These rare old photos from the USA can reveal fascinating aspects of the country’s past, capturing moments of triumph, tragedy, and everyday life that shaped American history. Some of them are well-known, while others are hidden gems that deserve more attention.
Mark Twain in Tesla’s lab, 1894
A 10 x 15-foot wooden shed where the “Harley-Davidson Motor Company” started out in 1903
Testing football helmets in 1912
Helmets again: A Pyramid of captured German ones in front of the NYC Grand Central Terminal, 1918
A bar in New York City, the night before prohibition began,1920
Mount Rushmore before carving, 1920s
Traffic jam in New York, 1923
A quiet little job at an alligator farm in St. Augustine, Florida, 1926
World economic crisis, 1929
Central Park in 1930
Last four couples standing at a Chicago dance marathon, ca. 1930
Meeting of the Mickey Mouse Club, early 1930s
Confederate and Union soldiers shake hands across the wall at the 1938 reunion for the Veterans of the Battle of Gettysburg
When they realized women were using their sacks to make clothes for their children, flour mills of the 30s started using flowered fabric for their sacks, 1939
Coney Island, New York, 1940
A man begging for his wife’s forgiveness inside Divorce Court, Chicago, 1948
Three young women wash their clothes in Central Park during a water shortage. New York, 1949
19 year-old Shigeki Tanaka was a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima and went on to win the 1951 Boston Marathon. The crowd was silent as he crossed the finish line.
Florida’s last Civil War veteran, Bill Lundy, poses with a jet fighter, 1955
NASA scientists with their board of calculations, 1960’s
Muhammad Ali’s fists after the fight with Cooper, 1963
New York firemen play a game after a fire in a billiard parlor, 1969
An abandoned baby sleeps peacefully in a drawer at the Los Angeles Police Station, 1971
Boy hiding in a TV set. Boston, 1972 by Arthur Tress
A spectator holds up a sign at the Academy Awards, April 1974
Robert De Niro’s cab driver license. In order to get into character for the film Taxi Driver, he obtained his own hack license and would pick-up/drive customers around in New York City.
Nancy Reagan sits on the lap of Mr. T, dressed as Santa, 1983
Ronald Reagan wearing sweatpants on Air Force One, 1985
Rarely Seen “Enchanted” Moments of US History Part 2
Rarely Seen “Enchanted” Moments of World History Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
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Muhammad Ali a great American, who went to prison for what his religion would not accept, the Vietnam war. Sometimes you have to stand for what you believe regardless of the persecution and the injustice you may suffer.
Ronald Reagan has his pants on backward. Must have peed his panties.
Not at all funny. Your parents failed.
Love the pictures, more need to see these wonderful times of past. Very important to the history of the world and what went on to make it wonderful and enjoyable to live in.
Love the photographs how can I get copies. Thanks
Outstanding!
I was born in 1942…my father was born in 1899 (no indoor plumbing, horse & carriages in N.Y.C., he had no electricity he had gas lamps, etc.), his father was born in 1865…WOW…….what happened in those three Lifetimes????
I was born in Oklahoma in 1940 and we never had indoor plumbing until I was 14. We never had much but we were always happy. We did have electricity. However, we spent a lot of nights in the cellar during storms using kerosene lamps to see by. We have seen a lot of changes, haven’t we. Wonderful pictures.
Small point for historical accuracy in re: “Muhammad Ali’s fists after the fight with Cooper, 1963”, Muhammad Ali was still Cassius Clay in 1963. It was after his ’64 bout with Liston that he was accepted into the Nation of Islam and he changed his name.
Great pics and thank you for digging them up!
Thanks for noting Prof Moriarty:)
when i looked at that picture of the little kid in 1972 Boston playing in a hollowed out tv with that “tommy gun”, it occurred to me that if that was seen by his school, he would be suspended……..we have progressed so much technologically and medically this last 42 years but we’ve paid a heavy price socially for that progress………….
Re: Photo of shacks in Central Park – perhaps this it *1830*, not 1930 as caption says? Central Park was opened in the 1850s.
No, it is the 1930’s. Check out the buildings plus they were called Hoovervilles.
Ask your parents or grandparents or perhaps your great-grandparents how devastating the Great Depression was. But somehow most survived.
thank you, this was really good =)
Thank you:) We are planning more of these…
What you’ve labeled a B-17 is in fact a B-24. The B-17 had two engines; the B-24 had four.
Also, the B-17 was known as the “Liberator.” The B-24 was known at the “Flying Fortress.”
Both the B-17 and B-24 were 4-engined bombers. The photo is indeed a B-17, the B-24 had twin tail-fins, and tricycle undercarriage.
The B-17 was the Flying Fortress, the B-24 was the Liberator.
i was hoping someone would point that out………..
Yes thanks… My grandfather flew B17 in WWII… read that comment and about lost my shit…
You, my friend, are a retard.
B17 had 4 engines. The photo is from this LIFE Magazine article, “Task Force” and was taken at MacDill field in Tampa. https://books.google.com/books?id=AlEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64&dq=macdill&hl=en&sa=X&ei=keAEVbXMGIHasATRq4AQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
Anyone else creeped out by the Mickey Mouse club photo?
Wonderful pics though. Reagan in sweats made me laugh. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Ryan. In case you are interested, we have just published a similar collection on world history. Pls see link above.
ohhh! i thought it was just me! love the pictures though
Yes. Very disturbing. Like something out of a nightmare.