History Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

10 rare photographs that open a new window on the past...

Grand Central, NYC, 1929

In his novel Timeline, American writer Michael Crichton wrote:

The purpose of history is to explain the present — to say why the world around us is the way it is. History tells us what is important in our world, and how it came to be. It tells us why the things we value are the things we should value. And it tells us what is to be ignored, or discarded. That is true power — profound power. The power to define a whole society.

We grow up seeing the world a certain way, so much so that it’s almost impossible to imagine it any differently. History lessons mostly come from school, which, let’s be honest, is rarely the place that makes you love learning...

Unless someone dives into the past out of passion, most people only scratch the surface. As a result, countless extraordinary facts, images, and stories remain hidden — each with the power to open our eyes to what has always been all around us. Marcus Garvey said it best:

A people without the knowledge of their history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.

These 10 historical photos will take you on a journey through time. They’ll help you understand the present, reignite your curiosity, and, yes, maybe even show you things you never knew existed...

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1. Cliff House, San Francisco

The Second Cliff House, completed in 1896, was perhaps the most spectacular example of Victorian-era architecture ever to grace the Pacific Coast.

After the original Cliff House was destroyed by fire in 1894, Adolph Sutro rebuilt it from the ground up just two years later as a seven-story Victorian chateau, earning it the nickname “the Gingerbread Palace.”

Remarkably, the 1896 Cliff House survived the 1906 earthquake with minimal damage, only to be completely destroyed by fire on the evening of September 7, 1907.

2. Delivery After Raid

Also known as The London Milkman, this black-and-white shot was taken by Fred Morley on 9 October 1940. It captures a milkman calmly delivering milk along a street in Holborn, central London, surrounded by the ruins of buildings destroyed by German bombers during the Blitz.

The Blitz was an eight-month bombing campaign carried out by the German Luftwaffe against the United Kingdom from September 1940 to May 1941. London was attacked for 57 consecutive nights, resulting in over 40,000 civilian deaths and leaving millions of homes damaged or destroyed.

Writers such as Dylan Thomas and T. S. Eliot experienced the Blitz firsthand and captured in their work the indomitable spirit of the British people — their courage, strength, and defiance amid devastation. Some of my favorite verses that reflect this tenacity come from Colin Ian Jeffery’s London Blitz Poem:

In London’s East End
Where a green grocer’s shop once stood
Flies a flag fluttering in the breeze
Inscribed ‘Still open for business.’

Like the milkman photograph, these words pay tribute to the resilience and quiet heroism of everyday life in wartime London.

3. Eiffel Tower Under Construction, 1888

We’re so used to seeing monuments as they are today that it’s easy to forget they were once works in progress. That’s what makes this stunning black and white photograph of the Eiffel Tower under construction in July 1888 so remarkable:

When completed in 1889, the “Iron Lady” surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest human-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building was completed in 1930.

4. Empire State Building

It’s almost unimaginable today, but in 1940, this was the view of the Empire State Building from New Jersey:

Back then, the iconic Art Deco skyscraper rose alone, a towering sentinel over New York City’s skyline. Completed in 1931, it held the title of the world’s tallest building until the North Tower of the World Trade Center surpassed it in 1970.

5. Carving Lincoln’s Head

Another great example is Mount Rushmore. Check out this amazing photo taken in the 1930s by Frederic Lewis: