, but in either case the style of buildings hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years. A few buildings that definitely do still exist are the cottages on the bluff on the far right hand side of the old photo. Although this area is outside the frame of the 2011 photo, other photos of the area show that those buildings are still there.
The view of Cape Neddick from Long Sands Beach in York, Maine, between 1890 and 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.
The same view in 2011:
In the past 100 years, Cape Neddick went from being almost deserted, to being covered with vacation homes. The only readily-identifiable structure in both photos is the Cape Neddick “Nubble” Lighthouse, located at the end of the peninsula on a small, rocky island known as the Nubble. However, with close examination, at least one of the cottages from the old photograph still exists – the one with the tower in the center of the roof on the far-left side of the photo.