In June 1939 Salvador Dalí designed a pavilion for the New York World’s Fair built by the architect Ian Woodner. The building was named Dream of Venus. Dalí’s Dream of Venus is the most recent addition to the still-growing list of amusement-area girl shows and easily the most amazing. Weird building contains a dry tankContinue reading “Dream of Venus: Inside Salvador Dali’s Surrealist Funhouse From the 1939 World’s Fair”
Tag Archives: architecture & construction
In World War II, Boeing Built a Fake Rooftop Town to Hide Its Factory Beneath From Potential Air Strike by the Japanese
During World War II, a strange, house-filled neighborhood could be seen in the middle of an industrial area from the air. A close-up look would reveal that it was camouflage for Boeing’s Plant No. 2, where thousands of B-17 bombers were produced. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese submarines were spotted off the SanContinue reading “In World War II, Boeing Built a Fake Rooftop Town to Hide Its Factory Beneath From Potential Air Strike by the Japanese”
Rarely Seen Color Photos Reveal How Adolph Hitler Spent His Quiet Time
Incredibly rare and undoubtedly risky photos to take of the Fuhrer’s personal office within the Reich Chancellery. Very few have been allowed into the Fuhrer’s official seat of power, and very few photographs were taken within, let alone anybody given permission to bring a camera with them inside. This is where dictator Adolf Hitler relaxedContinue reading “Rarely Seen Color Photos Reveal How Adolph Hitler Spent His Quiet Time”
27 Vintage Photographs That Show How Soldiers Made Their Homes in Dugouts and Trenches During World War I
Dugouts were protective holes dug out of the sides of trenches. The size of dugouts varied a great deal and sometimes could house over ten men. A manual published by the British Army recommended dugouts that were between 2 ft. and 4 ft. 6 in. wide, roofed with corrugated iron or brushwood and then coveredContinue reading “27 Vintage Photographs That Show How Soldiers Made Their Homes in Dugouts and Trenches During World War I”
Vintage Photos of 12 Crazy Wooden Homes on Wheels From the Early 20th Century
There is no formal definition of a house car but in the early 1900s, Americans want to take to the roads and explore. Some creative Tin Can tourists decided that they’d rather bring their home with them rather than have the tent attachments on the sides of their Model T’s, so they built larger structuresContinue reading “Vintage Photos of 12 Crazy Wooden Homes on Wheels From the Early 20th Century”
This Is What Life Was Like in New York City Before the Invention of Indoor Plumbing and Indoor Toilets
If you’ve ever bemoaned the fact that you share a bathroom with several family members or housemates, you’re not alone. Most New Yorkers live in apartments and most units have just a single bathroom. A hundred and fifty years ago, however, the situation was much worse. At the time, New Yorkers had just a fewContinue reading “This Is What Life Was Like in New York City Before the Invention of Indoor Plumbing and Indoor Toilets”
Amazing Vintage Photographs of Paris During the 1860s & 1870s
Beginning in the mid-1850s, Paris experienced a grand transformation. At the orders of Napoleon III, old, narrow streets made way for wide boulevards, thousands of gas lamps lit the streets at night, and a host of other public projects thoroughly modernized the city. Charles Marville, a photographer employed by the city, was charged with documentingContinue reading “Amazing Vintage Photographs of Paris During the 1860s & 1870s”
Hammam Essalhine: A Roman Bathhouse Still in Use After 2,000 Years in Khenchela, Algeria
A two thousand year old public bathhouse from the Roman period is still used by locals in the town of Khenchela, Algeria. Most of the bathhouse has been preserved, but the ancientness of the place is still apparent in the architecture. Algeria has hundreds of hot springs or fountains that back to thousands of years.Continue reading “Hammam Essalhine: A Roman Bathhouse Still in Use After 2,000 Years in Khenchela, Algeria”
Sears Catalog ‘Kit Homes’ From the Early 20th Century
Sears Catalog Homes (sold under the Sears Modern Homes name) were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company, an American retailer. Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different home designs in a wideContinue reading “Sears Catalog ‘Kit Homes’ From the Early 20th Century”
Amazing Vintage Photos of McDonald’s First Restaurant
The McDonald’s restaurant concept was introduced in San Bernardino, California by Dick and Mac McDonald of Manchester, New Hampshire. It was modified and expanded by their business partner, Ray Kroc, of Oak Park, Illinois, who later bought out the business interests of the McDonald brothers in the concept and went on to found McDonald’s Corporation.Continue reading “Amazing Vintage Photos of McDonald’s First Restaurant”
