# Do You Find Old Pictures Of Your City Interesting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019 "2009-08-02T01:07:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/21 "2009-08-02T17:22:58Z")
I love it! I can spend hours looking at old photos (and maps!) of my own city, and also like to look for old pictures of cities I am going to visit on vacation. I don’t know this person at all, and I’m not especially familiar with the area (Greater DC, I think) but a friend linked to this photo set recently and I thought it was great: [[Album] Looking Into the Past ![](https://live.staticflickr.com/3333/3283244808_a5df5710e0_b.jpg "Looking Into the Past") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonepowell/sets/72157613841045343/) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/22 "2009-08-02T17:37:20Z")
You bet I do. My town is lucky to have a healthy [historical society](http://ameshistoricalsociety.org/) with a great web presence. It helps my interest that I’ve lived here (off and on) 39 years, and my dad went to [school](http://www.iastate.edu) here, as do I. I do notice that pictures from the depression era (my particular interest) are almost nonexistent. Probably didn’t even take any - we were never a poor town, but we were thrifty to a fault. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/23 "2009-08-02T18:08:10Z")
Yes, and even more so when I lived in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/24 "2009-08-02T19:36:00Z")
I live in a city of 80,000 people. Old photos from around 1915 show people on horseback trotting through downtown. I’ve always wondered, “When was the last time someone rode a horse downtown to pick up, oh, a bag of nails?” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/25 "2009-08-02T19:45:59Z")
I enjoy looking at old pictures of the cities I live in. My mother collects old postcards of my hometown. When I was living in Minneapolis, I bought [Twin Cities Then & Now](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Twin-Cities-Then-and-Now/Larry-Millett/e/9780873513272) by Larry Millett. It’s different, though, comparing a city you KNOW through 20 or 30 years of living there with its past and comparing a city you only lived in for two years or so with its past…it’s interesting, but not as fascinating. You don’t get that “Oh, wow! That’s where the Carmike theater is now!” kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/26 "2009-08-02T20:16:05Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I found a book and it has great shots of Chicago in it from various time periods. Is it [Real Chicago](http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Richard-Michael-Williams-Samors/dp/0972545638)? If not, that’s another great one to check out. And while looking it up, it appears all/many of the photos are available online! [http://www.suntimes.com/realchicago/](http://www.suntimes.com/realchicago/) I find them utterly captivating. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/27 "2009-08-02T20:51:18Z")
I love this kind of stuff. I love seeing how the places I live in have changed over the years. The [Urban Toronto](http://www.urbantoronto.ca/index.php) boards are great for [this kind of comparison photography](http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=6947). Check out the [City Photos sub-forum](http://www.urbantoronto.ca/forumdisplay.php?f=9). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/28 "2009-08-02T20:54:51Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > If this really piques your curiosity, you might look into postcards. I collect postcards from my home town and have about 1800 different ones from the 1890s to the present. I like to see the way the city has gradually changed…and the way it has stayed the same. I have, for example, postcards of the same street corner taken every few years for the past 110 years or so. A book could be written on the subtle changes in the stores, the cars (and horses), the clothes, the signs, etc. Fascinating! Seconded. A good friend of mine is a postcard collector and he’s got a lot from old-time Cleveland, where I now live. Fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/29 "2009-08-02T21:00:38Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Yep, I like this a lot and would appreciate if you shared the title of this book. It’s called Chicago: The War Years (in WWII). If you live in Chicago each library has a seperate “Chicago Collection.” And they are just full of books with old pictures of how streets, hospitals and stores used to look. I especially like the shopping districts like Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago which was always a major shopping area. I also love the old “downtown” books of Chicago before the huge skyscrapers like John Hancock were built and blocked so much out. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/30 "2009-08-02T21:03:18Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > If this really piques your curiosity, you might look into postcards. I collect postcards from my home town and have about 1800 different ones from the 1890s to the present. I did a website and part of it was getting old pictures of hospitals. I didn’t realize how many hospitals are on postcards. It seems kind of weird sending a postcard with a picture of a hospitals. I’ve never seen the actual postcards but I’ve seen picture. Evidently you aren’t nearly the only one to collect them because the prices are high ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/31 "2009-08-02T21:13:40Z")
I love old pictures of Dublin and have a small collection of them. I find old pictures of any place I’m familiar with both fascinating and poignant. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/32 "2009-08-02T21:25:10Z")
Absolutely. I picked up one book with then and now snaps from my branch a while ago, but I’ve already forgotten the name. But the best shot in it was one looking north on Wabash Ave. Major buildings on its west side were still in place. I’m guessing the OP has seen all or most of the following. Shorpy gets its photos (all public domain) from other web sites, such as the Library of Congress. [http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html](http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html) The Cushman Archive has some photos of Chicago as well as many other cities. [Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection \>\> Home](http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/index.jsp) [http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/](http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/) There’s some material at the Internet Archive, including this home movie which has some footage of the Century of Progress! [[Amateur film: Chicago World's Fair] : Unknown : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://www.archive.org/details/ChicagoW1933) And finally, the state of Illinois took aerial photos of the whole state in 1938-1941. You can see them at [http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/nsdihome/webdocs/ilhap/](http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/nsdihome/webdocs/ilhap/). Images are in SID format. For viewing, free browser and Irfanview plugins are available. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/33 "2009-08-03T02:16:53Z")
I find the old photos fascinating. My city (Waltham, MA) is an old town-the Moodie Street area hasn’t changed a lot in 100+ years. Many of the old buildings till stand, and outside of the signs, the facades are the same. What really strikes me: in the 1910-1950 times, peope were much better dressed than today. Men wore suits and tie; ladies wore hats. Even shopkeepers wore ties. Today, people dress much less formally. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/34 "2009-08-03T02:22:01Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Is it [Real Chicago](http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Richard-Michael-Williams-Samors/dp/0972545638)? If not, that’s another great one to check out. Thanks I just put that book on hold at the library. I especially like the Trolley Tracks and the old El Trains. Boy I bet the cities wish they never torn down those things. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/35 "2009-08-03T03:50:28Z")
Yes, but, even more so, I’ love looking at old pictures of people fishing. In fact, I’m looking at some pictures of Hemingway right now. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/36 "2009-08-03T03:58:50Z")
Send me the old Chicago pix book! Pleeeeeeez! It’s my for-real home town! ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019/37 "2009-08-03T14:29:44Z")
I love this kind of thing. In fact just yesterday I was looking at a book called “Over London”, which has the earliest aerial photos (mostly 1920s) they could find, with newly taken matching (perspective, angle, height, as close as possible) photos on the facing page. It’s so fascinating to see how the place has changed, especially because most of the older pictures were taken before the war. As you walk or drive around, once in a while you’ll see just one old house in among a nasty modern estate, then you can find a picture which shows that lone house was actually one of a street of houses all the same, but the rest were bombed. I love this town. I find it really interesting. I love old maps of it as well, from the earliest ones when London and Westminster were both pretty small and very definitely separate, then watching the rivers getting built over and the city expanding, assimilating villages as it went, etc. Old maps - and photos - are very cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-old-pictures-of-your-city-interesting/505019.md?page=1)