Calvin Coolidge at the White House, Washington DC

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President Calvin Coolidge on the South Lawn of the White House in 1925. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, National Photo Company Collection.

Presidents

The South Lawn in 2012:

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In my previous post on the White House, I mentioned some of the changes that have occurred to the building since it was first occupied by John Adams, so I’m not going to go into great detail about the structure itself.  What I do find interesting about these two photos is not the building itself, but rather the people in the photos.  President Coolidge is clearly visible in the first photo, but look carefully at the second photo – President and Mrs. Obama are sitting on the second floor balcony, right between the two middle pillars.  So, not only do these two photos document changes in the building, in transportation (note the truck to the right of Coolidge, compared to the SUV on the left-hand side of the 2012 photo), and in presidential security (note the lack of Secret Service agents in Coolidge’s photo); they also document two presidents, who served 80 years apart, and who held very different political views, but who nonetheless occupied the same office and the same building.

Lefty Grove at Fenway Park, Boston

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Lefty Grove warming up at Fenway Park in 1937. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The scene in 2006:

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In an earlier post, I looked at the present-day location of a photo of a Red Sox pitching legend, Cy Young.  Less than 30 years later, the Red Sox would have another stadium and a new ace pitcher, Lefty Grove.  Although he spent the majority of his career with the A’s, Grove remains the only pitcher to be inducted into the Hall of Fame wearing a Red Sox cap.

Today, Fenway Park hasn’t changed a great deal, although it now has lights, electronic scoreboards, and bullpens beyond the outfield fence.  The Green Monster now has seats atop it, and is no longer adorned with any racist ads.

Fenway Park, Boston (4)

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

The same view in 2006:

The scene in 2024:

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 Jersey Street façade hasn’t changed much, aside from the addition of various championship banners that the team has won since they first made Fenway their home.

2024 update: I have added a 2024 photo of the same scene. Not a whole lot has changed, but there are a few additional World Series championship banners in the distance.

Old Corner Bookstore, Boston

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The Old Corner Bookstore in Boston, around 1865. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

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The building in 2014:

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Once a meeting place for authors such as Longfellow, Emerson, Dickens, and Hawthorne, the Old Corner Bookstore is now a place to grab a burrito.  Present use aside, the building has remarkably survived over 300 years in downtown Boston.  Built in 1712 as an apothecary shop, it was later used as a bookstore in the 19th century, when the aforementioned authors were known to frequent it.  Today, it is a landmark along Boston’s Freedom Trail, and is one of the oldest buildings in Boston.

Samuel Hartwell House, Lincoln, Mass.

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The Samuel Hartwell House, in Lincoln, Mass, in 1961. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey Collection.

Lincoln

The scene in 2013:

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Located along the Battle Road in the Minuteman National Historical Park, the Samuel Hartwell House was built around 1695, and was occupied by Samuel Hartwell during the battles of Lexington and Concord, when the British forces marched to and from Concord past the house.  The house was used as a restaurant from 1929 until 1968, when it burned.  All that remained was the central chimney and the cellarhole; the National Park Service later built the frame and roof in the style of the original building.

Grand Central Terminal, New York

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Grand Central Depot in 1871. Image courtesy of New York Public Library.

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The newly reconstructed Grand Central Station around 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The present-day Grand Central Terminal in 2019:

The three photos show the three different versions of the railroad station on 42nd Street.  Originally built in 1871 and named Grand Central Depot, it was a joint effort between three New York railroads, hence the term “grand central.”  It was extensively rebuilt from 1899 to 1900, as shown in the second photo, but it didn’t last for long.  Starting in 1903, it was demolished in stages and replaced with the current structure, which was completed in 1913.  This building itself was threatened in the 1960s – it was designed to be able to support the weight of a tower above it, and several proposals were considered, one of which would have kept the original structure, while stripping it of most of its historic significance. Ultimately, the city declared the building a landmark, thus preventing it from being altered or demolished.