Historic photo archive

[Ducimus]

http://www.shorpy.com/

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.

[Gerald]

Great picture, thanks for sharing

[Penguin]

Nice site! Especially cool is that the pics have a decent resolution!

[krashkart]

http://www.shorpy.com/node/5212

The buildings on the left were razed in the 80s for a ghastly development called “City Center,” which wasn’t as imaginative as its name. The retail portion struggled for decades to fail, and finally succeeded. The sliver of white stone on the right was Donaldson’s, a department store that eventually moved into City Center, where it the brand died in a merger. (The old building was demolished for an attractive Cesar Pelli-designed retail / office complex.) Down the street on the right, it’s the Syndicate Building, later the home of Penney’s. (It was torn down for a retail / office complex.) In the distance, the pointy tower of the remarkably ungainly Minnesota Loan and Trust Building, a 49-foot-wide building that stood until 1920 before it was clawed down for a new Woolworth's.

Everything here is gone except for the light-colored building in the middle. It still bears its original name: Andrus. It’s an office complex. No retail.

Ah, this is America.

[Gerald]

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