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

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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.

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Vintage Photos From a Family Album Show How People Having Fun in Freeport, Illinois in the Early 1900s

How did Americans have fun a century ago? These interesting vintage snapshots from a family album in Freeport, Illinois give us a glimpse of how people had fun in the early 1900s. These photos were shared on Reddit by a user named Darkwater64.

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Photos From an Old Booklet Give a Rare Glimpse Into the Lives of the Amish in Rockome Gardens in the 1950s

These interesting photos are excerpted from an old booklet for Rockome Gardens, entitled “Your Visit With the Amish in the Arthur and Arcola Area”. The pages cover the history and culture of the Amish, along with a number of fascinating black-and-white photos of the Arthur community.

Rockome is an attraction in and of itself, but no doubt benefits from its close proximity to the large Arthur Amish community, which the creator of this booklet certainly recognized. This publication gives us an interesting look at how the Amish were presented to a tourist audience decades ago.

“Amish me wear their hair long in the familiar “Dutch Bob” being received here at the hands of his wife.”

“Two Amish men enjoy a visit on the streets in Arthur.”

“An Amish family strolls along the business section of Arthur on a shopping trip into town.”

“A scene along State Route 133 where the state maintains a road for “Old Dobbin” as well as for the modern automobile.”

“A view of the Amish hitch racks in Arthur.”

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29 Color Found Snaps of Chicago in the 1960s

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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With Wielding Cardboard Boxes and Knives, See How 1960s Kids Made Box Pinhole Projectors to Safely Watch a Solar Eclipse

During the solar eclipse of 1960, hundreds of people had suffered permanent eye damage from looking directly at the sun. With help from the Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness, Emerson students avoided the same fate by building Sunscopes, pinhole camera-like contraptions that indirectly project an image of the sun. LIFE magazine offered instructions for those desiring to replicate the project at home:

To build your own, get a carton and cut a hole in one side, big enough to poke your head through. Paste white paper on the inside surface that you will be facing. Then punch a pinhole into the opposite side, high enough so that the little shaft of light will miss your head. For a sharper image you can make a better pinhole by cutting a one inch square hole in the carton, taping a piece of aluminum foil over this hole and then making the pinhole in the foil. Finally, tape the box shut and cover all light leaks with black tape.

Here, these photographs below were taken by LIFE photographer Francis Miller from 1963’s fifth grade class of the Emerson School in Maywood, Illinois. The photos show how kids made their own Sunscopes at school to safely look at an eclipse.

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34 Amazing Color Photos That Capture Chicago at Night in the 1960s

These amazing color photos that shows street scenes of Chicago at night in the 1960s.

Rush Street, Chicago, circa 1960

The Chicago Merchandise Mart, Christmas 1960

State Street, Chicago, 1962

Chicago downtown, 1964

Chicago downtown, 1964

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