15 Amazing Vintage Photographs That Show the Dangers of Constructing the Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is an iconic office building known as “the Most Famous Skyscraper in the World.” Built during the Depression between 1930 and 1931, the Empire State Building became the world’s tallest office building until 1967. The design of the building changed 16 times during planning and construction, but 3,000 workers completed theContinue reading “15 Amazing Vintage Photographs That Show the Dangers of Constructing the Empire State Building”

37 Fascinating Photos Showing Life in Chicago in the Early 1940s

John Vachon was a Minnesotan, a graduate of St. Thomas College in St. Paul who moved to D.C. during the end of the Great Depression with dreams of becoming a writer. What he became was a file clerk; actually, it started a bit worse than that:“Well, in 1936 I was looking for a job inContinue reading “37 Fascinating Photos Showing Life in Chicago in the Early 1940s”

20 Incredible Color Photographs Showing Life in Texas in the Early 1940s

On the eve of the Great Depression, most Texans lived on farms or ranches or in small towns. Though the previous decade saw successes in oil, the economy was still dominated by agriculture – cotton in the north, livestock in the west and a growing citrus industry in the south. When the stock market crashedContinue reading “20 Incredible Color Photographs Showing Life in Texas in the Early 1940s”

19 Interesting Vintage Photographs That Show What Spring Break Looked Like in Southern California in the 1940s

Back in 1947, when LIFE accompanied 10,000 young men and women to Balboa Beach in Southern California for spring break, the shenanigans wouldn’t have scored any higher than a PG rating. Daylight brought beachside dancing, boat races, beauty pageants and sunbathing. The evening hours found students aglow in the warmth of bonfires as portable radiosContinue reading “19 Interesting Vintage Photographs That Show What Spring Break Looked Like in Southern California in the 1940s”

Rare and Breathtaking Photographs of Children Who Lived in Spitalfields, London at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries

Around 1900, photographer Horace Warner took a series of portraits of some of the poorest people in London – creating relaxed, intimate images that gave dignity to his subjects and producing great photography that is without comparison in his era. Previously, only a handful of Warner’s sympathetic portraits of the children who lived in theContinue reading “Rare and Breathtaking Photographs of Children Who Lived in Spitalfields, London at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries”