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Caption: "Sky Ride Across Lagoon. View from Swifts Music Stand. Chicago Fair, Sept. 18, 1934." One of the 628-foot towers making up the Sky Ride, an aerial tramway which carried fair goers in small gondolas or trams (visible in the center of the photograph) over the harbor around which the Century of Progress Exposition was held. Over 4.5 million passengers enjoyed the views from the Sky Ride before it was demolished after the conclusion of the exposition in 1934. The Exposition, a world fair attended by thirty-nine million people, celebrated Chicago's one-hundred year anniversary of incorporation. Originally planned to only run from May to November in 1933, it was such a success that its organizers decided to keep it running for a second season from May through October the following year. The central theme of the Exposition was technological innovation, with a motto of "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms."

Date: 9/18/1934

Caption: "Hotshkiss [sic], 1 pounder." The United States purchased artillery from the French arms firm, Hotchkiss, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The arms firm was created by American gunsmith, Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, who moved to France in 1867 to set up the factory. The heavy artillery was first used by the United States against the Nez Perce in 1877. In 1890, they were used at the Wounded Knee Massacre, and also for the attack on San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.

Date: Undated

Caption: "Main [sic] Memorial, ial [sic -- cut off in original photograph] Monument and National Hotel. Havana. July 4, 34." Designed by McKim, Mead and White, the Hotel Nacional in Havana opened in 1930. In the foreground is the Monument to the Victims of the USS Maine, two columns topped by an eagle with outstretched wings, built in 1925 to memorialize the American sailors who died in an explosion on the USS Maine in 1898. The eagle and other features of the monument were removed in 1961 as symbols of imperialism.

Date: 7/4/1934

Caption: "Fort Worden, Wash." Washington, c. 1908.Construction of Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington, on Admiralty Inlet of Puget Sound began 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: 1908

No Caption: c. 1898. View of Tillamook Rock Lighthouse and the small basalt rock upon which it sits, over one mile into the ocean from Tillamook Head. Built between 1880-1881, the treacherous ocean currents and often inclement weather associated with the area earned the lighthouse its nickname "Terrible Tillie" or "Tillie." This photograph was taken before the roof of the lighthouse was raised by five feet in 1898, to help prevent damage to the roof and the interior by crashing waves. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1957.

Date: 1898

Caption: "Fort Worden, Wash.," c. 1909. Panoramic view of Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington, on Admiralty Inlet of Puget Sound. Construction began on the fort in 1898. 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: 1909

Caption: "CHICAGO BOYS LANDING AT FORT ROSECRANS." View of US Navy sailors coming ashore at Fort Rosecrans. The flagship of the US fleet in the Pacific at the time, the USS Chicago was called to the fort after a boiler explosion on the USS Bennington killed sixty-six and wounded dozens more. A board of inquiry into the cause of the explosion was convened on board the Chicago. The board found that no error on the part of the Bennington's crew contributed to the explosion.

Date: 1905

No Caption: View of the Forestry Building at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Grace McCarthy is seated on a bench in front of the building, in a light-colored dress and hat. Made out of unpeeled logs, the Forestry Building was demolished in the 1930s. 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

Caption: "Ocean Beach, San Francisco," c. 1925. Panorama of Ocean Beach, showing crowds not only at the beach but also at San Francisco's Playland, a series of seaside attractions and rides including a carousel, Fun House, and the Big Dipper rollercoaster. Entrepreneurs began erecting concessions and "thrill" rides at the location in the late nineteenth century. By 1913 the area was known as Chutes at the Beach. In 1923, brothers George and Leo Whitney began to purchase the attractions, eventually coming to own the entirety of what became known as Playland. The amusement park was torn down in 1972.

Date: 1925

Caption: "Grants Tomb. N.Y." The remains of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the U.S. and Commanding General of the Union Army during the last year of the Civil War, were laid to rest in this elaborate tomb, designed by architect John Duncan. Grant died in 1885, but construction on the granite and marble structure did not begin until 1891. Grant's remains were transferred to the tomb on April 27, 1897. The tomb is the largest mausoleum in North America. See also 96-07-08-alb11-209.

Date: 8/10/1934