Unboxing the Statue of Liberty, New York City, 1885

In 1880, the iron framework for the tower was begun in the yard of Gaget, Gauthier et Cie, and over the course of about 3 years the inner structure and outer skin were assembled piece by piece to Liberty's full height of 151 feet.

The statue was completed in Paris in June 1884, presented to America by the people of France on July 4, 1884. The statue was dismantled and shipped to US in early 1885, transported by the French frigate "Isere". The finished statue consisted of 350 individual pieces shipped to the US in 214 crates.

179,200 pounds (81,300 kilograms) of copper was used in Statue. 250,000 pounds (113,400 kilograms) of iron. Total weight of the Statue is 450,000 pounds (225 tons). The thickness of Copper sheeting is 3/32 inch (2.37mm), about the thickness of a penny.

Unpacking of the head of the Statue of Liberty, which was delivered on June 17, 1885.

Even before Lady Liberty became an American symbol of freedom, pieces of the statue were popular tourist attractions in their own right as people flocked to see the work under construction.

Before Lady Liberty was standing tall, she had to be assembled piece by piece.

Tourists take a peek at Lady Liberty’s massive foot as she is built in Paris before embarking on her long journey to the United States.

The Statue of Liberty’s limbs and crown arrived piecemeal before they were constructed together into Lady Liberty. They’re seen being uncrated here on Liberty Island in 1885.

43 Amazing Color Photographs of New York City in the 1970s

From the time he arrived in the United States from Chile as a college student in 1965, the photographer Camilo José Vergara has been haunting, and haunted by, American cities.

Vergara began as a humanistic New York street photographer in the early 1970s, when he moved to the city. This work changed significantly in the middle 1970s, when graduate work in sociology at Columbia University increasingly sensitized him to the complexities of environmental influences on social behavior.

The advent of Kodachrome 64 film in 1974 alerted Vergara to the possibilities of permanent color photographic records of changing urban landscapes and their features. He began at that time to work systematically, using techniques adapted from sociological methodologies; traveling from one subway stop to the next, he would emerge onto the street and then photograph the surrounding blocks, fanning steadily outward.

By 1977, he had come upon a rough approximation of his lifelong working method, returning to the same locales over time to photograph changes in the makeup of the communities in question.

With more than a decade of photographs to document the extraordinary phenomenon of de-urbanization (including the conversion of buildings from one function to a second, then a third, before their abandonment, and the process by which nature recolonized long-urban areas), Vergara published The New American Ghetto with Rutgers University Press, for which he received the Robert E. Park Award of the American Sociological Association in 1997.

An abandoned car on the street. South Bronx.

Scrap metal collectors on the way to Harlem, 1970.

Children in the South Bronx, 1970.

East Harlem, 1970.

Children play in the street of the South Bronx, 1971.

See more»

Wonderful Color Photographs of Piccadilly Circus, London in the 1950s

Piccadilly Circus was built in 1819 with the aim of connecting Regent Street and Piccadilly Street, which was famous for its ample shopping opportunities.

The circus (.circus. meaning .circle.) is an open area situated at the junction of these streets. It is very popular, not only for the shopping, but also for the Shaftesbury Memorial and the impressive display of neon lights and video displays.

These wonderful color photographs captured Piccadilly Circus, London in the 1950s

See more»

Vintage Photos of the Ozark Music Festival in 1974

The Ozark Music Festival was held July 19-21,1974 on the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, Missouri. While the Woodstock Festival from 1969 is the most well-known rock festival, the Ozark Music Festival was one of the largest music festivals ever held, while at the same time, it was also one of the least remembered festivals. “No Hassles Guaranteed” was the motto of the festival.

Some estimates have put the crowd count at 350,000 people which would make this one of the largest music events (rock festivals) in history.

See more»

47 Rare Photographs of Moscow From the Late 19th Century

A collection of old photographs of Moscow from 1883-1884.

See more»

Before It Became a State: 15 Rare and Fascinating Photographs of Hawaii From Between the 1900s and 1930s

Hawaii—a U.S. territory since 1898—became the 50th state in August, 1959, following a referendum in Hawaii in which more than 93% of the voters approved the proposition that the territory should be admitted as a state.

There were many Hawaiian petitions for statehood during the first half of the 20th century.
The voters wished to participate directly in electing their own governor and to have a full voice in national debates and elections that affected their lives. The voters also felt that statehood was warranted because they had demonstrated their loyalty—no matter what their ethnic background—to the U.S. to the fullest extent during World War II.

In retrospect, perhaps, the genuinely interesting question about Hawaii’s becoming a state is why it took so long—60 years from the time that it became a U.S. possession. There were many Hawaiian petitions for statehood during the first half of the 20th century. These were denied or ignored. Some in the U.S. had been convinced, even at the time of Hawaii’s annexation, that Hawaii had no natural connection to the rest of the states. It was not contiguous territory, most obviously, but 2,000 miles from the coast.

Here are some rare and fascinating photographs of Hawaii from before it became a State.

January 1890 - The Royal Palace at Honolulu.

1900 - A group of male Hula dancers.

Circa 1900 - A Hawaiian woman dances on a grass mat while two other women watch.

Circa 1900 - Female hula dancers.

Early 1900s - Two local men in their raft rest by the beach at Waikiki Bay, showing Diamond Head in the background.

See more»

23 Wonderful Color Photos of Italy in 1950

Photos taken in Rome and Venice in 1950.

See more»