Pictures of American Cities
The Still Picture Branch of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 and Records Administration (NARA) preserves and services a collection of more than 5 million photographs, many thousands of which deal with the American city. The selection of photographs listed in this publication depicts the city. its development, and its people and their way of life from the early 19th century to recent times. They were selected for their aesthetic quality and historical relevance to the development of urban America and are classified under the following headings: Artists' Conceptions of 19th-Century Cities, Skylines and Streets, City Life, Urban Transportation, The City in Turmoil, and 20th-Century Art Reflecting Urban Themes.
Some items are photographic copies of works of art. The dates and mediums of the originals and the names of the artists are given whenever it has been possible to determine them. This information is followed by the local identification number and the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier number (NAID). The 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier number is linked to NARA鈥檚 online catalog where a digitized file of the photograph will be available for download. The selected photographs are in the public domain. Under the first heading photographs are arranged alphabetically by name of city; under all other headings photographs are arranged chronologically. Asterisks denote items available in color. An index by city follows the list.
This select picture list was prepared by Nancy E. Malan, and revised in 1977. Additional updates to this introduction were made as recently as May 2021.
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Artist's Conceptions of 19th-Century Cities
1. "." Engraving from The History and Topography of the United States of North America by John Howard Hinton (Boston, 1846). ()
2. "." Engraving from American Scenery by Nathaniel Parker Willis, illustrated by W. II. Bartlett (London, 1838). ()
3. "." Lithograph by P. Hyman and David Bigelow.
"View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common, October 25th 1848." Local Identifier: 208-PR-10E-13, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 535910.
4. "." Engraving from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion (Boston, 1854). ()
5. "." Lithograph. Endicott and Company, New York.
6. "." Lithograph from Pictorial History of Chicago (Chicago, 1930).
7. "." Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine" (July 1883). ()
8. "" by Karl Bodmer. Lithograph from Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834 by Maximilian, Prince of Wied (London, 1838-43).
9. "." Engraving from The United States Illustrated by Charles A. Dana (New York, 1855). ()
10. "," ca. 1856. Lithograph. Chandler and Company, Boston. ()
11. "." Engraving from History of Kentucky by Richard H. Collins (1874). ()
12. ". Taken from the Water Cure, South Side of Lake Menona, 1855." Lithograph. C. Curriers, New York.
13. "." Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine" (Dec. 1863). ()
14. "," ca. 1862. Illustration from Campfires and Battlefields by Rossiter, Johnson, et al. (New York, 1894).
15. "." New York. Engraving from Thirty Years'Progress of the United States (Hartford, Conn.,1867).
16. "," ca. 1836. Lithograph. A. Koliner, Philadelphia.
"East View of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and part of Camden, New Jersey" Local Identifier: 208-PR-10E-6, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 535908.
17. "." Engraving from Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States by Henry R. Schoolcraft (Philadelphia, 1854). ()
18. "~" Engraving from The United States Illustrated by Charles A. Dana (New York, 1855). ()
19. "." Lithograph from The History and Antiquities of the City of Saint Augustine, Florida (New York, 1858). ()
20. ." Engraving from American Pictures Drawn with Pen and lnk by Samuel Manning (London. 1876). ()
21. "." Engraving from The United States Illustrated by Charles A. Dana (New York, 1855). ()
22. "." Engraving frnm "Report of Lt. J. W. Abert of his Examination of New Mexico in the Years 1846-1847." S. Ex. Doc. 23, 30th Cong., 1st sess. Series 506.
23. "." Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine" (Sept. 1870). ()
24. "" Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine" (Jan. 1874). ()
Skylines and Streets
25. , ca. 1862. Mathew Brady collection. Overview of the C & 0 Canal. Aqueduct Bridge at right, and unfinished Capitol dome in the distant background.
26. , ca. 1864. Mathew Brady collection. Grassy shore of the island, a partially submerged barge in the harbor, and sailing ships and city buildings in the background.
27. . Photograph by George N. Barnard. Mathew Brady collection. The statehouse portico guarded by artillery in the foreground.
28. . Soldiers' tents and supply wagons beside the city building. 1864. Mathew Brady collection.
29. . Photograph by William H. Jackson.
30. ., in 1870. Photograph by William H. Jackson.
31. . Group of men seated on the wharves, store-lined street in the background.
The weatherbeaten wharves between Piety and Desire Streets, New Orleans, Louisiana. Local Identifier: 233-NO-23, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 540087.
32. ., ca. 1885. Ships' masts dominate the foreground; buildings, horse-drawn wagons, and carts visible through them.
33. ., in 1890. Mount Hood in the background.
34. , taken from the roof, ca. 1900.
35. covering the docks at the resin yards, Savannah, Ga., 1903.
36. crowded with steamboats at the start of President William H. Taft's inspection trip down the Mississippi River, Oct. 1909.
37. . Primitive shelters with modern city street behind. 1912.
38. ., looking toward the Capitol from the Treasury Building. The Hotel Occidental advertises rooms with bath for $2 and up and modern Cadillac automobiles for rent for $3 per hour. ca. 1915.
39. , Jan. 1915.
40. , crowded with horse-drawn wagons and motor trucks filled with produce for market, Apr. 1915.
41. . Posters below advertise coming attractions at the Roosevelt and Apollo Theaters. 1935.
42. Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, in winter, from the air. The Cuyahoga River winds through the flats. Dec. 1937. ()
43. ., and the surrounding plains, Dec. 1939.
44. with sauerkraut or onions, ice-cold soft drinks, and pies for 5 cents on a rain-soaked wharf, New York City, ca. 1939.
45. , with the smoke-shrouded city in the background, ca. 1940.
Rows of frame houses in a hilly area of Pittsburgh, with the smoke-shrouded city in the background. Local Identifier: 59-HP-85-10, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 518066.
46., Dec. 1942.
47. looking like a miniature city, ca. 1942.
48. , rundown tanks, and "Cat Crackers" at the Baton Rouge Esso Refinery, ca. 1945. Photograph by Edwin Rosskam.
49., ca 1945.
50. , ca. 1947.
51., with a mantle of snow during the record December 1948 snowfall.
52. , crowded with fish carts, fishing boats, and workmen, ca. 1950.
53. and the surrounding area seen from Inspiration Point, Mount Lowe, ca. 1950.
53A. .
City Life
54. , New York City, ca. 1850. Original in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.
55. and a matronly companion on a wharf in Boston, 1882.
56. . The South Portico of the White House, Washington, D.C., in the background.
57.., ca. 1888.
58. stands atop a mound of oyster shells outside the C. H. Pearson & Company oyster cannery, Baltimore. Workers bring wheel- barrows of shells from the factory to the heap. ca. 1890.
59., ca. 1890.
60. on a wharf in San Francisco Harbor, ca. 1891.
61. inspect a cluttered basement living room, ca. 1900.
Two officials of the New York City Tenement House Department inspect a cluttered basement living room. Local Identifier: 196-GS-32, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 535469.
62. , ca. 1900.
63. in front of typical housing with five rooms per family for $10 to $12 per month. San Francisco, ca. 1900.
64. . View looking up 7th Street, ca. 1900.
65. , Easter morning, 1906.
66. ., 1906.
67. , surrounded by packages of newly minted currency, counting and wrapping dollar bills. Washington, D.C., 1907.
68. ca. 1910.
69. loading barrels of corn syrup onto a barge on the Hudson River. Photograph by Lewis Hine, ca. 1912.
70. on a long worktable at the Shrenhat Toy Company, Philadelphia, Oct. 1912.
71. , Washington, D.C., 1912.
72. at Center Market. Washington, D.C., Feb. 18,1915.
73. , 1921.
74. , Chicago, Ill., ca. 1925.
75. before the premiere of "Don Juan" with John Barrymore. New York, Aug. 6, 1926.
76. , South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, 1927.
77. , St. Louis, Mo., 1927.
78. carrying the crew of the Bremen, and the crowds assembled to greet them. Broadway, New York, 1928.
79. , bolting together the framework of the Empire State Building, New York City, 1930. Photograph by Lewis Hine.
Photograph of a Workman on the Framework of the Empire State Building. Local Identifier: 69-RH-4K-1, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 518290.
80. , ca. 1930.
81. where pineapple and orange nectar drinks are sold for 5 cents, July 1932.
82. out of work during the depression. Photograph by Lewis Hine, 1934.
83. cleaning and painting the gold dome of the Denver Capitol, 1934.
84. , 172 Ten Eyck Street, May 13, 1935.
85. for a concert by pianist Josef Hofmann, Nov. 28, 1937.
86. into a mold at the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, Pittsburgh, May 1942.
87. in line for their pay checks. Photograph by Rosskam, Dec. 1943.
88. , May 1946.
89. focuses attention on nude female (life-size marble sculpture) in a storage room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 1946.
90. taking time out for lunch at a makeshift table of wooden crates covered with newspaper. New York, Aug. 1946.
91. ., scrutinizing Benvenuto Cellini's "Salt Cellar" on temporary exhibit, ca. 1947.
92. ," a downtown bar, sleeping at his table while the resident cat laps at his beer. New York, Dec. 1947.
93. , uncrating "The Madonna of the Rosaries," a painting by Caravaggio on loan from the Austrian government, 1950.
94. strung with hundreds of wool threads at Chicago's Olsen Rug Company, ca. 1950.
95. in a rooftop pool, Manhattan skyscrapers in the background, Feb. 1950.
Urban Transportation
96. . It reads in part: "Philadelphians, your RIGHTS are being invaded! regardless of your interests or the LIVES OF YOUR LITTLE ONES. THE CAMDEN AND AMBOY with the assistance of other companies without a Charter, and in VIOLATION OF LAW as decreed by your Courts, are laying a LOCOMOTIVE RAILROAD! RALLY PEOPLE in the Majesty of your Strength and forbid THIS OUTRAGE!" ()
97. "." Platform crowded with departing passengers, including several Indians. Engraving, ca. 1880.
98. "," by Alfred Steiglitz, 1892. Original lantern slide in the International Museum of Photography, New York.
99. "" New York. A horse-drawn ambulance arrives on the scene where a man lies in the street after being hit by a cable car. Illustration from Leslie's Weekly, Aug. 29,1895.
100. , an electric trolley car, and pedestrians congest a cobblestone Philadelphia street in 1897. ()
101. . New York City's Fifth Avenue bustling with horse-drawn traffic and two motor cars. ()
102. being stopped by a policeman on a bicycle. New York City.
Traffic Violator Driving a 1900 Vintage Car being Stopped by a Policeman on a Bicycle. Local Identifier: 30-N-49-1481, 威尼斯人娱乐场 Identifier: 513352.
103. , sharing the street with horse-drawn produce wagon and an open automobile. Downtown, looking north. 1904.
104. , Oct. 1912.
105. , ca. 1917.
106. , counterparts of modern day buses, outside Union Station, Los Angeles, awaiting passengers bound for southern California, 1920. ()
107. newly equipped with ventilating devices that operate while the car's windows are closed. New York City, 1933.
108. , 14th Street and the Mall, Washington, D.C., Apr. 1937.
109. , side by side, outbound from Chicago at dusk, ca. 1940.
110. , passing through Amarillo, Tex., on its way west, 1941.
111. , filled with commuters, about to dock at a New York City pier, ca.1945.
112. and the crowded street below, ca. 1940.
113. that provide access to New York City, ca. 1946.
114. in the waiting room of the Greyhound Bus Station, New York City, July 1947.
115. "": a complicated traffic signal to uncomplicate Washington, D.C., traffic, 1949.
The City in Turmoil
116. "~" Engraving after the painting by Alonzo Chappel.
117. "," August 1814. Engraving from The History of England by Paul de Rapin -Thoyras.
118. . A shell-damaged carriage and the remains of a brick chimney in the foreground. 1865. Photograph by George N. Barnard.
119. ., silhouetted against a dark sky after the destruction by Confederates, 1865. Mathew Brady collection.
120. , still smoldering after the 1906 earthquake, taken from the tower of the Union Ferry Building. Market Street between Sacramento and Third Streets.
121. , under 20 inches of water during the flood of March 1907.
122.., and fire apparatus frosted with icicles. The New Year's Day 1918 fire was thought to be the work of enemy agents. ()
123. . ()
124. used in the event of a street riot. Machine gunners in front row and troopers with rifles behind them control the street, with ranks on the sides of the square covering windows and roofs of nearby buildings. New York City, March 1918. ()
125. after the explosion of a bomb allegedly planted by the International Workers of the World (lWW) as a reprisal for the sentencing of the union's leader, "Big Bill" Haywood, and 94 other members for seditious activities, 1918. ()
126. during the prohibition era.
127. . The Capitol in the background. 1928.
128. after a gun battle with police, 1931.
129. . The storefront sign reads "Free Soup, Coffee and Doughnuts for the Unemployed." February 1931.
130. ., burning after the battle with the military. The Capitol in the background. 1932.
131. during their protest against transfer to a school open to black children, March 1933.
132. , 1934.
133. , June 1934.
134. , one carrying an American flag, outside an electrical plant in Philadelphia, 1946.
135. , heckling a businessman who crossed the picket line. New York.
136. , hiding his face with his coat, under arrest in connection with the seizure of $25 million worth of narcotics. Chief of Detectives William T. Whalen standing near him with some of the confiscated drugs. New York City, Feb. 1949.
20th-Century Art Reflecting Urban Themes
137. Kansas City, Kansas* by Henry Tanner. Watercolor 10 x 14. 1897.
138. by Joseph Stella. Oil. 84" x 76". ca. 1917-18. Original in Yale University Art Gallery.
139. by John Sloan. Oil. 26 x 32. 1914. Original in Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
140. by John Sloan. Oil 30 x 40. 1928. Original in Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
141. by Arthur Diggs. Oil? ca. 1929.
142. by John Marin. Oil on canvas. 21" x 26". 1932. Original in Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
143. by Lee Gatch. Oil on canvas. 18" x 25". 1933. Original in Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
144. by Hale Woodruff. Oil. 1936.
145. , Boston by Allan Crite. Oil. 20" x 24". 1936.
146. , Harlem by Aaron Douglas. Oil. 1939.
147. Baltimore* by Palmer Hayden. Watercolor.
148. Basin Street* by Palmer Hayden. Oil.
149. Brooklyn Bridge* by Warren L. Harris. Watercolor.
150. Brownstones in Winter * by Ellis Wilson. Oil.
151. Old Charleston Houses by Ellis Wilson. Oil.
152. Park Street, Boston by Karl Zerbe. Encaustic on canvas 30 x 36. 1942. Original in Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. 208-PR-4Z-1.
153. Morning Subway* by Joseph Delaney. Oil. 23" x 20". 1953.
154. Crap Game* by Harold Dorsey. Oil. 18 x 24. 1954.
155. Gathering Storm Over Philadelphia* by Louis B. Sloan. Oil. 39" x 49".
156. The Arrival* by Benny Andrews. Oil and collage. 96" x 50". 1960.
157. City Scape* by James Mathis. Oil. 1964.
158. My Son, My Son* by Buford Evans. Oil. 36" x 48". 1968.
159. The Great American Subway* by Mahler B. Ryder. Ink on paper. 24" x 17". 1969.
160. Asunder (tenement Series)* by Shirley Bolton. Acrylic on canvas. 28" x 34". 1970.
161. Renovation (Tenement Series)* by Shirley Bolton. Acrylic on masonite. 24" x 36". 1970.
162. Black and White Ghetto* by James Malone. Acrylic. 2 x 4.
163. Carnival New Orleans* by Walter Williams. Oil. 24" x 30".
164. Deserted Street* by Jessie Smith. Oil. 30" x 16".
165. From New York to Jersey* by Yvonne Catchings. Oil. 24" x 36".
166. Ghetto Children* by Jack Jordan. Watercolor. .
167. Ghetto Headlines* by James Malone. Collage. 24" x 24".
168. Rooftop Virtuoso* by Hayward Oubre. Oil-resin. 34" x 26".
169. Swing Low Ghetto Church* by James Malone. Oil. 5 x 2-1/2.
170. White Ghetto* by James Malone. Acrylic. 2 x 4.
