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The Pacific Coast

Date: 1883

Boss of the Road

Date: 1881

The Red Front

Date: 1895

Caption: "Steamer Minnesota, Seattle.," c. 1909. View of the steamship Minnesota II, built in 1903. She was said to be the largest U.S. merchant ship afloat at the time. Operated by the Great Northern Steamship Company, she sailed between the U.S. and markets in Asia until 1915. She was sold at that time, and in 1917 began operating in the Atlantic between the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Navy commissioned her as a troop ship in 1919, changing her name to Troy. She brought over 14,000 U.S. troops home from war-torn Europe. She never resumed active service after this, being scrapped in 1923. See also 96-07-08-alb08-166.

Date: 1909

Caption: "City Hall, Broad St. Philadelphia, PA. July 31, 1934." Street scene along Broad Street in Philadelphia, with the City Hall building visible in the middle of the photograph. Philadelphia's City Hall was built in 1901, designed by architect John McArthur, Jr. At completion, the building was the world's tallest inhabitable structure. It is the largest municipal building in the world, with almost 700 rooms. A 37-foot-tall statute of William Penn (founder of Philadelphia) adorns the peak of the structure, created by Alexander Milne Calder.

Date: 7/31/1934

Caption: "Grand Canyon -- Yellowstone," c. 1920. Rock formations in the first large canyon along Yellowstone River below Yellowstone Falls, in Yellowstone National Park.

Date: 1920

Caption: "Ancient Mission Bells, San Diego.," c. 1905. In this photograph, William McCarthy stands before “Ancient Mission Bells” at Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (Mission San Diego). Dated 1802, the bells were forged by order of the Spanish King. During the heyday of the missions, the bells were extremely important for signifying when it was time to eat, pray, work, or rest.

Date: 1905

Caption: "Presidio and Golden Gate," c. 1906. A high vantage point view of the Presidio and Golden Gate. Established in 1776 by Spanish explorers, the Presidio is a fortified location overlooking the Golden Gate, the entrance into San Francisco Bay. It was closed as a military structure in 1995, and is now a park within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Date: 1906

Caption: "Fort Baker, California," c. 1910. Fort Baker was constructed between 1901 and 1910 to provide permanent housing for the new seacoast fortifications that were built between 1897 and 1905. The men stationed at Fort Baker were members of the Coast Artillery Corps, officially created in 1907 by the U.S. Army to protect and defend the nation's harbors.

Date: 1910

Caption: "Point Benito [sic]. Fort Barry." c. 1910. A view of the Point Bonita Lighthouse near Fort Barry and the Marin Headlands. The lighthouse, built in 1855, was the third lighthouse built on the West Coast to shepherd ships through the narrow straights of the Golden Gate. The lighthouse, still active today, is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Date: 1910