40 Before-And-After Pics That Show How Times Have Changed, As Shared On ‘Old Photos In Real Life’ (New Pics)
It is incredible what story two pictures, put side by side, can tell us. And what a difference decades or hundreds of years can make to our landscapes, architecture, and overall history. Therefore, something like rephotography has gained huge interest from people by showing contrasting images, one from the past and one from the recent times of the same place.
We will never run out of sights to rephotograph, therefore, the subreddit OldPhotosInRealLife will always have something new for us to explore. In this post, we have selected photos that illustrate the most visible changes. A place that was just a plain field has more recently been inhabited by fish. Some places that were full of life are now abandoned and overgrown, or vice versa.
Seeing how much, in the relatively short period of time that cameras have existed, things have changed, we can only imagine what the world was actually like thousands of years ago. Luckily, in the future ahead, our grandchildren will have something to look back at, but for now, we invite you to explore the already existing shift. And if you feel hungry for more, see our previous posts on Bored Panda here and here.
In addition to this post, Bored Panda got in touch with an incredible photographer named Mark Hersch who specializes in rephotography and adds his little twist to it. Instead of putting pictures side by side, he combines the images into a single one, which reveals parts of the old world and the new one. Feel free to visit his website and for the interview, read down below.
More info: markhersch.com
This post may include affiliate links.
Elsie Allcock Has Lived In The Same House For 104 Years
That's what I was gonna post. Also there could have been a porch? Settling house etc. I know we shrink but that seems like a lot.
Load More Replies...Wow I couldn't imagine living in the same part of the country all my life (and I'm mid 30's) I've moved around the UK and lived abroad so much! Lived in my current house for 7 years and that feels like a lifetime! She looks very happy though
I kind of envy people who have had this lifestyle. I start to feel settled if I live the same place for 104 weeks.
Load More Replies...Today I Got To Fly In My Grandfathers Restored WW2 Hurricane!
There are so few Hurricanes still flying, to be able to fly in her granddad’s warbird is remarkable. Over 14,500 were built, only around 12 are still flying around the world. There were 20,000+ Spitfires built, there are 200 surviving: 76 airworthy, 65 on static display, 59 stored or under restoration. Considering Hurricanes outnumbered Spitfires during the Battle of Britain, and shot down more than half of the German aircraft, it’s sad the Hurri is overshadowed by the Spit. All down to charisma, the Spit is a beautiful aircraft.
So is the Hurricane though. It was the blue collar warbird and saved England.
Load More Replies...The number of events that had to go just right, starting with her Grandfather not getting shot out of the sky during WWII and saving and storing a warbird for 70 years, continuing with the granddaughter getting a pilot license all the while the plane remained flyable, is staggering. However, it's very satisfying to know that things like this are possible.
Düsseldorf , Germany - 1990-2019
In some places it does unfortunately. Like in Hungary for example.
Load More Replies...I visited Düsseldorf about 10 years ago and absolutely loved the place. The city felt so alive.
Mark is one of the many people who have an interest in both history and photography. That has led him to rephotography. Mark has shared with us his experiences with this style of images. “Photography and history are two of my lifelong interests. A few years ago, after coming across some really historical photographs of Chicago, I went to those locations to recreate the photographs in the present day. But I wasn't content to look at them side by side, so I started experimenting with ways to combine them into one. As my technique improved, I did many more.”Make sure to take a look at Mark's adaptation of this style. It is truly incredible.
Even though most of his images were taken in the US, you will find some from England too. “Today I have over 500 images across 16 US cities plus London, England.”
Abandoned Mansion In Poland, Left In Ruins. But Now, It Has Been Restored To Its Former Beauty
Dariusz Miłek, owner of CCC brand and one of the richest people in Poland. The renovation costs were estimated to fall at about 60 million Euro. Btw, Chróstnik Palace if anyone wants to look out up.
Load More Replies...From Abandoned To This
This is the kind of old-expanded-with-modern house I like! I vastly prefer this one to the brick mansion currently at #4 "Before-And-After Photo Of Abandoned Building Renovation"
If I was invited to this house, I would stand there in confusion over where the front door was. Is it up one of the sets of stairs? The blue door under the windows? Or did I somehow find my way to the back of the house?
My Hometown Kharkov In Ukraine 2022-2022
This war is so senseless. Ukraine is Ukraine and Russia is Russia. The borders were fine for decades and then Putin annexed Crimea.
heartbreaking. f**k pootin i hope the bastard gets a bullet in the head soon.
In order to recreate images that match the original, photographers must have a basic knowledge of composition and lighting. But besides that, there are more things to consider. Mark shared with us his process of choosing the perfect location and what he looks into to make the image more interesting.“I look for locations that are easily recognizable by viewers. These would include popular neighborhoods, streets, buildings, and landscapes. I also look for pictures that contain a lot of era-specific reference points (e.g. clothing, vehicles, etc.). When I go out to shoot my contemporary photographs, I take great care to match the angle, perspective, focal length, and even the season and time of day of the original image.”
For most photographers, the afterward editing should not take too long, but Mark takes his time due to his unique method of merging the photos. “Once I'm back in my studio, I merge them in a way that reveals the most compelling portions of each image. I use very detailed and time-consuming editing techniques to make a seamless and believable transition from old to new.”
Manufaktura, Łódź, Poland (1994 And 2014)
No it's real. It's a place called Manufaktura in Lodz, Poland.
Load More Replies...Poland had to rebuild almost all of their historical buildings after WW2. They used the same blueprints and building materials as the original buildings, to make it seems as if there was no damage.
Before-And-After Renovation
I GOT TO GIVE THE 100TH UPVOTE YAY (but yeah, dang dude- 🤣)
Load More Replies...That is the old jail in Salem, Massachusetts, Now really cook rental condos. I can see it from my window.
Minami-Sanriku (Japan) 2011 vs. 2020
They are wonderful, amazing, inventive, and sometimes terrifying!
Load More Replies...Extraordinary! I remember sitting and watching the tsunami foe what seemed like hours, and signed up to Twitter to follow tweets from people in the city. That’s the first time I’ve seen a photo of the reconstruction and it’s beautiful.
Only the Japanese could do that in 9 years. If that was here in Ireland it would probably still look the same if not worse.
Terrible earthquake that happened in March 2011, the resulting tsunami also caused the Fukushima disaster.
Load More Replies...Looks like they improved their natural disaster defenses. Hopefully it's enough if it happens again.
Some knowledge of rephotography comes from experience only. So before you go out to make your first shot, we advise you to learn from Mark's experience in the field. “I've had to adapt over time to accomplish what I set out to do. Early on, I just assumed I could find the original location and start shooting. I came to learn that some of those locations either don't exist anymore or the viewpoint of the original photo has changed, making recreation impossible. So now I use a variety of finding aids, including Google Street View, to ensure I can get the shot I need to create the final image," shared the photographer.
All of these images have something to say to us. Everyone picks up the message they seek, though we wanted to know what is hiding behind Mark's rephotography. “My work is intended to convey to the viewer a sense of wonder. To show how things change over time, but also in many ways stay the same.”
My Mom And I Sitting On The Stoop Of The Bronx House That's Been In Our Family For 100 Years, Recreating A Photo Of My Great Aunt And Great-Great Grandmother Taken In The '40s
I bet the inside is so lovingly preserved and cared for and best if all, lived in and loved on!
Before-And-After Photo Of Abandoned Building Renovation
Too much brick too little rustic wooden house vibes
Load More Replies...Does anyone know where this is? For some reason, I'm thinking Detroit. No real reason, just a feeling.
It's the American Brewery in Baltimore, Maryland
Load More Replies...Why does this look like The Addams Family remodeled the bottom three floors?
I feel the exact opposite: original Addams mansion in the back, then someone expanded and put that square-ish construction in front. I'd have liked to see it restored without that modernistic box glued to it
Load More Replies...Before & After ~ Move It Or Lose It!
Lots of hydraulic jacks and lots of i-beams is a good start. Then specialised moving rigs. Something like that as far as I understand.
Load More Replies...I just can't get my head around moving a whole house. How do you lift it off it's foundations.
When I was a kid, it was fairly common to move a house, but they were built a lot more solid way back when.
After my dorm burned down in 2001, they moved us into an old house that had been turned into a restaurant, then abandoned after the owner was murdered in the kitchen. The house was incredible-- it was one of those homes bought from a JC Penney catalog in the early 1900s, with stained glass windows and a turret. Probably the coolest place I've ever lived. At the end of the semester, the school sold the house for $1, the only caveat being that the new owners had to move it. They disconnected the power lines through town and put the entire house on a flatbed truck, then just drove it down the road to its new foundation. It was turned in to a fancy "Victorian Day Spa", I've driven past a few times, it's still beautiful!
You can re-take the shot without any regard to the specifics mentioned before, such as the season, right angle, and such, but to get the best possible results, science comes into play. “I often say rephotography is both a science and an art. Science typically comes first. This is where all the technical parts of photography come into play: shutter speed, aperture, focal length, and lighting. All of which have to match those of the original image. It can be tricky because the equipment we use today is very different from a hundred years ago. It just takes practice and a fair amount of trial and error. Once I get the science right, the art is in creating an image that pleases the eye,” shared Mark.
And on some occasions, you will have to adapt to the location even more. Mark told us about the most challenging locations in his past and what it takes to capture them. “Occasionally I'll find a source image that wasn't taken from ground level. So I may need to use a ladder, lean out a window in a building, or even pilot a drone to get the shot I need. For one particular image, I had to have my assistant stop traffic on a busy street long enough for me to climb up a step ladder in the middle of the street to get the shot. A few motorists weren't happy, but I got the shot!”
Machu Picchu, Peru 1915/2020 One Of The New 7 Wonders Of The World
Wowsers! That is fascinating, wonderful and one of the coolest before and after, I've ever seen.
It is amazing how the earth reclaims the land after humans are no longer there.
Load More Replies...I still want to know how those small Peruvians climbed those very large stone stairs. I had two walking sticks and still was amazed at the work it took.
Peruvians are awesome. Must have been all that quinoa! Lol
Load More Replies...And the gardener who planted all those bushes rolls over in his grave: whyyy!
while it's great we can see the ruins of an ancient civilisation, it's a shame about the damage to the environment.
No. This is one special place that I'm ok with humans reclaiming back from nature reclaiming, from humans reclaiming after nature had claimed. Phew
Load More Replies...Crater Lake In 1982 And 2022
Nope, us Oregonians take a lot of pride in this sacred place.
Load More Replies...It is the same 1982 Corolla. He just replaced panels and bits and pieces when they got busted.
Load More Replies...nope. It looks like it grew already in the 80ies if you look close.
Load More Replies...Edinburgh, Scotland
My grandmother is from edinburgh. Still owns flat she grew up in. Whole life never seen a fox. Now they are in the garden
Load More Replies...pretty sure Edinburgh looks basically the same. It's like hogwarts.
Did you know that Hogwarts is supposed to be (fictionally of course) in Scotland? For some reason that blew my mind!
Load More Replies...Met my late wife in Edinburgh Scotland in 1973, loved her and that city very much
That’s the beauty of many countries, they restore the old beauty. In the U.S. we tear down and put in concrete, glass and steel.
Gaardbrug Utrecht, The Netherlands
it looks the same cause it is the netherlands
Load More Replies...I live in this city, let me assure you... it is not clean. It is beautiful tho
Load More Replies...Not sure why this was not here: changing a motorway in a canal in Utrecht. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fePpwYCs_JM
Lake Mead 1983 vs. 2021
I live in Finland. We used to have LOTS of snow, and in the relatively recent years, it's drastically changed. Affects our ecology in so many ways. I am terrified and very sad :( Climate change deniers have no f'n clue what they are talking about, it's a world of circlej3rking with them!
Load More Replies...Just wanting to point out that the first in 1983 is at full capacity, and this reservoir has only ever done that twice in its 87 years of existence. Yes, the current levels are bad and climate change sure does this, but that comparison from 83 is a historical high that has only happened twice, nt regularly how it was in the 80s.
You need to Google where Lake Mead sends water. Just because its close to Vegas does not mean that is the only place it goes.
Load More Replies...Not being intentionally offensive, but here are a few facts to consider. In 1968 the populations of California, Arizona, and Nevada which is supplied by Lake Mead, was a total of 21,504,000. Today the total population for those states are...49,443,000. This does not include the increase of irrigation for farming. The size of the lake has not changed although the population has. Now climate change does happen. It has ALWAYS happened. Would there be a shortage of water had there been no droughts in the three states? Probably not as bad...but yes. Over twice the people and irrigation for farming today as in say, 1963, from a lake that has not changed in size or capacity. These are facts...not opinions.
Stop watering the grass. Americans waste VAST amounts of water on lawns.
Unfortunately nestle just gets there's free in the North East US, they bought the land and started pumping, and haven't stopped
Load More Replies...The Paghman Gardens In Afghanistan 1967 And 2008
Sometimes I wonder what is happening to us Muslims. Our lands used to be respectable. Home to educated people and educational institutes. Breathtaking architecture and art. Competent governments. All these countries claiming to follow the commands of Allah in creating an Islamic State are the furthest from it. There is poverty, death, and destruction. They restrict the rights of women in the name of securing their honor, yet the honor of the woman according to Islam is much, much different to whatever evil they hope to disguise with inspirational words. Our holy book, the Qur'an, dedicates an entire chapter, called "An-Nisa", "The Woman", outlining the rights of a woman to protect her from the barbaric practices of pre-Islamic Arabia, and yet here we find similar practices in our own lands!
It's not muslims, it's people abusing religion for their own gain. The Taliban don't believe in the Quran, they just use it as an excuse to subjugate anyone who poses a threat to their rule.
Load More Replies...What's even sadder than the landscape is the change for the women there - they could no more dress like that, and have that freedom to just enjoy a day in the park, than they could fly to the moon, now.
Taliban ran the country from 1996-2001, though controlled most of the country from 1989 to 2001. Meaning that the US ran Afghanistan longer than women were forced to dress like that, yet when we took it over, we just loosed the regulations, rather than take them back to the 80s, a time when women were 50% of medical students and more
Load More Replies...Evacuate all women and children from countries ruled by religious male-shaped animal leaders. Let them extinct.
Never lost from view that first and main victims of islamists extremists are Muslims themselves
i haven't lost that view either. but in my country, Islamophobia has taken hold. it is so ugly.
Load More Replies...The Gardens were destroyed in the Soviet-Afghan war, place was a battleground between the Soviet and Mujahideen forces. The gardens were rebuilt about seven years ago.
Amazing how ruined every country becomes after extremist Islamic governments take over.
Extremes are never good. The golden middle route...
Load More Replies...The Taliban and constant war have a lot to answer for. Including the US and Russia!
I wish religion didn’t exist. That way people can’t hide behind it to do bad things and oppress others. This is so sad.
View Across Central Park In NYC Towards The Beresford Building – 1932/2022
The shanty town has disappeared - I remember reading about this a while ago on BP, anyone have the original link? Quite a sad story for that community, I believe.
Load More Replies...Normally id be all for more trees, but there were also homes in what is now central park that belonged to Black communities that were demolished for the park
"We'd like to thank you Herbert Hoover. For really showing us the way." I was a Hooverville resident in (the musical) Annie about 20 years ago. :)
Load More Replies...Yep, the took the land, including a small town, from the people of color who used to live there. Another example of giving to the upper class & taking away from the poor.
seeing central park always made me happy, but when I found out that a huge population of black Americans were evacuated from this land to make way for the park for rich New yorkers, it makes me sad now.
This my look like a beautiful pick but the story behind is nothing but. The city 'relocated' a large black community living there gave them pennies for there homes and forced them out with nowhere to go! Still looks like a beautiful picture?
Central Park is a joy to all New Yorkers! I feel privileged to be able to walk in it every day.
"Almost Certainly A Canoe Tree Cut By The First People. These Impressive Photos Of A River Red Gum Are 130 Years Apart!
They cut the bark off the tree then shape the ends to make a ready made canoe... That way they don't kill the tree! Indigenous Autralians have been doing it for thousands of years, so you still find trees like this all along the major rivers, they're sacred....till the white man comes along and chops them down...
Load More Replies...Oh! I grew up near Native American reservations, and I saw several of these. Never knew that is what they were.
The Pines, Fallsburg, NY. (1950's-Semi Recent)
I've never seen a pool bridge before... It looks like awesome fun!
they could’ve put a slipnslide on it to be even more fun
Load More Replies...Most of the old Catskills Resorts went away. Still even summer over 200,000 people go to Sullivan County alone (Where Fallsburg is) for the summer, but its mostly summer homes in summer communities or summer camps, there are only about half a dozen of the old resorts left.
Commercial air travel and the interstate highway system took people other places.
Load More Replies...Someone rich needs to buy this and restore it to it's former glory.
Tried My Best To Find The Same Location. Satiam Wagon Road, Oregon. 2022 vs. Date Unknown. Road Was Used 1860-1930s
If they went closer the trees would be blocking the mountain view.
Load More Replies...Not bad. Santiam Pass is one of Oregon's hidden treasures. Just don't try it in the winter.
The Oldest Surviving Camera Negative – Lacock Abbey, England, 1835 And 2022
"Think anybody will notice, Nigel?" "Nah, it'll be in the shadows, right?"
Load More Replies...I’ve got so many photos of that window, from the outside. I guess the photo was taken during renovation. The River Avon is actually between the Abbey and those trees in the second photo, and there’s a nice walk from Lacock to Reybridge then back alongside the river to the road past the Abbey - there’s an elevated path because the river floods occasionally, where it’s possible to access the field next to the Abbey and get close to its surrounding wall. Never been inside it, though, and I only live about four miles away.
Visited there. Great photography museum and beautiful olde worlde village 🤩
The Glynne Arms, Also Known As The Crooked House
Oooo I live about 15 miles from there!!! It's so much fun when you go inside, marbles look like they roll up hill... it's fairly interesting in there when you're drunk
So if you drink in there and acclimate to the slope, does everything seem slanted when you come out?
Load More Replies...Has that side support actually stopped the tilting or just slowed it down. That's what I want to know.
Stopped it, it’s exactly the same in the top photo, but the photo is skewed - look at the trees on the left, and the fence palings in front of the window on the right. Helps if you’re looking at it on a tablet and can tilt it.
Load More Replies...I'd love to know the story behind this - is it a leaning tower of Pisa situation?
It started sinking into the old mines underneath its now a good few feet lower on one side.
Load More Replies...My Nan literally lives in the road opposite this, absolutely mad to see it here. Just walking through the door is surreal as it's on a slant and feels like you're going to fall over. I know they have to have inspections really regularly to check that the building is still safe. Side note: I love the Black Country flag (as pictured in the windows). It was designed for a competition by a school kid about 10 years ago.
Too bad they uglyed it up by removing the trees and bushes. Could've just trimmed the bushes instead.
I didn't know it was possible to get motion sick while standing still and looking straight ahead at a fixed point.
And now it's completely gone. There was a suspicious fire just after it changed ownership. An 8ft high mound of earth prevented the fire services from getting close. A few days later the shell was demolished using an excavator that was conveniently to hand. Six people were arrested and are on bail. The local authority have instructed that it be rebuilt "brick for brick" reusing as much of the rubble as possible. The new owners have successfully delayed an enquiry until spring 2025.
Warsaw City Centre, 1944/2022
Actually, f**k you both Hitler and Stalin. If it wasn't for Hitler, non of that would have happened in the first place. But then you get Stalin, who deliberately halted his forces so Polish resistance, and Nazis can kill each other, as he had no plan to really free Poland, so better to allow the Nazis to kill as much free Polish resistance as possible before he goes in to "liberate" them.
Load More Replies...Eureka, Colorado 1899/2020
It's sad to think that they're all dead by now. ☹️
Load More Replies...There are still a lot of ghost towns left from the western expansion and gold rush, you can even find them on Google
Load More Replies...It would have been nice to save this little town. I love going through places like this to stop, go through the stores, buy a few souvenirs, then get something to eat. But the stories that an old timer are the best.
Bottom picture looks a lot further away and there seems to be buildings at the base of the mountain.
Normanton Church, Rutland, UK. 1970s - Present
It is a Reservoir, the reservoir was created in the 1970s by flooding the surrounding villages, the church itself was saved after public outcry and raised 60f, to what you see now.. It is now used for church and wedding services. It is a lovely place.
The church was not raised 60f (60 feet?). The lower level was filled with rubble and topped with concrete. An embankment was constructed and a causeway was built for access. The church itself is in the exact place it was built, no higher.
Load More Replies...It looks like the church is slowly trying to go on holiday.
Load More Replies...Western Theatre Of Laodicea On The Lycus (Turkey). Before 2003 vs. 2021
The picture on the left is not Laodicea. I visited there before 2003 and it was as seen at the picture on the right.
I mean, it’s not very specific, it could be anytime before 2003!
Load More Replies...It doesn’t say how long before 2003. If you enlarge the pictures they look like the same site.
More defined and foes like turkey tail feathers ... ah come on I had to go there :)
Elizabeth Tower From Westminster Bridge. C 1869 & 2022
Great then and now pictures. Interesting the carriages take the middle of the road. Where’s a Bobby when you need one?
Waiting Area In Michigan Central Railroad Depot, Detroit (1965 And 2014)
This is being renovated at this moment and looks so much better. It's going to be business offices , restaurants, shopping and I think condos. We just drove by it last week and it's really coming along now.
Thanks to the Ford Motor Company, their vision. It was a wasted mess for over 40 years.
Load More Replies...lets start a riot and downvote annie duke!!!
Load More Replies...Yes, Ford Motor Company is doing it. It already looks better than 5 years ago
Load More Replies...How can they make such a large graffiti? Did they bring their own scaffolding?
i wish they could’ve at least taken the building down and maybe put a park there
cost money to do that, money the local council probably don't have.
Load More Replies...Service was discontinued here in 1988 due to declining demand. Service later resumed at a new station in 1994.
Load More Replies...Wonderful, a building we didn’t demolish. Hope they use the former R.R. in the renaming.
Swimming Pool Section Of The Grande Hotel Beira, Beira, Mozambique (1958 And 2015)
not really if you look at who this resort was for...
Load More Replies...Without water, that pool looks like it shrunk. Or is it actually a smaller pool?
That would be because the colonisers left the place poverty-stricken and fled to south africa, and no-one could be bothered to go there for tourism/day activities (beira hotel)
They did not leave it poverty stricken. It eventually deteriorated due to neglect. Civil war chased tourists away.
Load More Replies...Why does the second pic look so much smaller? Like a miniature model
Chicago 1930s vs. Chicago Today
Love that they kept the old buildings. They are very beautiful. That's were culture nd character comes from for cities.
Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities in the US. It was the hub of many famous architects for many years and it shows.
Load More Replies...People with too much greed and money but with very little taste ....
Load More Replies...There are some great boat tours through that area giving history of the buildings and the river itself. Worth the time.
Tribune Tower- It has pieces of other famous buildings and places embedded in its facade.
Load More Replies...Look at how sooty the buildings used to be. You can see the stone in the 2nd photo.
They said coal and wood fires caused office workers to change white shirts twice a day due to staining, before going home. Their lungs must have been coated.
Load More Replies...Old Market Street, Bristol (1895 And 2020)
The trolleys were replaced by busses. Nice clean electricity replaced by dirty fossil fuels.
where do you think the electricity was coming from in 1895?
Load More Replies...A young Cary Grant may have ridden that tram or at least walked down the street. He was born in Bristol, around ten years after the top photo was taken.
I’m a huge Cary Grant fan and live in Bristol centre. He definitely would have been there as he worked backstage at The New Empire Theatre, which was demolished in the 60’s to make way for the Old Market roundabout/underpass (to the left of the picture).
Load More Replies...Yes but in bad weather a lot of people had to ride up top with no protection.
You do know black and white photos can be coloured digitally?
Load More Replies...Crawford Notch In New Hampshire, As Depicted In 1839 vs. 2020
The two trees behind the red car is where the house was sitting. Just saying
Baghdad 1967 vs. 2017
This has nothing to do with that, and is more due to the Ba'athist coup just a year after the first photo was taken, and the regime change that followed.
Load More Replies...The first picture was taken a year before the coup that created the Ba'athist Iraq regime.
I genuinely thought that a lot of Middle Eastern countries never had that sort of infrastructure in the first place - until I found BoredPanda. It's incredibly enlightening and potentially sad (it depends if average people were able to coexist with wealthier people in the first picture or if it was too exclusive)
My Dads Old Ski Cabin Now (50 Years Later) vs. When They Were First Building It
Well, there is a nice piece of land to rebuild on. It's never too late to make new memories.
Main & Delaware St, Kansas City, MO (1906 vs. 2015)
They were knocked down to build 'better roads'. This is a fairly common example of what has happened in many USA cities, roads were built to get cars into the city centres. Massive car parks were built, and the people and small business that paid taxes in the area have been pushed out. The taxes paid by the big box stores does not compare to the taxes paid by lots of individuals and small businesses. The result is horrible car-dependency, horrible city centres, massive bills for the creation and maintenance of roads, and a loss in taxation revenue.
Load More Replies...In the years it was done to devastate older, living parts of US cities by public policy, it was called “urban renewal.” The demolition happened, compensation was pitifully small, and the rebuilding took decades when it happened at all.
Load More Replies...I've looked up this famous intersection in the first picture. I found a discussion on it that it was actually Main and 9th. If you go there it looks nothing like this and there are, in fact, both newer buildings and many old and refurbished ones.
St. George’s Hall In Liverpool. 1890s And 2022
My hometown, you should see the inside, spectacular. Sits right across from Lime St. Station.
They used to have such pretty streetlights. Not ugly, tall, skinny, ones like today
Those old streetlights would have been gas. Although converting them to electric would have been possible, but was probably deemed "too expensive."
Load More Replies...Been used as the setting for lots of TV and films - the latest Batman movie, the BBC's War of the Worlds in 2019, Peaky Blinders. And DubMaccaT is correct - the interior is spectacular, including a Minton mosaic floor and doors with the Latin motif SPQL (Senatus Populusque Liverpudliensis - For the senate and people of Liverpool).
This is a photo of Liverpool? Where the heck does Paddy Pimblett find food there?
What happened to the frieze on the front of the building?? All the sculptures have gone!
WWII Japanese Mini-Submarine Abandoned In Alaska. 1943 And 2022
Cost you more to mount an expedition to retrieve it -- IIRC, that's out on Sitka.
Load More Replies...Must be a weird find if you unexpectedly find a subwarine in the middle of a field
Aracaju, Brazil
This is a restored mangrove. The original mangrove was destroyed to create the city, and they reclaimed and restored part of the mangrove to help the environment and prevent flooding.
This one is bittersweet. It’s sad to see how much water has disappeared but glad to see it was replaced with trees.
Those are mangrove trees. So there IS water there. The trees are growing in it.
Load More Replies...From what Zia Barrett wrote it's basically still there, around the trees. Mangroves grow in salty or brackish water, so you can't see it through the leaves.
Load More Replies...Site Of Hagrid's Hut From Harry Potter In Glen Coe, Scotland: 2003 vs. 2022
jeeez it was only a temporary movie prop, dismantled after a few weeks.
Hagrid was another victim of terrible high housing costs during the pandemic, I guess
Main St Of Mansfield, Ohio
Wow, so many of these are showing the destruction of American city centres.
I live in Mansfield. Most of the businesses moved from downtown to the "Miracle Mile" on Park Ave. West and Lexington-Springmill Road in the suburb of Ontario during the 1970s and '80s. Other than the bars, a few restaurants that have been there forever and a handful of "mom and pop" businesses that moved in when the big names like Sears and JC Penney moved out, there isn't much left downtown to speak of. City News is still there, and a few other old-timers, but for the most part, shopping is in the suburbs these days. EDIT: Notice the streetcar tracks in the top photo? When I was a kid, preschool but old enough to remember (late 1950s), those streetcars were still running. And until the 1970s, when the exodus to the outskirts began, other than the streetcar tracks being paved over, Main Street still looked pretty much like that.
...and another one: demolish three storeys of living and commerce, replace it with on flat parking lot. THAT WASTE!
Most of the businesses moved from downtown to the suburbs because there was no parking. Now there's plenty of parking, but no businesses. ;-)
Load More Replies...Yeah but I've always thought women from Ohio are almost always hot 🫢
Load More Replies...Lawton, Oklahoma (1916 vs. 2022)
The city tore down its downtown area to build a mall - that is the mall in the second photo. Thi was nothing to do with cars, but an idiot local council.
The city of Tucson Arizona tore down nearly all of its historic center to build a convention center nobody uses.
Load More Replies...I'm always amazed by how many carparks US cities have. I saw a really interesting comparison somewhere between places of interest in the US (such as sports stadiums) and those in Europe. The main difference was the car parking. In the US, they have masses and masses of parking spaces surrounding the stadium. In Europe they have good transport links and very few car parks.
This is the third pic (so far) where cars (plus streets and parking lots) have replaced housing. This one looks particularly wasteful: all oncrete and aspalt, practically no trees, no grass, no flower beds, not even bare soil. I've seen cemeteries more alive than this. Actually I think I've hardly seen cemeteries LESS alive than this.
European cities invested in public transportation while the US is more set on personal car infrastructure. I think I heard that for each US citizen there's an average of 4 parking spots
Load More Replies......you don't know what you've got, 'till it's gone
Load More Replies...Looking North On Main St From 7th St, Kansas City (1893 vs. 2022)
Avon Gorge Bearing The Famous Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol (1810 And 2021)
I used to drive along there all the time! A little bit further along is the facade of the Rocks Railway. Worth Googling as it's much more interesting than the bridge. And look up the hot spring that gave Hotwells it's name while you're at it, also fascinating history.
So I googled the bridge and absolutely not no thank you
Load More Replies...Did people just not believe in trees back in the day? So many of these don't have trees in the earlier picture. It's weird enough in cities, but this is a natural environment.
Marty, it's perfect. You're just not thinking fourth-dimensionally. Don't you see? The bridge *will* exist in 2021.
West 207th Subway Station In The Manhattan Neighboorhood Of Inwood, Served By The 1 Train
Wonder why they would black out the windows. It looked much better with windows.
Because we can't have nice things anymore. The animals would break them immediately. This is real, I'm not being cynical. I ride the subway every day.
Load More Replies...View From The Top Of Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe, East Shore, Nevada 1866 And Now
The Billups Neon Crossing Signal, An Experimental Railroad Crossing In Grenada, MS That Utilized Neon Lights And An Air Raid Siren. It Was Never Replicated Anywhere Else Due To High Costs And Technical Problems (1940 vs. 2014)
I can't recall the last sign I saw with "DEATH" on it! And, I'm old...
Load More Replies...So are there no warning systems at railways crossings, or just not with the same siren and lights? In Australia most of our crossings have boom gates, lights and a bell sound. Still heaps of accidents and suicides though, so my state is getting rid of 52 of them, replaced by either skyrail or underground lines.
1939/2021
Los Angeles. Rte. 110 Northbound, Pasadena Freeway and Arroyo Seco Parkway approaches at Exit 24
Cancun, Mexico
If you dig into the history of this place, it was specifically built up for tourism.
oh like my hometown. man the locals must hate tourists. we always do. XD
Load More Replies...Yes, the call it La Riviera Maya, and it brings in a lot of money for Mexico. Home to several eco-theme parks. Xel-Ha in particular is spectacular; I left a piece of my heart there. Highly recommend, want to go back again and bring family. One fee, all you can eat all day, tons of activities, plus fish. The sunscreen they sell is eco-friendly too.
Load More Replies...If I knew this was in the offing I've got a few cool WW2 vs Today ones. I'll post one here and reply the new one below. Just in case anyone was interested. caen-1944-...b9c6e4.jpg
NGL I loved the glow ups 🤩 but some of the rest were quite depressing 😞
There are too many people that have no idea how stupid their comments are about the past. Saying it is a shame 1890s trolleys were replaced by busses? Are kids really that stupid?
... mainly three kinds of - "Nature recpaimed after we were stupid and awayed it" - "Previously nature, now full of ugly buildings" - "urban area where everything change but one or two buildings". Some, likely, will do the firstmentioned after finishing of the second - can't restore nature unless you got rid of it in the first place, so ... I wish nature restoration to end in a few decades.
Fascinating but some of these appeared to be taken from a different perspective or manipulated to make a point.
Love this sort of photo thing. I collect old postcards and love to compare the old views with the new when I can.
Have you been here? Those Midwest towns are a terrible representation of the U.S. Politics aside, just like wherever you're from, there are places here you've never heard of that are absolutely gorgeous. It's not just DC, New York, LA, Miami..... Unless you're from the US, where I live it's not the case but again, not counting politics or general human behavior
Load More Replies...If I knew this was in the offing I've got a few cool WW2 vs Today ones. I'll post one here and reply the new one below. Just in case anyone was interested. caen-1944-...b9c6e4.jpg
NGL I loved the glow ups 🤩 but some of the rest were quite depressing 😞
There are too many people that have no idea how stupid their comments are about the past. Saying it is a shame 1890s trolleys were replaced by busses? Are kids really that stupid?
... mainly three kinds of - "Nature recpaimed after we were stupid and awayed it" - "Previously nature, now full of ugly buildings" - "urban area where everything change but one or two buildings". Some, likely, will do the firstmentioned after finishing of the second - can't restore nature unless you got rid of it in the first place, so ... I wish nature restoration to end in a few decades.
Fascinating but some of these appeared to be taken from a different perspective or manipulated to make a point.
Love this sort of photo thing. I collect old postcards and love to compare the old views with the new when I can.
Have you been here? Those Midwest towns are a terrible representation of the U.S. Politics aside, just like wherever you're from, there are places here you've never heard of that are absolutely gorgeous. It's not just DC, New York, LA, Miami..... Unless you're from the US, where I live it's not the case but again, not counting politics or general human behavior
Load More Replies...
