These first photos of the world's cities show how much they have changed

Nowadays, photographers travel all over the world in search of new angles of famous places on the planet. However, there was a time when pictures of cities were rare. With the advent of photography in the XIX century, people had the opportunity to capture for the first time what they saw around them, including landscapes and city streets.

These photos are visual proof of how the urban landscape has changed over two centuries. Many settlements have changed almost beyond recognition. Such crowded and built-up cities, such as Los Angeles and New York, appear in these frames as quiet settlements with farms, and Indian Mumbai with wide and deserted roads does not look at all like a modern crowded and bustling city.

Paris

A snapshot of Paris in 1839 from the Boulevard du The temple was made by Louis Daguerre, one of the creators of photography. On the left you can see shoe cleaners.

Los Angeles

The photo of Los Angeles was taken around 1860. In the left corner you can see the Methodist church, built in 1822.

London

View of Parliament Street from Trafalgar Square. This is the earliest photograph of London, it was taken in 1839.

Jerusalem

The author of this frame from 1844 is the French photographer Joseph-Philibert Giraud de Prange. He traveled to the Middle East, Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean between 1841 and 1844, taking more than 900 photographs.

Tokyo

Felix Beato took a panoramic photo of the city of Edo, now known as Tokyo, in 1866. The city has changed dramatically over the years due to natural disasters and war.

New York

This is what the Upper West Side of Manhattan looked like in 1848. The photo shows a farmhouse on a hill and a road that is now called Broadway. A few years ago, this photo was sold at auction for 62 thousand dollars.

Athens

The photos were taken in 1845.

Mumbai

The photograph of the city of Bombay, now known as Mumbai, was taken in 1850, when India was under British rule.

Edinburgh

This 1848 frame is the earliest known photograph of Edinburgh.

Sydney

In 1855, photographer Robert Hunt took a series of stereoscopic photographs that became the first known photographs of Sydney. In the frame of Macquarie Street.

Rome

The Colosseum in 1842. The photo was taken from Trajan's 38-meter column.

Philadelphia

The picture was taken in 1839 by Joseph Saxton. This is the oldest surviving photograph of the USA.

Singapore

Alphonse-Eugene-Jules Ithier, a French customs officer, took this photo in 1844.

Washington

One of the earliest photographs of Washington, 1846. In the frame is the Old building of the Patent Office, where the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Toronto

In the photo of 1856 — King Street.

Copenhagen

In the 1840 photograph, Ulfeldts Plads square, which was renamed Gråbrødretorv a year after the frame was taken.

Chicago

The very first photograph of Chicago was taken in 1855. It shows the building of the city court and administration, which was destroyed during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Berlin

This is what Leipzig Street looked like in 1840.

Dublin

In the first photograph of Dublin in 1848, a group of people pose in front of St. George's Church. Today it houses offices.

San Francisco

The oldest known photograph of the city, 1850. In the frame of abandoned ships in the bay. Later, the boards from these ships were used to build roads.