“A great, wicked and quite extraordinary city” was how, in 1947, LIFE described Shanghai. In 1947, four million people had made the City their residence (today, that number is 26 million). It seemed that at any one time, a very substantial proportion of the population was on the Shanghai streets. “The traffic has become aContinue reading “Street Life of Shanghai in 1947”
Tag Archives: life & culture
Beautiful Photos of Venice in the Early 1950s
During the Second World War, Venice was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a successful Royal Air Force precision strike on the German naval operations in the city in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage inflicted on the city itself. However, the industrialContinue reading “Beautiful Photos of Venice in the Early 1950s”
The World’s Oldest Electric Elevated Railway: 20 Vintage Photos of Wuppertal Schwebebahn in Germany in the 1940s
The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (Wuppertal Suspension Railway) is a suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany. Designed by Eugen Langen to sell to the city of Berlin, the installation with elevated stations was built in Barmen, Elberfeld and Vohwinkel between 1897 and 1903; the first track opened in 1901. It is the oldest electric elevated railway with hangingContinue reading “The World’s Oldest Electric Elevated Railway: 20 Vintage Photos of Wuppertal Schwebebahn in Germany in the 1940s”
New York in the Early 20th Century
During the years of 1898–1945, New York City consolidated. New York City became the capital of national communications, trade, and finance, and of popular culture and high culture. More than one-fourth of the 300 largest corporations in 1920 were headquartered there. New transportation links, especially the New York City Subway, opened in 1904, bound togetherContinue reading “New York in the Early 20th Century”
40 Amazing Color Photos Showing Life in the U.S. during the Late 1940s
Following World War II, the United States emerged as one of the two dominant superpowers, turning away from its traditional isolationism and toward increased international involvement. The United States became a global influence in economic, political, military, cultural, and technological affairs. The unprecedented growth of the U.S. economy translated into prosperity that resulted in millionsContinue reading “40 Amazing Color Photos Showing Life in the U.S. during the Late 1940s”
France in the 1940s Through a German Soldier’s Lens
In 1940, France was invaded and quickly defeated by Nazi Germany. France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north, an Italian occupation zone in the southeast and an unoccupied territory, the rest of France, which consisted of the southern French metropolitan territory (two-fifths of pre-war metropolitan France) and the French empire, whichContinue reading “France in the 1940s Through a German Soldier’s Lens”
