Search William M. McCarthy Photograph Collection

Caption: "Empire State Bldg. in the Distance. Height 1250 Feet, 102 Stories. 34th St. New York. Aug. 16, 1934." Street scene dominated by the Empire State Building rising a few blocks away. 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: 8/16/1934

Caption: "Court of the Universe," with William and Grace McCarthy standing before a fountain at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Date: 1915

Caption: "Palace of Fine Arts," at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Date: 1915

Caption: "St. Louis Cathedral Built in 1794 by Don Andreas Almonastry Roxas - Jacksen[sic] Park - New Orleans." St. Louis Cathedral anchors one end of Jackson Square in New Orleans' French Quarter. The structure of the cathedral largely dates to the 1850 restoration and expansion of an older cathedral built on the site in 1793. Very little of the older church survived, although the central bell tower (added on to the older church in 1819) was reused in the new structure and is still extant today. A statue of Andrew Jackson mounted on a rearing horse (Clark Mills, sculptor) stands in the square in front of the cathedral. The sculpture was erected in 1856. See also 96-07-08-alb11-052.

Date: 6/15/1934

Caption: "Profile Rock Mt Tamalpais," c. 1907, shows a rock formation that resembles a human profile at Mount Tamalpais in Marin County.

Date: 1907

Caption: "Seventh St. at Broadway, Los Angeles," c. 1935.

Date: 1935

Caption: "Russian River - Guerneville," c. 1915, shows a bird's eye view of the Russian River at Guerneville in Sonoma County, California.

Date: 1915

Caption: "Main Engine, Crockett Sugar Refinery," c. 1906. William McCarthy (left) and unidentified man pose next to the main engine at the sugar refinery.

Date: 1906

Caption: "Bakersfield-Los Angeles Ridge Route. Note the winding road. (X) marks the road in the distance." c. 1920. Mountain scene showing road winding around hills and ridges, with a few scattered automobiles also present. First opened in 1915, the Ridge Route was the first paved highway connecting Los Angeles with the San Joaquin Valley.

Date: 1920

Caption: "St. Francis Hotel - S.F. Cal," c. 1913. St. Francis Hotel at Union Square with partial north wing extension and the Dewey Monument in the foreground (Robert I. Aitken, sculptor), which commemorated U.S. Admiral George Dewey's naval victory at the battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish American War of 1898. The luxury hotel opened in 1904 and, fortunately, suffered little damage from the 1906 earthquake. It was expanded in 1913, and 1972, making it one of the largest hotels in the city. See also 96-07-08-alb01-002.

Date: 1913