A worker atop the Empire State Building in 1931. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library.
The same view in 2011:
The view from atop the Empire State Building, looking north toward the Upper West Side and the Hudson River. Central Park is seen prominently in the 1931 photo, but it is barely visible 80 years later, as the increasing height of the skyscrapers has all but blocked it from view.
A football game at Fenway Park, sometime between 1947 and 1956. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.
The same view in 2006:
As mentioned in my previous post, football was a common occurrence at Fenway Park. However, this photo was taken a couple decades after the other one – a couple telltale signs are the right field bullpens and the light tower, which was not added to Fenway until 1947. I don’t know the exact date of the first photo, or whether this was a college or professional game, but it could be a Boston Yanks game. The Yanks were a short-lived NFL team that played at Fenway Park from 1944 to 1948, which would put it within the time frame of the first photo, and the scoreboard above the bleachers has “Boston” and “Visitor” as the two teams, which suggests this was a professional team that regularly played home games here.
Fenway Park, hosting a football game in 1934. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.
The same scene in 2007:
Football at Fenway may seem strange today, but the park was home to several professional football teams, including the Boston Redskins from 1933-1936, and the Boston Patriots from 1963-1968. The top photo was taken during the Redskins’ time at Fenway, but the game in the photo is actually a high school game – Dorchester High against Mechanical Arts High, on October 12, 1934.
The view from the Bunker Hill Monument, sometime between the 1860s and 1880s. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library.
The view in 2024:
This view is zoomed in on the Boston Navy Yard, and some of the buildings are easily identifiable in both – in fact, all four of the visible shipyard buildings in the 2010 photo are also in the first photo. Further away, in East Boston, much of the land in the 2024 is new – the harbor was filled in to create Logan International Airport. One of the runways is barely visible in the upper center.
In the navy yard, the ship visible on the far right of the 2010 photo is the World War II-era destroyer USS Cassin Young. It contrasts sharply to the wooden sailing ship in the first photo, which I believe is the USS Ohio, a ship of the line built in 1820. By the time this photo was taken, she was being used as a receiving ship. The Ohio was in Boston from 1850 until 1883, when she was sold and burned for scrap metal.
The view from the Bunker Hill Monument, sometime between the 1860s and 1880s. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library.
The view in 2024:
The view looking north from the Bunker Hill Monument. Many of the buildings in Charlestown remain the same as they were in the original photo, although the large building in the lower right has been replaced by an even larger building in the same location.
The view from the Bunker Hill Monument, sometime between the 1860s and 1880s. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library.
The same view in 2024:
These two photos show three sections of Boston – Charlestown in the foreground, East Boston in the distance, and the North End of Boston barely visible to the right. Other than the approach ramp to the Tobin Bridge, not much has changed in Charlestown – many of the houses in the foreground can easily be identified in both photos. On the waterfront, many of the buildings at the former Boston Navy Yard are still there, and have been incorporated into the Boston National Historical Park. ln the distance, East Boston has been substantially expanded for Logan International Airport, which is barely visible on the far side of East Boston.