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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

No Caption: See also 96-07-08-alb08-139 with caption: "Fort Stevens, Or," c. 1910. A view of buildings at Fort Stevens, part of the Three Fort Harbor Defense System protecting the mouth of the Columbia River from enemy incursion or attack (the other forts being Fort Columbia and Fort Canby, both in Washington). Built during the Civil War, the fort remained active until after World War II. In June 1942, Fort Stevens gained the dubious distinction of being the only military installation in the continental United States to come under enemy fire when a Japanese submarine surfaced off the coast and fired seventeen missiles at the fort. The missiles destroyed the backstop to the fort's baseball field, but otherwise did little harm. Fort Stevens was decommissioned in 1947. It was later turned over to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and currently is the site of an Oregon State Park.

Date: 1910

Caption: "Glacier Point - Over Hanging Rock - Yosemite Falls In The Distance," c. 1935. A group of unidentified people looking out from Glacier Point. Both Upper and Lower Yosemite Fall are visible across the valley at the right side of the photograph. Glacier Point, on the south wall of the valley 3,200 feet above what is now known as Half Dome Village, provides panoramic views of the valley and many of its features. By the time this photograph was taken, safety railings had been installed at the Point to prevent visitors from tumbling over the cliff while trying to get the best views.

Date: 1935

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