1910s Archives - Page 55 of 57

Lower Manhattan (3)

April 16, 2023February 8, 2014 by Derek Strahan

A view of Lower Manhattan from New York Harbor, taken between 1910 and 1917. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

A similar angle in 2012:

The scene in 2023:

Taken from about the same spot as the first photo of the previous post, the circa 1910s photo here may have been taken on the same day, although the battleship to the left is different from the two in the other post. This battleship is either a Connecticut or Vermont class ship, built in the first decade of the 1900s and decommissioned shortly after the end of World War I.

Just like in the other post, the 2012 photo here is taken a little to the east of the first one. The only readily-identifiable landmark from both photos is the Whitehall Building. However, the Singer Building and its replacement, One Liberty Plaza, help to estimate the angle of each photo. In the first photo, the Singer Building is immediately behind and to the left of the Whitehall Building, while in the 2012 photo, One Liberty Plaza is to the right of the Whitehall Building.

April 2023 Update: I have added an updated photo of the scene, showing it after the completion of One World Trade Center and several other high-rise buildings here in Lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan (2)

January 26, 2016February 8, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The view of Manhattan from New York Harbor, around 1913-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

A similar view in 2012:

There’s a lot going on in the first photo. New York City has always been a busy port, but it was especially so in the early 20th century. The top photo shows three major ships – the two battleships, and the passenger liner to the right. In addition, there are several US Navy torpedo boats visible.

The two battleships are two of the five Virginia-class battleships, which were built by the US Navy between 1905 and 1906. By the time this photo had been taken, they had already been rendered obsolete by new advances in battleship design, but they remained in commission until 1920, and were scrapped or sunk as target ships by 1923. As for the ocean liner, it is German, as evidenced by the flag on the stern, but I don’t know its exact identity. The 2012 photo, on the other hand, shows the type of shipping that is most common today. New York is no longer a destination for trans-Atlantic ocean liner traffic, nor is it a major military base, but today it is a major port for container ships, such as the Charles Island that is seen in the photo.

New York’s skyline has obviously changed in the past 100 years, although a few landmarks are still visible. the angle isn’t exact between the two photos – the 2012 one was taken slightly to the east of the first one, but they show the same general view. Both photos show the Whitehall Building, which is fairly prominent in the first photo, just above the stern of the lead battleship. Today, its distinctive shape is still visible, just above the middle section of the container ship. Another major building in the first photo is the Singer Building, seen just behind and to the left of the Whitehall Building. It was demolished in 1967 to make way for the far less architecturally significant One Liberty Plaza, which is the large, black, rectangular building just above she ship’s bridge. Also in the 2012 photo is the new World Trade Center. At the time that the photo was taken, the two tallest buildings were still under construction.

Old Masonic Building, Springfield, Mass

January 24, 2016January 5, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The old Masonic Building in Springfield, around 1910, from The View Book of Springfield (1910).

The same building in 2012:

The old Masonic Building at the corner of State and Main was built around 1893, and was used by the Masons until 1924, when they built a new temple further up State Street. At some point, the ornate sandstone facade was replaced with a more bland brick appearance, and the clock tower was either moved back or replaced entirely. However, there is a small surviving part of the original facade – the sandstone arch above the doorway on the left-hand side is still there, complete with a Masonic symbol above it.

Fenway Park, Boston (4)

January 23, 2016January 2, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The exterior of Fenway Park in 1914. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Bain Collection.

The same view in 2006:

This is probably the only part of Fenway Park that is virtually unchanged since it opened nearly 102 years ago. Several fires, a massive reconstruction in 1934, and a number of smaller changes along the way have left very little remaining from the original park. However, the Yawkey Way facade (called Jersey Street in 1914) hasn’t changed much, aside from the addition of various championship banners that the team has won since they first made Fenway their home.

Old Capitol Prison, Washington DC

December 30, 2016December 28, 2013 by Derek Strahan

The Old Capitol Prison, around 1863. Photo by Mathew Brady, courtesy of the National Archives.

The building around 1866. Photo by William R. Pywell, courtesy of the Library of Congress, Civil War Collection.

Between 1910 and 1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The same location in 2012:

Clearly, much has changed in 147 years at the corner of 1st St. NE and A St. NE. The building in the first two photos (which is actually the same building in the third photo) is the Old Capitol Prison. As its name suggests, the building once served as the temporary United States Capitol. After the Capitol was burned in the War of 1812, this building was hastily built to serve as the Capitol until the repairs could be completed.

After Congress and the Supreme Court returned to the Capitol in 1819, the building was used as a private school and later as a boarding house. It was in this boarding house that former Vice President John C. Calhoun died in 1850; years earlier he had served as a Representative from South Carolina in the same building. During the Civil War, the building was used as a prison, and in 1867 it was sold and converted into rowhouses, as seen in the third photo. In 1929, it was demolished to allow for the construction of the US Supreme Court building, which, as seen in the 2012 photo, remains on the site today.

Union Station, Washington DC

January 22, 2016December 28, 2013 by Derek Strahan

Union Station in Washington, DC, between 1910 and 1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The same building in 2012:

Union Station was built in 1907, by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Since then, a lot has changed in the city, but the building has remained the same. Neither the Pennsylvania nor the Baltimore & Ohio Railroads exist anymore, but the station is now a major Amtrak hub, and is the southern terminal of the Northeast Corridor, which stretches from DC to Boston, and is the busiest passenger rail line in the country. The modes of transportation to the trains, however, has changed a lot in the past 100 years. While the first photo shows trolleys unloading passengers at the station, they have been replaced by cars and buses in the 2012 photo.