What did tourists ' favorite places look like a century ago

Priceless historical monuments and famous cities of the world were once completely ordinary, indistinguishable from other landscapes. Photos of popular tourist destinations a century ago and now reveal the amazing changes that have happened to these places in a relatively short time.

Mount Rushmore in 1905. Once upon a time, the Lakota Indians who inhabited this area called the mountain "The Six Forefathers". In 1930, it was renamed in honor of Charles Rushmore, an American lawyer from New York, who organized the expedition and first visited the area in 1885. Construction of the monument began in 1927 and was completed in 1941. There were no fatal accidents during the construction, but some workers died later due to lung diseases caused by granite dust.

Mount Rushmore now. Carved into the mountain are the heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

The Lincoln Memorial in 1917. Back then, no one could have imagined that in the 2000s, six million people would visit this place every year. The memorial, located on the banks of the Potomac River, includes a huge statue of a seated Abraham Lincoln, two stone slabs engraved with the texts of Lincoln's second inaugural address and his Gettysburg Address. The swampy area will later be turned into an artificial reservoir.

The Lincoln Memorial in our day. Near this monument, which is located in the center of Washington, there were many protests, speeches and debates. In particular, it was here in 1963 that Martin Luther King delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech.

The Great Sphinx at Giza in 1871. French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil pose with other members of the expedition.

The Big Sphinx now. Over the centuries, the oldest known monumental sculpture in the world was damaged (its nose fell off), dug up and immortalized. The Sphinx was carved from the base of the Giza plateau and excavated by French explorers in the early 1900s. The most popular version of its purpose is that it was built ostensibly to symbolize the Pharaoh Khafra (2558-2532 BC).

Statue of Christ the Redeemer in 1924. The 38-meter-high statue in Rio de Janeiro is made of reinforced concrete and porous stone. The largest religious sculpture was built only with money donated by the Catholic community of Brazil. Construction began in 1922 and lasted six years.

The statue of Christ the Redeemer today. Twice the statue was struck by lightning, and in 2007 it was added to the list of the new seven wonders of the world.

Olympic Games in 1896. Beginning in 776 BC, the Olympic Games were once held in honor of the goddess Athena. The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, reconstructed from the ruins of an ancient Greek stadium, is built entirely of marble and is one of the oldest stadiums in the world. In April 1896, the first international Olympic Games of modern times were held here, in which 14 countries took part.

The Olympic Games in our days. Japan has allocated $ 3 billion to host the Olympics in 2020. The underground stadium in Tokyo can accommodate at least 68 thousand people. More than 200 countries will participate in these Olympic Games.

The Eiffel Tower in 1887. Initially, it was not intended that this monument of engineering would be permanent. Gustave Eiffel built his tower for the 1889 World's Fair, and after that it was to be demolished. The tower was abandoned by Barcelona, and it was moved to Paris. When Paris surrendered to Nazi Germany in 1940, the French cut the elevator cables on the Eiffel Tower so that the Nazis would have to walk all 700 steps before hoisting their flag.

The Eiffel Tower today. Now the Eiffel Tower attracts more tourists than any other paid attraction in the world. There are at least thirty copies of it all over the world.

San Francisco in 1906. Then in the city, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake destroyed the bay area. More than three thousand people were killed. At that time, San Francisco was the ninth largest city in the United States. About 80% of the city was destroyed by the fires, and many residents fled to Oakland and Berkeley. Financial losses due to the natural disaster exceeded $ 400 million.

San Francisco today. San Francisco now has a population density of approximately 18,451 people per square mile and is the second-most populous city in the United States after New York.

Times Square in 1898. Manhattan Island was first settled by the Dutch in 1624, and the area where Times Square is now located was a transportation center. The land around this place, where horses and livestock were kept, became known as Longacre. In 1904, The New York Times moved to a building on 42nd Street with access to Longacre Square. Soon there was a subway station, and the square was renamed Times Square. Three weeks later, the first electric ad appeared on the bank's wall at 46th Street and Broadway.

Times Square now. This place is visited by 50 million people a year, and during the influx of tourists, up to 460 thousand pedestrians walk along these streets.

Boston, 1860. This is the oldest surviving photo taken from a bird's-eye view. It was made by the American James Wallace Black on October 13, 1860, having risen on a balloon to an altitude of 630 meters. This image shows two historical landmarks: the Old South Church, built in the Neo-Gothic style, and the original Trinity Church, which would soon be destroyed by the Great Boston Fire in 1872 and then rebuilt.

Boston today. Founded by Puritan colonists in 1630, Boston was the first city in the United States to have a free high school, the first subway system, and the first public park. It is believed that the residents of Boston donate more than others to charity and are proud that their city has become an international center of higher education.

Kyoto in 1886. Shijo-dori Street and the surrounding area have become some of the most popular destinations for tourists visiting Kyoto. In terms of the number of shops and restaurants, this place competes with Tokyo. "Shijo" means "fourth street". It has existed since when Kyoto was the capital and was called Heian-kyo — "the capital of peace and tranquility".

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for more than a thousand years, from 794 to 1868. Some still believe that Kyoto is the true capital of Japan, although the imperial throne was moved to Tokyo in 1868.