Chicago in 1971 Through an Australian Traveler's Lens

A small photo collection from lindsaybridge that captured street scenes of Chicago when he traveled there 1971.

Street level under the Loop, Chicago, June 1st, 1971

The 'el' for elevated train. Marshall Field's is on the left, Chicago, November 8th, 1971

To the West from the John Hanncock Tower, Chicago, November 8th, 1971

Train on the Loop, Chicago, June 1st, 1971

Abraham Lincoln Statue, Chicago, November 8th, 1971

See more»

Rare Portraits of Men and Women Around the World in Their Tradition Costumes at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair

Here's a rare set of large-format photographic portrait images of the different ethnic people who represented various countries of the world at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, also known as the World Columbian Exposition.

The World Columbian Exposition was held from May to October 1893 in Chicago in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the new world. In competition with many other cities, Chicago was finally designated the official site and the Exposition was built on 630 acres in and around Jackson Park. It was a spectacular display of progress and prosperity, and included among its many wonders electrical exhibits, exhibits from other countries, and a popular amusement area on Midway Plaisance with carnival rides, among them the first Ferris Wheel. Most of the fair's architecture was based on classical design which gave the area around the Court of Honor the name "The White City."

Mrs. Theresa Joseph (the wife of Mr. D. Joseph), an East Indian woman from Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka).

Ke-Ne-Wa-Na, a Native American woman of the Lakota Sioux tribe.

Rain-in-the-Face, a Native American war chief of the Lakota Sioux tribe who, with Sitting Bull, defeated Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876.

Ah Que, a Chinese woman married to Wong Ki.

Hallad Abdalah, a Syrian Bedouin sheik.

See more»

29 Color Found Snaps of Chicago in the 1960s

These found snapshots from Mark Susina that capture street scenes of Chicago from the 1960s.

See more»

Chicago in 1941 Through John Vachon's Lens

In the depths of the Great Depression, the United States government created the Resettlement Administration to help provide relief for drought-stricken and impoverished farmers. The RA was restructured and renamed the Farm Security Administration in 1937.

One of the FSA’s most notable efforts was its small team of documentary photographers, who traveled the country recording the living conditions of Americans. Directed by Roy Stryker, the photographers included now-legendary documentarians Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Gordon Parks and Russell Lee, among others.

In 1936, 21-year-old Minnesotan John Felix Vachon got a job with the FSA as an assistant messenger while attending the Catholic University of America. He had no previous interest in photography, but his constant immersion in the work of the FSA photographers motivated him to try his own hand at shooting.

He started out by wandering around Washington with a Leica camera, and soon received training, equipment and encouragement from Stryker, Evans and other FSA photographers. By 1938, he was shooting solo assignments.

Here, the still-green photographer explores the streets of Chicago in 1941, capturing images of city life in photos that are sometimes distant and unobtrusive, but often sharply observant and quietly funny.

See more»

Vivid Color Photos Capture the Cityscapes of New York and Chicago in the 1970s and '80s

Chicago-born photographer Wayne Sorce began capturing the people and places of urban landscapes while at the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1960s.

In the late ’70s and early ’80s he took large-scale color photos of his hometown and New York, capturing “a formal exactitude, the light, structures, and palette of these cities within a certain era,” according to a press release from the Joseph Bellows Gallery in L.A. where this “Urban Color” series is currently on view.

Not only do the vivid colors help express the spirit of the city at this time, but the way Sorce incorporates people exposes a unique energy in which they serve as “both inhabitants, as well as sculptural forms relating to a larger composed scene.” From Manhattan barbershops and restaurants to the gritty, industrial streets of Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, the photos transport the viewer to a bygone NYC.

Varick Street, New York, 1984.

Halsted Street, Chicago, 1978.

Dave's Restaurant, New York, 1984.

East Chicago, 1977.

Fort Dearborn Coffee, Chicago, 1977.

See more»

Beach Time: Glass Plate Negatives That Show Chicago Beauties in Swimsuits From the 1920s

Renowned as the greatest visual chronicler of the circus in the American 20th century, American photographer Harry A. Atwell (1879-1957) began his career as a diversified entertainment event photographer using magnesium flash light illumination in Chicago where he headquartered from 1900 to 1952. His fascination with the circus images began early; in later years he claimed to have shot his first image in 1907.

Harry also had a studio in Chicago at 54 W. Randolph. And these glass plate negatives he took at Wilson Beach, Chicago in 1922. Might be the Barnum and Bailey Circus girls, which would explain what is quite daring attire for 1922, when women were expected to wear stockings (rolled) with their swimsuits.

See more»

56 Fascinating Photos That Capture Street Scenes of Chicago in the 1970s

A fascinating photo collection from David Wilson that shows street scenes of Chicago in the 1970s.

See more»

24 Stunning Photographs That Capture Street Scenes of Chicago in the 1980s

Jeff Wassmann is an American artist, writer and theorist, currently living in Melbourne, Australia. His first novel, The Buzzard, was released in October 2012. Wassmann's art work incorporates assemblage, photography, web-based new media and aspects of culture jamming.

Several events in 1980 would influence Wassmann's decision to sideline a long-planned career in the diplomatic corps, embarking instead on photojournalism. The most seminal was a visit to the exhibition Henri Cartier-Bresson: Photographer at the Art Institute of Chicago early in the year, a show that would have a profound impact on his vision as a photographer.

Soon after, while still a student at Northwestern, Wassmann answered the phone at the Daily Northwestern, where he was photo editor, to find Ted Kennedy's campaign manager on the line, asking him to join the Senator's presidential campaign in Illinois as official photographer. Kennedy lost, and in November Ronald Reagan won the general election against incumbent Jimmy Carter, discouraging Wassmann further from his State Department aspirations. As the year closed Wassmann was awarded the Grand Prix in Ilford's inaugural International Cibachrome Awards, finalizing his move into photography.

In the closing years of the decade Wassmann dedicated himself to street photography, shooting over 10,000 unpublished Kodachrome slides in a body of work the artist titles Chicago in the Reagan Era. In March 1989, he emigrated to Australia.

North Dearborn Street, Chicago, March 1988

North Michigan and East Pearson, Chicago, February 1989

North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, April 1988

North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, February 1989

North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, November 1985

See more»

Miss Correct Posture: Pictures From a Chiropractor's Beauty Contest Took Place in Chicago in 1956

Beauty contests were a way for people, places and businesses to celebrate events, highlight pop culture and promote various products or ideas.

In the 1950s and 1960s, chiropractors around the United States found themselves with a PR problem. So they decided to utilize beauty contests as a way to legitimize their profession. Through these pageants they hoped to gain credibility with traditional doctors. Additionally, the contest winners would win money or scholarships thus increasing the profession's popularity with the general public. “Miss Correct Posture” was one of the few titles used in these chiropractic pageants.

When the nation's chiropractors descended on Chicago for a weeklong convention in May 1956, they threw a beauty contest. The judges crowned Lois Conway, 18, Miss Correct Posture. Second place went to Marianne Caba, 16, according to an account in the Chicago Tribune. Ruth Swenson, 26, came in third.

“All three were picked not only by their apparent beauty, and their X-rays, but also by their standing posture,” the Tribune reported. “Each girl stood on a pair of scales — one foot to each — and the winning trio each registered exactly half her weight on each scale, confirming the correct standing posture.”

See more»

Intimate Photographs of Marilyn Monroe in Her Private Moments Taken by Eve Arnold in Chicago, 1955

Eve Arnold photographed everybody from Queen Elizabeth to Malcolm X and published great books on China, Russia and America. But despite her varied, serious, award-winning accomplishments, Eve became best known as one of the most loyal and affectionate chroniclers of Marilyn Monroe. And she was secure enough to embrace that.

Eve met Marilyn in 1955, during the star’s year-long strike against her studio, 20th Century Fox. Marilyn, who preferred to connect to male photographers, unexpectedly clicked with Arnold. Perhaps Eve was one of the many mother substitutes the actress looked for in her few female friends.

Arnold really loved Monroe, and respected her as an unusually gifted camera subject and as a smart, sensitive woman…

When Eve published her book about Marilyn, she said: “I suppose you could say I’m exploiting her, like all the rest. And I suppose that’s true. But I did want people to know something more about her, and realize how much she was loved by those who really knew her.”

Here, below are some of candid photographs of Marilyn Monroe while waiting for a plane to Champaign, Illinois, where she was to attend the centenary celebrations of the town of Bement, 1955.