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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

Caption: "Studebaker Factory. South Bend, Indiana. Sept. 13, 1934." Two buildings of the Studebaker Factory in South Bend are visible in this photograph. The Studebaker brothers started operations in South Bend in 1852, when they established a blacksmith shop and foundry. They soon began building wagons and carriages, demand for which soared with the advent of the Civil War and an increase in migration toward and into the American West. The company gradually phased out wagon production in favor of automobile manufacture in the early twentieth century. Sales declined after World War II, leading to the eventual closure of the factory in 1963.

Date: 9/13/1934

Caption: "Empire State Bldg. 1250 Ft. High, 102 Stories. 34th St. New York. Aug. 13, 1934." View from the sidewalk, looking up at the Empire State Building. Construction began on this iconic 102-story building, designed by William F. Lamb, in 1930. Completed by early 1931, it held the title of world's tallest building for almost 40 years, until being surpassed in 1970 by the construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower. It is now the fifth-tallest building in the U.S., and the 28th-tallest in the world.

Date: 8/13/1934

Caption: "Broadway, Los Angeles." Broadway is a major thoroughfare of Los Angeles and one of the oldest in the city, laid out in 1849 as Fort Street, and renamed Broadway in 1890. In this image, construction can be seen at the top of the street between the two buildings of the Alhambra Hotel and Apartments. May 18, 1934. See also 96-07-08.alb11.006.

Date: 1934

Caption: "Market Street Burning." A view of the Call Building on Market and 3rd Streets on fire after the 1906 earthquake, with people and horses in the foreground. Considered one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and resulting fires killed an estimated 3,000 people and destroyed over 500 city blocks, leaving approximately 200,000 residents homeless.

Date: 1906

Caption: "City Hall Ruins." An expanded view of the destroyed City Hall after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Stacks and piles of bricks are lined up at the curb of the street, likely to be used for reconstruction.

Date: 1906

No caption, c. 1915-1916. The Bernheimer Brothers' mansion, built in 1914, can be seen on a hill in the center of the photograph, while another residence appears in the foreground.

Date: 1915

Caption: "Yosemite," c. 1917. View of Yosemite Valley, taken from the valley floor, with Half Dome rising at the right. .

Date: 1917

Caption: "Havana Water Front -- Havana, Cuba. July 4, 1934." View of the waterfront at Havana from across the harbor.

Date: 7/4/1934

No Caption: A view of San Francisco in ruins after the 1906 earthquake and fires devastated the city.

Date: 1906