14 August 2011

Before & After - Broad St.



Broad St., Charleston, S.C.

I printed off a set of these old photos taken after the earthquake of 1886 and stuffed them in my trusty backpack. When I am out walking I pull them out and try to find the spot they were taken from. Some of them I can't match up but this one was easy.

Thanks to the Librarian who linked me to these treasures in a comment. This one is labeled: Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake August 31, 1886. Thrown gable and twisted chimney at the residence of Bishop Lynchat on Broad Street opposite Orange, looking northeast.

It's after bed time again and my weekend is over. Sniff. You can't say I don't make the most of my days off. Now, get to bed kids. No more stories. No more glasses of water. Someone turn the lights out.

7 comments:

Kate said...

What a terrific find; thank goodness for librarians. Love the way both of the buildings in the upper photo are clearly identifiable in the lower restored buildings. You like in a wonderful city!

Marcheline said...

GREAT FIND!!! I'm so glad they kept the columns/gate thingie... glad they didn't modernize the crap out of it the way they do old buildings up north!

Jack said...

Yup, you got it. This would be fun in a historic city like yours.

George said...

I was born and bred in Chas. and as a photgrapher, I just love the old photos of Charleston. It was interesting to see what 7.2 did to Charleston. That is what caused the Earthquake bolt craze. I often wonder if they really work,but I do not want to find out! Do you know Jack Thompson? He does the Civil War walks that start at the Mills House. I helped him do some of the "after" photos for his new book and he has a HUGE archive of old photos of Charleton.His book has a lot of photos that compare buildings from the Civil War era and today. If anyone could id some of the shots he could, considering his experience. Maybe you could post thumbnails of them here and readers could help you ;). Unless you like a mystery so you can keep your eyes peeled while you walk.... Good Luck!!

Pixel Peeper said...

These two photos would be an ideal submission for "Dear Photograph." You probably would have a number of submissions, especially with your trip to India coming up.

The idea is to hold a photo from the past into the same scene at the present. Sometimes, this results in just startling pictures. Check it out: http://dearphotograph.com/

Chattahoochee Valley Daily said...

Cool. I love taking before and afters when I can find them. I typically use old postcards for matching images.

Charlestonjoan said...

Kate - isn't it great how unchanged they are? We are very lucky here although it can feel like a pain when you deal with the regulations yourself.

Marcheline - We have pretty tight rules.

Jack - It is fun!

George - I don't know him although the name sounds familiar. I also like to find old photographs online and track them down for before and after shots. Thanks for stopping by!

Pixel - Yes! You are right! I haven't done any of those.

bfarr - I do too until I found these old shots.