Unlocking America’s Visual Time Machine

As well as having an insatiable passion for maps I also really enjoy browsing old photographic collections. Like maps vintage photographs have the power to transport our imaginations to completely different times and places. For example Yale University's Photogrammar collection can instantly take you back to the bygone era of mid-20th Century America. 

Photogrammar provides access to a huge collection of photographs taken during the Great Depression and World War II in the United States. The photographs were taken across the whole country between 1935 and 1944 by the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. The collection is an amazing resource for anyone interested in exploring and studying American history and photography from the Great Depression and World War II eras. 

The maps in Photogrammar provide a visual guide as to where the original photographs were taken and also allow you to navigate the collection by location. Click on either the Counties or the Cities and Towns maps and you can filter the photographs in the Photogrammar archive by either a specific state or an individual county, city or town.

Also See

Street View of 1940's New York - 1940s photos from the New York Works Progress Administration

Street View of 1980's New York - 1980s photos from the New York Works Progress Administration

Wymer's DC - 4,000 images from the John P. Wymer Photograph Collection shown on Street View

Roadside America - vintage pictures from the John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive

12 Sunsets - Ed Ruscha's 1960's photos of LA's Sunset Strip