The Industrial Revolution was at its height in the mid-19th century , but it was still in full swing in the early 20th century , when these photos were taken . They extend a portrait of the U.S. looking profoundly different . But it was also when we built many of our neat bridges and public works , so some things have remained the same .

Mott Street, Chinatown, New York, c. 1900

( viaShorpy )

The Flatiron Building under construction, New York City, c. 1902

( viaLibrary of Congress )

Times Square, New York City, c. 1904

Broadway and Times Building (1 Times Square), New York City, c. 1905

The Main Tower in Luna Park, Coney Island, New York City, c. 1905

Manhattan entrance to Brooklyn Bridge, New York, c. 1905

Night in Luna Park, Coney Island, New York City, c. 1905

Atlantic City bathers in front of the Marlborugh-Blenheim Hotel, the Hotel Traymore and Brady’s Baths, 1906

Williamsburg Bridge Plaza, New York City, c. 1906

Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 1907

( viaBarthworks )

Workers dig the street along the sidewalk on the north side of Delancey Street, New York, July 1908

( via AP Photo / New York City Municipal Archives , Department of Bridges/ Plant & Structures , Eugene de Salignac )

The Shelton Square with the St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral, the Prudential Building and the Erie County Savings Bank in Buffalo, New York, c. 1908

The superstructure from the Manhattan Bridge rises above Washington Street, New York, June 1908

( via AP Photo / New York City Municipal Archives , Department of Bridges / Plant & Structures , Eugene de Salignac )

Manhattan Bridge, 1909

Unloading cotton from a paddle steamer named City St. Joseph in Memphis, Tennessee, c. 1910

Claude Grahame-White, famed British aeronaut landed his Farman biplane in West Executive Ave., Washington, D.C. on Oct. 14, 1910.

( via AP Photo )

Dearborn Street Station, Chicago, c. 1910

Wall Street, 1911

The East Cambridge Bridge in Boston, c. 1912

Big buildings of Lower Manhattan, c. 1912

Elizabeth Street, New York, 1912

( via367art )

The Detroit City Hall an the Dime Savings Bank under construction, August 1912

Painters are suspended from wires on the Brooklyn Bridge, New York, October 1914

( via AP Photo / New York City Municipal Archives , Department of Bridges / Plant & Structures , Eugene de Salignac )

New York Public Library, 1915

( viaAntalik )

An ice fountain on Washington Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan, 1910s

ArchitectureHistory

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