San Diego is the eighth most populous city in California. In it’s long history, many events stand out. One in particular is it’s hosting of the 1915 Pan-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The extremely popular event was put on to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. One of the surviving buildings is the Botanic Building, seen here in a 1915 photo.

Facing the opposite direction is Lily Pond, with the Fine Arts and Commerce and Industry buildings in the background of this 1915 photo.

Also still there is the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, home to the world’s largest outdoor pipe organ. It has 5,000+ pipes ranging from 1 foot to 32 feet. The first photo is dated 1915.

The Cabrillo Bridge was and still is a favored access to Balboa Park. It was built in 1915 specifically for the Pan-Califonia Exposition. At 1,500 feet long and 125 feet high, it was a marvelous way to enter Balboa Park, as many certainly did in this 1915 photo. As a point of reference, note the white building on the right in each photo.

Street Cars

A popular method for getting around the City of San Diego was by double-decker electric street car, the first ever on the West Coast. Today, double-decker buses are used, primarily for sight-seeing tours. The first photo is dated 1892 at 5th and Market Street.

La Jolla

La Jolla is a seaside neighborhood in San Diego with seven miles of coastline and stunning views. The first photo is dated 1894.

Point Loma

West of downtown San Diego is Point Loma with its iconic Old Point Loma Lighthouse which opened in 1855. The first photo is dated 1911.

Most visitors arrive at Mount Desert Island by boat. Once there, several travel options are available. One of the most popular is the free Island Express bus. However, before there were paved roads, there were buckboard roads built by the Brewer family, who owned most of Cadillac Mtn. The roads were popular with pedestrians and those with sled-like wagons, as seen in this 1888 photo.

Also popular was the Green Mountain Cog Railway, which took visitors to the top of Green Mountain, as Cadillac Mountain was known then. It operated from 1883-93. The first photo is undated.

The last rail.

Here is a 1939 photo showing the Eagle Lake carriage road.

It is now paved, as are the other 45 miles of former carriage roads, but parking can be a problem so many use bikes instead.

One very out-of-the-way place is Pulpit Rock, best accessed by boat. Here are some visitors in 1875.

If you want to get really away, the very lonely Mt. Desert Lighthouse fits the bill. It is located 18 miles south of Mt. Desert Island. The lighthouse was built in 1847 and the keeper’s house in 1892. The site is now a research station. The first photo is dated 1875.

Acadia National Park is located southwest of Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. It makes up one half of Maine’s coastline. In spite of its location, it is one of the top 10 most visited National Parks. Acadia comprises 49,000 acres and was originally established as Lafayette National Park in 1919 as the first National Park east of the Mississippi River. The name was changed 10 years later. Eleven thousand of the original acres were donated by John D. Rockefeller, who also built 16 bridges and 57 miles of carriage roads, 45 of which are maintained in the Park. Numerous natural sites attract four million visitors per year. Some of the most popular sites are:

Cadillac Mountain

Surprisingly, at 1,530 ft. Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain along the entire eastern seaboard. From early October to early March, it is where the first sunlight hits the U.S. The first photo is dated 1930s.

Sand Beach

One of the most popular spots on the Park’s Loop Road is the 290-yard-long Sand Beach. It is the only beach open to swimming, but, with an average temperature of 55 degrees, not much swimming goes on, as illustrated in the third photo. The first is dated 1888.

Sieur de Monts Spring

George Dorr’s 1909 acquisition of 5,000 acres of what would become Acadia NP saved Sieur de Mont Spring from becoming a water source for a local bottling company. The first photo is undated and credit for the third showing then and now could not be found.

Thunder Rock

The defining sound of air escaping when tides force waves into a small opening gives Thunder Rock its name. The first photo is dated ca1920.

View from the sea.

Bubble Rock

Bubble Rock is a glacial erratic deposited 10,000 years ago. Strangely, estimates of its weight vary from 40 tons to 100 tons. However, we can, at least, be sure it is heavy enough to preclude being pushed downhill.

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!