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Memphis
Aerial Views |
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...in
Vintage Photos
and Postcards |
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Before the invention of photography, aerial views were
left to the imagination of artists. Early artists
had used the principles of perspective
to create images of how they believed cities might look
from above. But the view from the sky was strictly
a matter on conjecture until the first "air
vehicle" was created. These "air vehicles"
were the hot air balloons and were introduced in the
United States in the 1790s. For the first time one
could actually see the world from above, but only a
handful of adventurers were able to take advantage of
this thrilling opportunity. It wouldn't be
until the 1850's that Photography would eventually
provide the aerial views for the general public. |
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Because early photography used a process that required the
photographic plate to be developed within 20 minutes,
photographers weren't able to take advantage of the hot-air
balloon in the beginning. In 1858 a Frenchman put a
darkroom and all his gear, including a supply of water, into the
basket of a balloon. The photo he managed to produce has been
lost, but within two years a Boston photographer repeated the
accomplishment. From then on, there were aerial
photos of
the world's cities. Other than the hot air balloons,
vintage aerial photos were soon taken from the new skyscrapers
and eventually from those daring bi-planes that could seemingly
fly anywhere. |
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Click on the small photos to see an
enlargement. |
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1906 Front Street |
1908 Front Street |
1950's Court House |
Vintage Front Street |
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1920 |
1959 |
1981 |
Front ...
Main Streets * |
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Riverfront-Customs-Cossitt
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1928 College
Campus |
1920s
Ellis-Poplar Station |
Main and Monroe * |
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| Courtsquare
1909 |
1924 Ellis -
Poplar Station |
1938 Aerial
Map |
1885 Aerial
Map -2.5 MB |
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| 1989 |
Madison - Looking West |
Enlargement:
Front-Main |
Enlargement:
Main-Monroe |
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Urban Renewal 1963 |
U.R. 1963:
Streets Labeled |
Madison -
Looking east |
Downtown -
Riverside Dr. |
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| Front Street |
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OK Storage -
Ellis Aud. |
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Postcards
...Vintage
aerial views of Memphis |
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1906 Bird's Eye View |
1908 Bird's
Eye View |
1909 Court
and Main |
Main -
Looking North |
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Main Street
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Mississippi
Bridges |
Beale 1950s |
Main 1905 |
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Skyline by Moonlight |
Skyline |
Skyline |
Skyline 1944 |
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| Vintage Skyscraper
District |
1959 |
Looking North |
Circa 1960 |
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Downtown
Memphis |
Downtown |
1950s |
Medical
Center 1960 |
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Vintage Cameras and
Inventive Photographers
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| Nadar - 1862 |
Lawrence -
1901 |
Batut - Kite |
Lawrence-Kite |
Crane Hoist |
Circa 1918 |
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| Wilbur Curtis
- Aerial Specialist |
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Aerial
Photographers 1914 |
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Credits |
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The
Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted
photos and material without permission or credit.
On
occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we
were unable to find a name to give credit. Because of the nature of
our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly
believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use. We have
certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website
for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited. If by
chance,
we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll
remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your
choice. In the past, we have found that many photographers
volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll
also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular
page. |
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The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the
following for their contributions which helped make this website
possible:
Memphis
Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library,
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County
Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's
Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission,
Memphis Film Commission, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical
Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District,
Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance
Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of
Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew,
George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is
acknowledged on the pages of their contributions. Special
thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche
access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.
We do not have high definition copies of the photos on these
pages. If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,
you'll have to contact the photographer or the collector.
(To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not
maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us). |
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