Category: Then & Now
Compare history with the present in fascinating “Then and Now” photo pairs. See how cities, landmarks, and people changed over time.
These visual contrasts show the beauty of transformation and the persistence of heritage.
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#9 Happy tourists pass by the Fairmont Hotel, which still stands, but is destroyed inside from the fires.
This “then and now” historical photo pairs a lively city street scene with the stark aftermath of a major fire, highlighting how quickly an iconic neighborhood can change. In the modern half, cable cars glide along the tracks beside busy sidewalks and storefronts, capturing the everyday rhythm of tourism and urban life.
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#25 People stroll by the original adobe Mission Dolores which survived, while the brick church next door was destroyed
This striking “then and now” photo shows people strolling past the original adobe Mission Dolores, capturing a quiet street-level moment in front of the mission’s simple whitewashed façade, arched doorway, and cross-topped roofline. The modern color scene blends with the historic black-and-white image, inviting you to compare textures, shadows, and details that have endured through…
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#41 Some lumber and barrels stuffed in a sinkhole warm pedestrians and carrianges of the hazzard on 18th and Van Ness.
This “Then & Now” photo blend looks down 18th Street at Van Ness, pairing a modern street corner with a historic scene of rough cobblestones and a sudden sinkhole. In the older view, lumber and barrels are stuffed into the broken roadway as an improvised warning, turning a dangerous collapse into something visible to anyone…
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#57 First business back on Market St. Hughson & Merton manufactured bicycles & buggies also became known as world’s first Ford dealer.
This “Then & Now” view places a historic wooden storefront onto today’s Market Street streetscape, highlighting how dramatically the city has changed around an early business site. The black-and-white image shows a simple, gable-roofed building and a small group posed out front, while the modern background is filled with glass-and-steel architecture, streetlights, and a busy…
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#73 Employees returned to the Shreve Building to pick up the pieces while photographer Richard Wigham photographs the charred remains of a human corpse in the intersection of Post and Grant.
This then-and-now photo looks across the intersection of Post and Grant at the Shreve Building, where Shreve & Co. anchors the corner. The historic black-and-white scene shows employees and onlookers gathered at street level amid scattered debris, framed by the building’s large display windows and canopy. Blended with the modern streetscape, the image highlights how…
