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Caption: "Venice, Calif," c. 1911. Unidentified woman standing on a bridge over Lion Canal in Venice, California. In 1905, Abbot Kinney built a series of canals as part of a development project along Santa Monica Beach, hoping to recreate the look and feel of Italy's iconic "Floating City" in southern California. Called Ocean Park at first, gondoliers sailed boats under elegant bridges such as the one shown in this photograph, in an effort to attract businesses, residents, and investors. In 1911, the name officially changed to Venice. By 1929, however, many of the canals had been filled in to create roadways, and those canals that remained fell into disrepair. A revitalization movement in the early 1990s has restored some of the canals, and made the area a desirable residential neighborhood.

Date: 1911

No Caption: c. 1910. View of the Point Adams Lifesaving Station near Hammond, Oregon, including a rowboat ("Point Adams") manned by eight rowers, with one man at the rudder. The Point Adams Lifesaving Station was established in 1889 by the federal government, in response to growing numbers of merchant, fishing, and other sailing vessels along the Columbia River. The stationhouse, visible in the center of the photograph, was demolished in 1939 to make way for a new building. The two-bay boathouse visible at the right had to be moved in 1913-1915 due to erosion of the bank upon which it stood. The U.S. Coastguard took over operation of the station in 1915. The station remained operational until 1967. The remaining buildings now house the Point Adams Research Facility of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

Date: 1910

One side of a flier handed out by the San Antonio Reptile Garden in the mid-1930s entitled "Reptile Facts." The Reptile Garden opened in the 1930s as a fundraising facility for the Witte Museum. The Garden featured turtle races, snake handling demonstrations, fried rattlesnake meat, and rattlesnake dinner fund raisers. It also became a research center for the use of antivenom. The Garden closed in the early 1940s, its live snakes donated to the San Antonio Zoo.

Date: 1934

Caption: "A.Y.P.E. Seattle Oregon Bldg." View of Oregon Building and bandstand, part of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Held in Seattle to celebrate the development of the Pacific Northwest, the fair attracted 3.7 million visitors over the course of its run from June to October 1909. Although most of the fair's buildings have since been destroyed, several of them now serve as part of the University of Washington campus.

Date: 1909

No caption, c. 1909-1915. Group of unidentified men gathered around a part of what appears to be a 12-inch mortar at Fort Ruger, Hawaii. Farm buildings and rolling hills appear in the distance. Fort Ruger was established on the Island of O'ahu by the U.S. in 1906 as the Diamond Head Reservation. Its name was changed to Fort Ruger in 1909. See also 96-07-08-alb05-098 and 099.

Date: 1915

Caption: "Theosophists' Headquarters, San Diego.," c. 1905. Palm-lined driveway leading to two large buildings. The Raja Yoga Academy is visible in the center of the photograph, featuring a domed roof and domed turrets at each of the building's corners. At the right stands the Temple of Peace. Both are buildings within the Theosophist complex called Lomaland. The complex housed Theosophists from 1900 to 1942. The area is now part of Point Loma Nazarene University.

Date: 1905

Caption: "Mortar Gun Practice -- Full Service, Fort Worden, Pt Townsend, Wash," c. 1910. The postcard shows several Howitzers, one of which is firing, as well as a group of men standing to the side with their hands over their ears. Construction began on Fort Worden in 1898, and by 1902 it was serving as an active U.S. Army base. Fort Worden was part of the "triangle of fire," three coastal defense fortifications (Fort Casey, Fort Worden, and Fort Flagler) guarding the entrance to Puget Sound. The U.S. sold the property to the state of Washington in 1957. In 1973, the fort and surrounding area opened as Fort Worden State Park.

Date: 1910

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Date: 1965

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Date: 1957

Caption: "Sutter [sic] Fort. Sacramento.," c. 1920. A gun tower at Sutter's Fort, and a gate bracketed by two cannons. John Sutter established the fort in 1839, calling it New Helvetia. After the discovery of gold at one of Sutter's mills (at Coloma, on the American River), almost all of the fort's inhabitants left for the gold fields in the foothills. The fort deteriorated until being restored from 1891-1893. The fort is now the site of a State Historic Park. See also 96-07-08-alb05-118.

Date: 1920