42 Photos That Capture Curious Moments Throughout History

One of my favorite kinds of historical photos – the sub-genre of “famous buildings as they were when built, surrounded by the cityscape of the time” is really one of the best ways to gain perspective on how much the passage time changes the cities that we live in today.

In this picture of the Empire State Building in 1941, the contrast to today is particularly evident. It’s really hard for those of us who grew up understanding New York City as the mega-metropolis that is today to imagine it as a small city filled with low-rise apartment blocks.