1900 AGE OF HOPE

 

 

 

At the beginning of the twentieth century the world was stable and certain, but unequal. The Paris Exhibition of 1900 symbolises the optimism of a peaceful age when affluence is rising and people have faith in new technologies like electricity. The United States becomes the most powerful country in the world, destination for many immigrants from Europe. Compulsory education in many countries had led to a literate population exposed to new ideas, leisure and consumerism through newspapers. Trade unions grow in strength and force governments to protect employment conditions for workers, while suffragettes push for votes for women. Revolutions shake the political order in China and Russia. European empires continue to dominate the globe, however signs of dissent appear in India and South Africa, and Japan's victory over Russia in 1905 challenges the belief of white superiority. Nationalism rises in Europe, bringing the continent to conflict in 1914.
April 19, 1998

Killing Fields
(UK: 1914) (US: 1916)
The Great War is fought with larger armies and deadlier weapons than ever before, bringing death and carnage on an unprecedented scale to Europe. The bloody Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Verdunfail to break a stalemate on the Western front, and soldiers become increasingly frustrated and demoralised with the war's mounting casualties, poor living conditions and lack of progress. World War I'sPropaganda began for the first time in 1916. Despite the October Revolution knocking Russia out of the war in 1917, the odds shift against a blockaded Germany with the entry of the United States into the war, and eventually an armistice is signed. The psychological scars of this war would make the public less willing in future to go to war, or trust their leaders. The introductory scene shows soldiers mobilising at the beginning of the war, grossly under-estimating the destructive power of modern warfare. Interviewees include Karl von Clemm, Edward Smout and Cecil Lewis.

 

 

The New York City Municipal Archives just released a database of over 870,000 photos from its collection of more than 2.2 million images of New York throughout the 20th century. Their subjects include daily life, construction, crime, city business, aerial photographs, and more. I spent hours lost in these amazing photos, and gathered this group together to give you just a glimpse of what's been made available from this remarkable collection. Sunlight floods in through windows in the vaulted main room of New York City's Grand Central Terminal, illuminating the main concourse, ticket windows and information kiosk. Photo taken ca. 1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) 2 Aerial view of New York City, looking north, on December 16, 1951.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 3 28th Street Looking east from Second Avenue, on April 4, 1931. Google map streetview today here.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 4 Meeker Avenue Bridge under construction, looking south, showing Brooklyn approach, on June 29, 1939 (Joseph Shelderfer/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 5 Shadows are cast beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, seen from a stable roof, on May 6, 1918.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 6 A worker on the Brooklyn Bridge, on November 19, 1928.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 7 Markus Mercury Wheel Club, Flushing Race Track, bicyclists ready to race in June of 1894.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 8 Original City Hall subway station, IRT Lexington Avenue Line, in 1904.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 9 Coney Island looking east from Steeplechase Pier showing Sunday bathers, crowd on beach, on July 30, 1922. (Rutter, Edward E./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 10 A two-horse team street cleaner, with sprayer, squeegee, and roller at rear.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 11 An experimental exposure made on the Queensboro Bridge, on February 9, 1910.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 12 Italian vegetable sidewalk stand, on Bleeker Street, near Church of Our Lady of Pompeii, in August of 1937. (Bofinger, E.M./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 13 Lower Manhattan skyline at night, seen from either the Staten Island Ferry or Governor's Island, in February of 1938. (Bofinger, E. M./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 14 Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History, West 81st St, between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 15 Red Hook Swimming Pool, Clinton, Bay & Henry Streets, Brooklyn. Bathers as far as the eye can see. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 16 Queensboro Bridge under construction, on August 8, 1907.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 17 The Queensboro Bridge, showing reconstruction of tracks looking east, on November 22, 1929.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 18 A one-legged newspaper boy and other "newsies", on Delancey Street, on December 26, 1906.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 19 New York Police Department evidence photo, homicide scene. Jos Kellner, 404 East 54th Street, murdered in hallway, on January 7, 1916. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 20 Powell House at 195th Street and 58th Avenue North, Queens, on May 20, 1941(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 21 Times Square theaters by day, in New York City. The Times Building, Loew's Theatre, Hotel Astor, Gaiety Theatre and other landmarks are featured in this January, 1938 photo.(Bofinger, E.M./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 22 An aerial view of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, on January 27, 1965.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 23 A view from the Williamsburg Bridge, looking west, showing congested traffic in Manhattan, on January 29, 1923. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 24 Painters suspended on cables of the the Brooklyn Bridge, on October 7, 1914.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 25 A Hooverville in Brooklyn, ca. 1930-1932. The area is now Red Hook Park in Brooklyn.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 26 New York Police Department Evidence photo. Homicide victim - overhead view, ca. 1916-1920. At the corners, note the legs of the tripod supporting the camera above the body.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 27 A Subway Road Comes up for air in Brooklyn -- in background, a view of Manhattan from subway elevated tracks, 8th Street, Brooklyn, New York, on March 21, 1938.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 28 Yankee Stadium, Yankees on the field during a game, ca. 1935-1947.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 29 A man reads a newspaper on New York's 6th Ave. and 40th St, with the headline: "Nazi Army Now 75 Miles From Paris.", on May 18, 1940. (AP Photo/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 30 New York Fire Department demonstration of a steam pumper converted from horse-drawn to motor-driven, at 12th Avenue and 56th Street. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 31 Men cut ice from Kissena Lake in Queens, ca. 1860-1900. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 32 Children and adults with herd of sheep in the Sheep Meadow in Central Park, New York City, ca. 1900-1910. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 33 Part of the superstructure of the under-construction Manhattan Bridge rises above Washington Street in New York, on June 5, 1908.(AP Photo/Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 34 Manhattan Bridge, under-construction, seen from the roof of Robert Gair Building, showing suspenders and saddles, on February 11, 1909.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 35 Aboard a police boat on October 10, 1934, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia hacks away at confiscated slot machines about to be destroyed and dumped into New York harbor.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 36 A view down an alley, as rows and rows of laundry hang from tenements ca. 1935-1941. Seen looking west from 70 Columbus Avenue or Amsterdam Avenue at 63nd Street.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 37 A crowded street market under New York City Rail Road tracks, looking south on Park Avenue from 123rd Street in June of 1932. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 38 A night view of Midtown Manhattan, looking south from Madison Avenue and the 50's, ca. 1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 39 Amid road construction, the Hudson Diner advertises "Tables for Ladies" on November 20, 1929, on Marginal Street, looking east from 125th Street. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 40 Ninth Avenue El trains with passengers on 2 levels of tracks, 66th Street El station in background, in October of 1933. Photo taken on Columbus Avenue, northwest of Lincoln Square & 65th Street.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 41 The S.S. Normandie, seen from a Staten Island ship steaming through upper bay on its way to a river pier built for it, ca. 1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 42 A view of the city from the Brooklyn Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, on April 24, 1933.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 43 A view of the city from the New York tower of George Washington Bridge, 168th Street & Hudson River, on December 22, 1936. (Jack Rosenzwieg/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 44 Fire Boats fight a blaze at Grace Line Pier 57, West 15th St, near the National Biscuit Co. building.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 45 Members of the New York Fire Department attend to a fire victim.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 46 The "Well", US Signal Corps Army Base Terminal, Port of Embarkation. Ration cases from crate cars are hoisted to warehouse bins for storage, ca. 1945-1946. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 47 Water from firefighters' hoses freezes on the side of adjoining buildings.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 48 Interior view of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) subway powerhouse, 58th to 59th Street, ca. 1904. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 49 42nd Street, looking west from 2nd Avenue. Chrysler Building at top right, "News Tavern" "Goblet Bar" at lower right, ca. 1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 50 Brooklyn Bridge painters at work high above the city, on December 3, 1915.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 51 Aftermath of a collision on an elevated rail track. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 52 The Queensboro Bridge, leading to Manhattan, seen on May 1, 1912.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 53 A motorman operates a trolley cars near Williamsburg Bridge, on September 25, 1924. Signs advertise almonds, cold remedies, mustard, and stove polish.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #

Rare Color Photography of Early 1900s Paris Although some of these images might look like a modern day photography and some of them like painted pictures, actually it is real colored photographies, taken at the beginning of the 20th century Paris (France). All the images shown below were taken using Autochrome Lumière technology. It's an early color photography process, patented in 1903 and invented by the famous French Auguste and Louis Lumière, populary known as Lumière Brothers. They were the earliest filmmakers in history. So, here it is! The city of love: the streets, the architecture, the people, interiors and grand events – all of them in their true colors.

Lower Manhattan skyline at night, seen beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn end in February of 1938. See this scene today in this Google Map street view.(E. M. Bofinger/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) 2 A blacksmith shoes a horse in the doorway of a smith shop at 33 Cornelia Street, in Greenwich Village, with two little girls looking on, in 1937. See this same storefront today in this Google Mapstreet view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 3 Carnegie Hall, seen from 7th Avenue and 57th Street, ca. 1935-1941. Street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 4 Italians playing a game of Bocce in Brooklyn in 1937. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 5 View of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, on April 24, 1933.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 6 Trolley car number 311 at the car barn of the Williamsburg Bridge trolley line, photographed on March 22, 1928. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 7 Brooklyn Central Library, main terrace and entrance, on Grand Army Plaza, on September 6, 1939.Street view. (Joseph Shelderfer/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 8 Fifth Avenue. looking north from 110th Street showing a movie theater, billboards, and gas station, on October 6, 1929. Street view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 9 Vanderbilt Cup Race at Roosevelt Raceway, Long Island, in September of 1937.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 10 A massive "W" in the Kent Avenue yard of the Williamsburg Bridge. The 20-foot "W", part of a giant "WSS", was placed on a tower on March 20, 1918. WSS stands for "War Savings Stamps." Letters were erected on the south side of the Manhattan tower during World War I.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 11 View of midtown from Chanin Building, NY Central Building right, RCA Building left, in December of 1937. (Frederick W. Ritter/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 12 Varick Street Looking north from Franklin Street, before the cobblestone was paved, on May 10, 1914. Street view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 13 Crime scene with onlookers leaning out of tenement windows, a man's body on the sidewalk in front of laundry and Italian pasta makers and oil and wine importers, ca. 1916-1920.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 14 Park Avenue tunnel, looking north from Murray Hill Tunnel Station, at 38th Street, on July 17, 1923.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 15 Mr. and Mrs. Babe Ruth watch the World Series game with Kate Smith at the Polo Grounds, in September of 1936. The series matched the New York Yankees against the New York Giants, with the Yankees winning in six games. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 16 The "Granite State", sunk and listing, after burning at her pier in the Hudson River on May 23, 1921. The Granite State was formerly the USS New Hampshire, built in 1825, launched in 1864, and served as part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in the Civil War.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 17 View from the roof of a shanty looking East, showing 3:50 PM congestion on the South footwalk of the Queensboro Bridge, on April 11, 1909. The bridge opened to traffic on March 30, 1909.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 18 Play Street Detour sign stands in front of boys playing stickball, ca. 1916-1920.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 19 A view of bustling port area on West Street, ca. 1900. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 20 Part of a stitched-together panorama, composed of 9 photos taken of the East side of the wide West Street, from Rector Street to Morris St, in the 1940s. Be sure to view the full-size 5424-pixel-wide version. The odd overlaps in the stitching are due to the changes in perspective as the photographer moved down the street to take each shot. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 21 A man in a diving suit, about to descend, ca. 1910. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 22 A chain-driven Mack truck belonging to the Street Cleaning Department, at 19th Street East, on August 4, 1920. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 23 A 20-inch Discharge pipe, near the foot of West 8th Street, Coney Island, on September 1, 1922.(Edward E. Rutter/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 24 Shafts of sunlight penetrate through upper windows of the Vaulted room of Grand Central Terminal, as crowds gather near the information kiosk on the Terminal concourse, ca. 1935-1941.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 25 74th - 78th Street Cable Car tracks, looking southwest from 1460 2nd Avenue, on March 27, 1931.Street view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 26 Firefighters at work, as a steam pumper is hooked to a hydrant and two motorized hose tenders.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 27 Interior view of Brooklyn Bridge station, on April 6, 1907.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 28 Nassau Street, looking south from Fulton Street, on March 3, 1926. Street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 29 Avenue C, looking north from 6th Street. Shops, dentists' and oculist's signs on display, on November 6, 1926. Street view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 30 An overturned car, near the 145th Street Bridge ramp at Lenox Avenue, on July 10, 1917(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 31 View of the Cathedral Of Saint John the Divine and other buildings in the "close", ca. 1935-1941.Street view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 32 The overflowing wrecking yard of Academy Auto Wreckers, seen on November 4, 1963.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 33 Tall-masted ships beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, in 1903. Street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 34 Children play in the street on a snowy day, 50th Street near 4th Avenue, on February 19, 1924.(Edward E. Rutter/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 35 Park Avenue, looking northwest from 47th Street, in 1921. Street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 36 34th Street Looking east from Third Avenue, beneath the curved El station, on May 16, 1931. Present day street view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 37 The interior of a trolley car after an accident on the Williamsburg Bridge, on August 16, 1926.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 38 Approach to the Brooklyn Bridge, seen from atop the bridge, on June 29, 1909.(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 39 Roller coaster and Boardwalk, Coney Island. View up West 10th Street, looking from the Boardwalk to Surf Avenue, on December 19, 1922. The old ride is gone, but a new one stands in its place, visible in this street view. (Edward E. Rutter/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 40 Load station entrance for the New York Times, 225 West 43rd Street, with newspaper delivery chutes visible inside, and lighted windows of editorial rooms 3rd floor, on December 11, 1937. Street view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 41 Seventh Avenue, looking north from 33rd Street. Street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 42 Manhattan Bridge nearing completion, viewed from Pier 33, East River looking South, on April 7, 1909. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 43 Police officer carries unconscious child, believed to be a contagious case, to an awaiting ambulance, ca. 1910-1920. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 44 Lower Manhattan, seen from East River docks in November of 1937(E.M. Bofinger/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 45 Twelfth Avenue Looking south from 134th Street, under viaduct, on October 6, 1929. Present daystreet view. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 46 116th Street, looking west from east of Third Avenue. "Ride On the Open Air Elevated", written on the side of the El station, as a trolley approaches, on October 8, 1925. Present day street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 47 Park Avenue Looking north from West roadway of 34th Street, on July 17, 1923. Street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 48 View from Seamen's Church Institute looking northwest, in Lower Manhattan -- Coenties Slip, and the curve of the 2nd-3rd Avenues "El" structure in foreground. Photograph taken in June of 1938.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 49 First (oldest) Jewish Cemetery in Manhattan, Chatham Square.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) # 50 The shadow of the photographer and camera appear on Jamaica Avenue East, Queens, between Hollis Court Boulevard and 212th Street, on October 26, 1928. Present day street view.(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #