A thread on the french forum gave me the idea for this one, here are some photos of Paris amongst other things before the 1870s that were posted:

Paris in 1870
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Tuileries3.jpg

Louis-Philippe, last king of France, photo taken in the early 1840's
http://www.apartes-uchroniques.org/blogue/images/photosanciennes/louis-Philippe-350x478.jpg

Boulevard du temple in Paris, 1839
http://gallery.sjsu.edu/paris/mass_produced_art/daguerre1.gif

Louvre in Paris, 1839
http://gallery.sjsu.edu/paris/mass_produced_art/daguerreLouvre.gif

Paris in the 1840's!
http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/2347/martensparisat3.jpg

Again:
http://www.marillier.nom.fr/collodions/PM/pics/inst_pontNeuf1.jpg

I find these kind of photos completly fascinating when you consider how long ago it all was, so if any of you have any, feel free to share them (the best is of course to post ancient urban landscapes)

Very fascinating indeed! Merci beaucoup!

Interesting, some of them look more like paintings.

Here are some photos of the Paris commune, a communist/anarchist/socialist revolution that took place in 1871 and lasted a few month, it arrived just after the franco-prussian war in which Paris suffered from a terrible prussian siege:

http://www.parisenimages.fr/banque/commune_a_voir_aussi/20534-1.jpg
"L'Hôtel de Ville. Couloir de la Cour centrale, à l'Est. june 1871"

http://www.parisenimages.fr/banque/commune_a_voir_aussi/20555-1.jpg

http://www.parisenimages.fr/banque/commune_a_voir_aussi/20524-3.jpg

http://www.parisenimages.fr/banque/commune_a_voir_aussi/20524-5.jpg

http://www.parisenimages.fr/banque/commune_a_voir_aussi/20524-11.jpg

http://www.parisenimages.fr/banque/commune_a_voir_aussi/20555-3.jpg

http://www.parisenimages.fr/banque/commune_a_voir_aussi/20555-6.jpg

That picture of Paris in the 1840s is very interesting. It looks far more developed than many cities and countries in 2007.

lovely pictures

This is a famous panorama of Tokyo taken by Felice Beato in 1866.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7795/1121647736fd5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

colored version
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/289/seoulcolorog8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Tokyo neighborhood
http://sea.ap.teacup.com/nikkeif/img/1144137022.jpg

Today
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/6796/ca250005gd4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

All from the 1870s

Yokohama
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1000/2717827996gr9.png

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5816/27178xn3.png

Kobe
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5391/3107025144jy6.png

Nagasaki
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/3300/3826323822wp2.png

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7249/382632382265298km5.png

awsome pictures, thanks!

Keep them coming!

Amsterdam:
Source: http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/

Dam square:
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/dam1.jpg
Today
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/dam1c.jpg

Damrak
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/olie03.jpg
Today
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/olie03c.jpg

't Spui
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/spui.jpg
Today
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/spuic.jpg

Nieuwezijds voorburgwal
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/nzv1.jpg
Today
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/nzv1c.jpg

Raadhuisstraat
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/raadhuisstr5.jpg
Today
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/raadhuisstr5c.jpg

London


Wych Street.Covent Garden(?).

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/2434/oldhousesinwychstreet1nb5.jpg

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/9885/oldhousesinwychstreet2yb4.jpg

Temple Bar.City.

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/8149/templebarcc4.jpg

Barnard's Inn Hall.Holborn.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8687/barnardsinnhall1hh9.jpg

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7431/innercourtyardbarnardsinx5.jpg

Bermondsey Street.Bermondsey.

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3961/bermondseystreetsouthwave4.jpg

White Hart Inn Yard.Borough.

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/4425/whitehartinnyard1nh2.jpg

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/7216/whitehartinnyard2nu4.jpg

Queen's Head Inn Yard.Borough.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9643/queensheadinnyardlm0.jpg

St Mary Overy's Dock.Southwark.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9672/stmaryoverysdocklr2.jpg

The Oxford Arms Inn Warwick Lane.City.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/7645/theoxfordarmsinnwarwicknp2.jpg

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6432/theoxfordarmswarwicklanhs1.jpg

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9873/theoxfordarmswarwicklantk7.jpg

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/9334/theoxfordarmswarwicklanwr2.jpg

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/4292/theoxfordarmswarwicklansr0.jpg

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3040/theoxfordarmswarwicklanea9.jpg

Nice Job Guys,, :okay: what amazing recopilation...

Amazing collection of vintage photos!!! Great work :okay:

I found these years ago. Not every one of them is dated pre-1870. But a few are and a couple are just past that. None are post 1890 though. I hope this counts. These are of Mobile, Alabama:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/haldcottingham/2.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/haldcottingham/Mobile1890s.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/haldcottingham/Mobile18902.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/haldcottingham/Mobile18903.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/haldcottingham/Mobile18904.jpg

Great thread.

Howmany American cities stil have a 'historical' core?

^^ That's a tough question. I guess it all depends on each city's own historical society. There are a bunch of American cities that can claim to still say they have a strong historical core to it.

How many? Hard to say. I have visited the following cities and felt they have managed to stay somewhat true to their historical core:

Boston
Philadelphia
Charleson, SC
Savannah
D.C.

There are a bunch more I'm sure. But I haven't been everywhere. I see too many cities tearing down those old beautiful buildings that their city was built around to bring about new ugly highrises. I appreciate both the old and the new. But it has to be done with taste.

The London one reminds me of Howel's Moving Castle

Some old photos from Poznan (they are not pre-1870 but definetly from XIX century)

City Hall (about 1890)
http://poznanczyk.pl/galeria/poz002.jpg

The construction of so called New City Hall (1891)
http://poznanczyk.pl/galeria/poz377.jpg

1871
http://poznanczyk.pl/galeria/poz265.jpg

Wolności Square (former Wilhelmplatz, 1898)
http://poznanczyk.pl/galeria/poz026.jpg

Paderewski Street (1883)
http://poznanczyk.pl/galeria/poz029.jpg

Chwaliszewo, big flood in 1888
http://poznanczyk.pl/galeria/poz413.jpg

Good pictures people.

Here's the oldest existing photograph in the world, it's from 1826!

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/p/images/photo_niepce.lg.jpg

We can't see much though

Here are other vintage photos:

Paris, 1843
http://www.nga.gov/image/a0004f/a0004fd2.jpg

http://www.nga.gov/image/a00052/a00052d0.jpg

Washington DC, 1846

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3a50000/3a53000/3a53300/3a53369r.jpg

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3a50000/3a53000/3a53300/3a53371r.jpg

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3a50000/3a53000/3a53300/3a53370r.jpg

cool photos.. its too bad that they replaced that riverway with streets tho in post #11

and i really do not like the 'colored' photographs cause they're not authentic?

No that's because that was from the past, and the colored pictures are from the same area but thats how it looks nowadays.
And some areas changes, others were undeveloped. And some canals were replaced by streets.
But today Amsterdam has still one of the biggest historical centres in Europe

Back ontopic:

Leidsestraat:
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/leidsestr1.jpg

Utrechtsestraat:
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/utrecht1.jpg

This is such a shame, look at the palace at the end of the street. It was burned down and it's never been rebuild

And this is how it looks today :ohno:
http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/pics/oudnieuw/utrecht1c.jpg

Pics are from http://www.amsterdamsebinnenstad.nl/

Warsaw panorama from 1857
http://www.eu3d.com/history/1857wawaQT.htm

At least back then city streets didn't have so much clutter. Perhaps the 'Vrienden van de Amsterdamse binnenstad' a.k.a. the 'Don't build anything higher than 60m in the entire city or we'll try to ruin your plans' should focus their efforts on banning all the ugly billboards hanging outside stores instead.

Very nice thread!