If you have ever visited Washington, D.C., one of the most striking features of the city is the National Mall and the area surrounding it. If you stand in the middle of the mall and look due east, you will find yourself facing the stately white dome of the Capitol Building. From there, if you … Continue reading The Only Constant in the Nation’s Capital is Change!
As digitization standards have evolved throughout the years, NARA has worked to keep up with best practices. However, despite our efforts to stay ahead of the curve, there are still photographs in our Catalog that were digitized many years ago and don't necessarily meet the requirements to be considered "high resolution." Specifically, researchers are likely … Continue reading Using Wikimedia Commons to Locate Higher Resolution Scans
Does anyone else day dream of warm summer days filled with sun, sand, and surf? I know I do! Growing up in Maryland, I spent many summers visiting Ocean City. If anyone has been to Ocean City, they will surely remember playing in the sand, swimming in the surf, strolling the boardwalk, and eating sweet … Continue reading Life-Saving Stations of Maryland: Drawings from RG 26, Maps and Plans for Lifesaving Stations
As many parts of the United States dig in for the winter months, it seemed like a good time to highlight images of unique geological formations, and botanical specimens, undisturbed by a blanket of snow. The series 79-HPS: Henry Peabody Collection, 1959 – 1960 is a collection donated to the National Parks Service in 1959, … Continue reading Highlights from the Henry Peabody Collection
Today marks the 117th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, ushering in the age of powered flight. To celebrate this incredible milestone, we would like to present records related to the Wright Brothers and their achievement. The dawn of the twentieth century was a time of tremendous scientific progress … Continue reading Caretakers of the Sky: The Wright Brothers and Recording the Aerial Age
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) photographic records is one of the largest groups of records within the holdings of the Still Picture Branch. The photographs range in date between 1903 and 2011, and include subject matter such as daily operations, personnel, events, facilities, and come in the form of both analog and born-digital … Continue reading Space and Beyond: Locating NASA Photographs Using Online Indexes
Around this time of the Christmas season, offices around the National Archives are planning their Christmas parties. It is a time for staff to take a break from their daily duties and gather together to enjoy decorations, music, and food. This year is different however. In the midst of a pandemic, staff have been telework … Continue reading National Archives’ Christmas Parties
Two weeks ago NARA and the Unwritten Record introduced you to the new BIA - Photographs Finding Aid. This dynamic new finding aid links to over 18,000 digitized photographs from Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793 - 1999, taken over many decades and covering a wide variety of topics and … Continue reading The Bureau of Indian Affairs – Photographs Finding Aid: A Closer Look
The United States Marine Corps possessed an extraordinary, unbreakable code during World War II: the Navajo language. Utilized in the Pacific theater, the Navajo code talkers enabled the Marine Corps to coordinate massive operations, such as the assault on Iwo Jima, without revealing any information to the enemy. Code talkers didn’t speak plain language in … Continue reading Navajo Code Talkers
Maybe it is my past as a field archaeologist and a museum geek, but I love a good collection! Projectile points, pottery shards, fossils, drawings, or maps - groupings of things, especially old things catch my eye. So, how was I to resist writing about it when I came across a collection of beautiful drawings … Continue reading The Washington National Monument – A National Contest for a National Monument
