This year marks the 50th anniversary of the iconic Woodstock Music Festival, which took place August 15-18, 1969 at a farm near Bethel, New York. The festival, billed as three days of peace and music, drew nearly half a million attendees and has become legendary in American history. Although the Special Media Division doesn't hold … Continue reading Spotlight: Aerial Photography of Woodstock Festival Site
This post was co-written by Amy Edwards and Beth Fortson. In this installment of the Summer Road Trip series, we make our way to the desert where we find ourselves at the lowest point in North America, and later, staring at the tallest mountains in southern California. Join us as we explore Death Valley National … Continue reading Summer Road Trip 2019: Ambling Through the California Desert
Entering: Albuquerque, New Mexico This post was co-written by Kevin Quinn and Caitlin Hucik As we leave Texas and the Boll Weevils in our rear-view, we continue our journey through the Southwest with a stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We enter Albuquerque through Record Groups 18-AA: "Airscapes" of American and Foreign Areas, 1917 – 1964; … Continue reading Summer Road Trip: Albuquerque to Las Vegas
On to.... Memphis! After much fun visiting “Pinckney Castle” in Charleston, South Carolina, it's time we hit the road again! Along with everyone else, apparently. But really, what road trip is complete without some sort of traffic fiasco? It's all part of the cross country touring experience, as you can see in the image 30-N-5523! … Continue reading Summer Road Trip 2019: Memphis and New Orleans
In honor of Grand Canyon National Park celebrating it's 100th Anniversary on February 26th, The Unwritten Records presents select records from our holdings. Cover of Master Plan for Grand Canyon National Park, 1938 Photo No. 106-WA-227. Grand Canyon, 1872. Photograph by William Bell. Photo No. 57-PS-431A, Grand Canyon looking east from Foot of Torowap, Photograph … Continue reading Spotlight: Grand Canyon
Though the first Byrd Antarctic Expedition took place more than twenty years after the likes of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, little had changed when it came to the available methods of transportation. Explorer Richard E. Byrd had large tractors to move supplies, but still relied heavily on dog sleds, skis, and schooners ships, which … Continue reading Polar, Planes, and Puppies: The Photos of E.J. Demas
Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In remembrance of the event, we are presenting related maps, photographs, ship plans, and films held by NARA's Special Media Division. Photographs documenting the aftermath of the attack may be found in the General Photographic File of the Navy (RG 80-G, RG 80-GK), Color Photographs … Continue reading Visualizing Pearl Harbor 75 Years Later
This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on January 18, the anniversary of a march that Dr. King helped lead from Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church to the Selma Courthouse for the purpose of voter registration. The marchers were not allowed to register, but this was just one skirmish in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s … Continue reading From Selma to Montgomery: The Selma Voting Rights Movement
In honor of the Major League Baseball playoffs, the Cartographic and Architectural Branch has pulled together a few records featuring the national past-time.
This post was written by Randall Fortson, of the National Archives' Cartographic and Architectural Records Section. Have you ever wondered how the landscape has evolved over time? Forests are cut and/or planted, urban areas expanded, rivers are dammed to create reservoirs, farmland is taken out of production, lakes are drained, new road patterns are established, … Continue reading Snapshots in Time of the American Landscape
