Brackenridge Villa

In 1897, a 283-acre estate was purchased by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate World. They immediately began construction of a motherhouse. It was completed in 1900 and is now part of the University of the Incarnate World. The first photo is undated.

San Pedro Springs Bandstand

The bandstand in the oldest park in Texas, San Pedro Springs, was built in 1859 over a pit that once housed bears. The first photo is dated 1903.

San Fernando Cathedral

The San Fernando Cathedral was built in 1738 making it the oldest church in Texas. It has undergone numerous alterations, including a 15-million-dollar renovation in 2003. The first photo is undated.

Pearl Stables

The Pearl Brewery operated in San Antonio for 118 years, closing in 2001. The brew house is now a hotel and the former horse stables is now an entertainment center called Stable Hall. The first photo is undated while the second was taken in 1930.

Majestic Theater

The 2,264-seat Majestic movie theater opened in 1929. It was the second largest in the US for many years, and the first in Texas to be fully air-conditioned. It now hosts Broadway shows and concerts. The first photo was taken on opening day 1929.

The Riverwalk

Finally, the most popular attraction in San Antonio, and in all of Texas, is its Riverwalk. It is 15 miles long, ranges from 2ft to 24ft deep, and is divided into three sections. Along the way, you will find a pedestrian walkway, river cruises, hotels, 40 shops, and entertainment venues.

Originally founded as a Spanish mission in 1718, San Antonio became a city in 1731. Today it is the second largest city in Texas with a population of 1.5 million. Only Houston is larger with 2.3 million. However, San Antonio is the most visited Texas city. Best known for the Alamo, there are still numerous other sites worth visiting.

The Alamo

The Alamo was constructed as a mission in 1758 and is best known for the 13-day siege by the Mexican Army in 1836. Annually, there are about 1.6 million visitors. The first photo is dated 1868. The second shows Teddy Roosevelt in 1905 while in town for a Rough Riders reunion. The third photo is dated 1910.

Menger Hotel

The Menger Hotel was built in 1859 on the site of the Battle of the Alamo. It is the oldest, continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi River. In 1889, the Menger bar was where Teddy Roosevelt recruited men who would later be known as The Rough Riders. The first photo is dated 1865.

City Hall

San Antonio’s city hall opened in 1891 and is one of the country’s oldest public buildings still in use. This ca.1915 photo shows a clock at the top of the building. It needed to be cranked 160 times once a week.

Uptown Theater

The Uptown Theater opened in 1928. It cost one million dollars to build and boasted a lavish indoor garden. Time has not been kind. It was briefly occupied by St Ann’s Parish, and is now awaiting renovation and sale. The first photo is dated 1945.

Kalteyer House

The Kalteyer House was built in 1891. It is 6,500 sq. ft., and has six bedrooms and ten fireplaces, all on a 1/3 acre lot! The sale price has recently been reduced from 2.7 million to 2 million dollars. The first photo is dated ca. 1891.

Mission San Jose

The Mission San Jose was built in 1768 and closed in 1824. Over the years, it declined steadily due to its being occupied by soldiers quartered there. In addition, in 1868 significant storm damage occurred. In the 1930s, the WPA conducted a major restoration. The Mission is now part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park administered by the National Park Service. The first photo is dated ca. 1880 and the third (showing the Rose Window) is dated ca. 1905.

The U.S. Navy will celebrate it’s 250th anniversary on October 13, 2025. The Naval Academy in Annapolis started 105 years after the Navy was founded, opening in Annapolis in 1845. Many of the buildings comprising today’s campus were built in the early 1900s. The main one is Bancroft Hall.

Bancroft Hall

Bancroft Hall was built between 1901-1906 and is, reportedly, the largest series of academic dormitories in the US. It houses 4,000 midshipmen in 1,700 rooms and has nearly five miles of corridors. It is also the site of three daily meals for the midshipmen. The first photo shows guests observing drills in 1913 while the third shows midshipmen in formation in 1922.

Gokoku-ji Bell

The Gokoku-ji Bell was cast in 1456 in Okinawa. It was gifted to Commander Mathew Perry in 1854. After his death, it was presented to the Naval Academy in 1859. In 1987, it was returned to Okinawa, and an exact replica was installed in front of Bancroft Hall. The first photo is dated 1902.

Chapel

The Naval Academy Chapel opened in 1908. It contains the world’s largest drawknob organ and has 15,000 pipes. The first photo shows it under construction in 1905.

Herdon Monument

The Herdon Monument was erected in 1860. In 1940, it became the site of a tradition where freshman, or plebes, working as a team, would climb it at the end of their first year to replace a plebe hat with that of a midshipman. The climb can take 1-2 hours depending on whether 200lbs of vegetable shortening has been applied by upperclassmen ahead of time. The first photo is dated 1923.

Dahlgren Hall

Dahlgren Hall was built in 1903 as an armory, but has had many other uses too numerous to mention. In fact, it has been called “the chameleon of the U.S. Naval Academy”. The first photo is dated 1905, and the third is from 1922.

Here is a marvelous aerial photo of the Academy taken by Lisa Masson. She has numerous, spectacular photos of the USNA starting with jaw dropping pictures of the Blue Angels flying in formation over it.

Founded in 1649, Annapolis is the capitol of Maryland and home to the U.S. Naval Academy. It is also home to the oldest state house in continuous legislative use. There are numerous other historical buildings in town, some of which can be seen in these photos.

The first shows laying brick on Main St. at Green in 1888.

This photo shows Main St. at Francis in 1925. Note the State House at the end of Francis.

Children at play on Francis at the same intersection in 1893.

State House

This is the third state house on the site. Construction began in 1772, but was not completed until 1797 due to the Revolutionary War. It’s dome measures 94 ft. tall and 55 ft. wide. Also, it is the largest 18th Century wooden structure of its kind made without nails. The first photo is dated 1872.

St. Anne’s Church

St. Anne’s Parish was established in 1692. The current church, the third on the site, was built in 1859. The first photo is dated 1910,

Maryland Inn

The Maryland Inn was built in 1776. Throughout its history, it was regarded as the finest hotel around, but nevermore than when dignitaries arrived during the brief period Annapolis was the nation’s capitol. The first photo is dated 1900.

Middleton Tavern

The building that would become the Middleton Tavern was built as a residence in 1740. It was established as an inn in 1750 to serve seafaring men but quickly became frequented by Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and other members of the Continental Congress. It is the oldest hotel in Maryland and one of the oldest, continuously operating in the U.S. The first photo is undated.

Ice Wagon on Pinckney St. ca.1935

110 Conduit St. Easter Sunday 1925. Note how the stairs are identical in each photo.

Bathhouse Row consists of eight bathhouses constructed between 1892 and 1923. The first photo is undated.

Here are the two bathhouses that are still operating and two that have been re-purposed.

Buckstaff

This is the only bathhouse that has operated continuously since it was built in 1912. It has 27,000 sq.ft. of space and can handle 1,000 customers per day. The first photo is dated 1912.

Quapaw

Quapaw was built in 1922 and is the only other bathhouse still operating. Although closed in 1984, it reopened in 2008. The first photo shows the dome being constructed in 1922.

Lamar

The Lamar Bathhouse opened in 1923 and closed in 1985. It now houses the National Park Service offices, a museum, and store. The first photo is undated.

Fordyce

Fordyce Bathhouse opened in 1915. At 28,000 sq.ft., it was the largest bathhouse, yet the first to go out of business. It now houses the National Park Visitor Center and a museum. The first photo is dated 1915.

Hale

The Hale Bathhouse opened in 1892 and had numerous modifications thereafter. It closed in 1978 and is now a luxury hotel–the only hotel in Hot Springs NP. The first photo is dated 1892.

Hot Springs grew out of the Dunbar-Hunter Exploration that was sent by Thomas Jefferson in 1804 to explore the southern portion of the new Louisiana Purchase. Settlers first came in 1807, and, by the 1830s, cabins and stores had been built. In 1832 the thermal springs and surrounding area were designated a reservation to protect them from further development. In spite of these protections, the first bathhouses were built in 1880-88 eventually replaced in the 1920s by more luxurious structures. National Park status was achieved in 1921.

Three very early visitors are seen here in an 1871 photo.

Fifty plus years later, these three other visitors appeared, but this time on mule back and, what do you know, that’s Al Capone on the right.

Entrance to the Government Reservation (as it was known) is seen here in a photo dated ca.1900.

The town of Hot Springs is seen here in an early, undated photo.

The Fountain Court Hotel was built in the 1930s and is still in business.

Clubs became popular, beginning with the Southern Club, which was established in 1893 and is seen here in a 1900 photo.

It now houses the Gangster Museum of America.

The Ohio Club opened in 1905 making it Arkansas’ oldest, continuously operated bar. In 1919, liquor was outlawed so the name was changed to the Ohio Cigar Store. It had a fake wall behind which was the bar on the first floor and gambling on the second. The first photo is dated 1926.

The Plaza re-opened in 2008 following a three-year, 450-million-dollar renovation that split the building into 282 guest rooms and 152 condominiums. It also involved extensive renovation in several other areas, i.e.:

Grand Ballroom 1907

Lobby 1907

Now the Residents Lobby

New Hotel Lobby

Palm Court Ca.1907

If you are thinking of staying at the Plaza, consider the 4,500-square-foot Royal Suite that was renovated in 2014 and can be yours for a mere $40,000 per night!

The Plaza Hotel is located in New York City on 5th Ave. and 59th at the west entrance to Central Park. It opened in 1907 and was named for the nearby Grand Army Plaza. The location is particularly prestigious. Note Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s mansion with the Plaza behind in the 1908 photo.

AI Colorized Version

The Plaza was the first hotel to host motorized taxis. In addition, over fifty films have included the Plaza. Most notably, North By Northwest starring Cary Grant. which, in 1959, was the first on-location set for Hollywood. Both book and film versions of The Great Gatsby use the Plaza. For more of the Plaza’s history, see Julie Satow’s thoroughly researched and superbly written book The Plaza.

Here it is ca. 1910.

This 1916 photo includes the Grand Army of the Plaza with its William T. Sherman statue.

Here is a photo of the taxi lineup on opening day October 11, 1907.

Grant Park

The 3.5-acre Grant Park was founded in 1890. To form the scenic, gradual slopes, 19,000 cubic feet of dirt were hauled in. The first two photos are undated.

Library

The Galena Library was built at a cost of $60,000, 25% of which came from Andrew Carnegie. It was dedicated on July 4,1908, as seen in the first photo.

Marine Hospital

The Marine Hospital opened in 1850 to serve “ailing men of seafaring business.” It closed in 1866 and then became a school, a sanitorium, and the residence of numerous owners. In 2022, an 80-acre, 100-cottage development, along with a 12-million dollar restoration of the former hospital, was approved. The first photo shows the building when it was occupied as a school. The second photo shows it post-renovation, or so I thought. A local historian pointed out that approval of the whole project had been overturned in 2024.

As seen today.

Galena is located in the northwest corner of Illinois. It was named for the mineral galena which was the basis for the lead mining economy of the region. In its peak year, local mines produced 85% of the nation’s lead. It became the largest steamboat hub on the Mississippi River north of St. Louis. Galena is now a thriving tourist town with over one million visitors annually. They come for the food, scenic views, and historic sites. A full 85% of the buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1860, Ulysses Grant moved to Galena to work in his father’s leather goods store, seen here in an 1862 photo.

It wasn’t long before Grant went east to fight in the Civil War. He returned in 1865 and was given a furnished house by the grateful citizens of Galena. The first photo shows his home in 1865 and, in the third photo, Grant with his son on the front porch, also in 1865.

Here is an 1850 photo of the scenic waterfront. Note, in each photo, the church spire on the right and, to its left, the brick building with five windows per floor.

Here is a ca. 1900 photo of Main St.

DeSoto Hotel

The five story DeSoto Hotel opened in 1855 and is seen here in an undated photo. It boasted 225 guest rooms, a 300-seat dining room, plus stores, offices, a saloon, and bowling alley. Today it has three stories and and 55 guest rooms.