Wonderful Color Photographs Across the US in 1938-39 Taken by Charles W. Cushman

Charles Weever Cushman, amateur photographer and Indiana University alumnus, bequeathed approximately 14,500 Kodachrome color slides to his alma mater.

Taken by Cushman in 1938 and 1939, the images document an amazing cross-section of American, from inner-city storefronts and industrial landscapes to candid portraits and botanical studies. The collection is part of the Indiana University Archives.

The richly saturated Kodachrome slides add color to an era primarily recorded in black and white, ”a world that we had long since resigned ourselves to viewing only in shades of gray,” writes Eric Sandweiss, IU Carmony Chair and Professor of History.

Sep. 3, 1938 - Sep. 4, 1938: Golden Gate Bridge - Marin End, San Francisco, California.

Sep. 17, 1938: Street scene. Victoria, B.C.

Sep. 18, 1938: City Hall, Victoria, B.C.

Sep. 21, 1938 - Sep. 22, 1938: Hwy bridge over Columbia , central Washington

Sep. 21, 1938 - Sep. 22, 1938: More of the Columbia from its left bank, Washington.

Sep. 22, 1938: Grand Coulee Dam under construction, Grand Coulee, Washington.

Sep. 23, 1938 - Sep. 24, 1938: Looking up Along The Garden Wall, Glacier Park, Montana.

Sep. 21, 1938: Leaving Rainier National Park on the way up to Chinook Pass, Washington

Sep. 23, 1938: Cushman Little old mining town Alberton, Montana

Sep. 24, 1938: north end of Flathead Lake, Montana.

Sep. 17, 1938: A retired Britisker's home at Victoria, B.C.

Sep. 1938: North across Midway Geyser Basin & Prismatic Lake in foreground. Excelsior Geyser in distance, Wyoming.

Feb. 1939: Pre-war Airplane over Miami.

Mar. 1939: Wofford Hotel Beach Miami Beach.

Mar. 1939: Jean and Charles on Wofford Beach, Miami Beach, Florida.

Mar. 1939: South Bay Shore Drive, Miami.

Mar. 1939: Across Biscayne Bay, from the County Causeway, Miami Skyline.

Mar. 1939: Star Island in Bay Biscayne Miami, Fla.

Mar. 1939: Blimp over Miami Beach, from Million Dollar Pier.

May 1939: Road south of Miami, Fla.

Oct. 1939: Fall colors at Dune Acres, Ind., looking past tree-covered dune to Lake Michigan.

Oct. 1939: An October Sunday afternoon along Indiana's Dune Island shore with the Reeds.

Nov. 1939: Pink Rock below Rim between Yavapai and Yaqui, Arizona.

Nov. 29, 1939: Looking across Grand Canyon from Yaqui Point, Arizona.

Dec. 1, 1939: Works of Man and Native vie at Boulder Dam [Hoover Dam], Arizona.

Dec. 1, 1939: Lake Meade at Sunset from Nevada heights back of Boulder Dam. Fortification Mtn. across the Lake.

(Photos by Charles W. Cushman)