Old Photos USA

[MexAmericanMoose]

check these old Houston pics, courtesy of Moderator on HAIF...

Houston 1912



Houston 1913


Houston 1914


Houston 1921


Houston 1926


1947 Skyline

[Silicon Francisco]

1800's San Francisco stuff!

Crocker Mansion (destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire)



California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park (1894)
Fine Arts building

Agricultural and Horticultural building

Mechanical Arts building





Eadweard Muybridge panorama presented to Mrs. Leland Stanford (1878)



Woodward's Gardens(1866-1891)



Cliff House (burned down in 1907)

[lovecharlie]

That old pano is huge Silicon!

[lovecharlie]

Los Angeles, Spring Street around 1900.

I had to post it in three parts as Imageshack wouldn't allow me to upload it in one go as it was 3.52 mb.







Philadelphia Broad Street 1920


Philadelphia Bellevue Stratford Hotel 1904


The American Trust And Savings Bank Building Birmingham 1912


Oakland City Hall 1926


Atlanta 1948

[lovecharlie]

These photos are of Chicago in January 1952

One of my favourite Buildings, the Chicago temple Building, completed in 1924, 568ft, tallest building in Chicago when completed, and until 1930 when the Chicago Board of Trade was built.



The Tribune Building



Michigan Avenue



The Wrigley Building



Carbon and Carbide Building

[Kiss the Rain]

Never thought id see this thread again

[lkm370]

santa monica 1960

[lovecharlie]

Here are 3 photos of Los Angeles's Broadway. Broadway still looks pretty much the same today and most of the buildings shown are still standing, this is because newer developments were given a new 'downtown' and so preserving the older downtown, its a shame other cities didnt follow in Los Angeles footsteps.


1924 Broadway north from 5th


1928 Broadway


1931 Broadway

[Unionstation13]

I wonder how many of the structures in the photos are extant?
Are alot still there? Or were some taken out by urban renewal?

[Unionstation13]

Well, alot of cities have made mistakes, but some we should be grateful for never happening, alot of plans that were cancelled aswell, here in Indianapolis, they almost bulldozed the large german house, and I am sure there were many plans to wipe out wholesale aswell(wholesale is in the southern section of the downtown core) I think every city has those surviving vast areas of the downtown. I wonder though, if we haden't lost those buildings, would preservation be as important to Americans today?

[lovecharlie]

The Los Angeles Theatre in 1931

On Broadway, at night, a premier


Closer look at the Theatre at night


Auditorium detail


You can see why they were called Picture Palaces.

Lights in the foyer


Interior view of entrance doors


Theatre stage


An outside view

[nygirl]

Absolutely...... magnificent La.

[zachus22]

Originally Posted by nygirl

Absolutely...... magnificent La.

Crazy to see how LA used to be so much smaller than the Philadelphias and Chicagos and now has grown into one of the world's mega-cities.

[Spaulding97]

This thread is amazing, i could look at these all day, keep em' coming!

[TalB]

This pic of the Crystal Palace in NYC, where Bryant Pk is now, is really old b/c it goes back to the 1850's, though it didn't survive the next decade when it burnned down a few years later by unknown causes.

[Stefan88]

Cool thread. I've never really seen many old photographs of other American cities apart from NY and SF. I've been glued to these for the past half an hour. Thanks for the pics. The architecture of today can't match that of the past in terms of detail and individuality.

[lovecharlie]

San Francisco, Shell Building around 1932, a fine example of Art Deco.

[lovecharlie]

Here are two historic blue/green turquoise Art Deco skyscrapers of Los Angeles. To be honest black n white photos for a change do these no justice.

The Eastern Columbia Building


Built in 1930, the 13 floor turquoise skyscraper is capped by a four sided clock tower trimmed with gold leaf, and a wealth of motifs . Rising 264ft the Eastern Columbia features a two story main entrance spectacularly decorated by a blue and gold terra cotta sunburst. It is no wonder it's considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco Architecture.



Designed by Claud Beelman the building located in the Broadway Theatre District of downtown Los Angeles reopened as condos earlier this year (2007)




The Pellissier Building & Wiltern Theatre


Built in 1931 the Pellissier Building is home to the Wiltern Theatre and together they are both commonly known as The Wiltern. This 155ft, 12 floor blue/green turquoise terra cotta skyscraper is designed in a French Zig Zag Moderne style and features detailed metal panels



Threatened with the wrecking ball twice in the late 1970s, the building was saved by a local group of preservationists and was listed on the National Register Of Historic Places in 1979. Renovation started in 1981 and by 1983 the Pellissier Building was back to its former glory the theatre proved a more difficult job and took a further two years to complete.



Reciving the Los Angeles Historic Preservation Award of Excellence 1994, and after receiving a face lift, it reopened in 2002.



Orginally opened as a Vauderville theatre the Warner Brothers Western Theater, the flagship for the theater chain, reopened in the mid 1930s as the Wiltern Theatre receiving its name from the intersection on which it is located WILshire Boulevard and wesTERN Avenue.

[wolvolad]

WOW! Thres some great photos in this thread, I love old photos of buildings and skylines.

[Unionstation13]

Indianapolis.