America's popular attractions captured in their heyday

Into the past

Atlantic City Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Statue of Liberty, New York City, New York

Fast-forward several decades and the Statue of Liberty has become New York City’s best-loved landmark. She’s pictured here in the distance as a busy tour boat sails towards her – several of the sightseers look on in awe on the approach. Our feature on how the world’s most famous attractions have changed has more fascinating photos too.

Disneyland, Anaheim, California

Yosemite National Park, California

Central Park, New York City, New York

Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada

Central Park, New York City, New York

Nowhere in New York City are the seasons more prominent than in Central Park, and in winter it truly comes to life. While any sludge is quickly dredged from the Big Apple’s busy boulevards, you can usually rely on a glorious carpet of snow in the city’s Green Lung. In winter, ice-skating, cross-country skiing and sledding all remain popular with modern visitors – this photo, taken in 1896, shows a pair of young children enjoying the latter.

Discover more of Central Park’s secrets here

Central Park, New York City, New York

Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada

Coney Island, New York City, New York

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, California

Gateway Arch, St Louis, Missouri

The keystone was the final part of the arch to be lifted into place, and this photo shows the final stages of the monument’s construction in 1965. It’s thought that the keystone contains a time capsule complete with the signatures of more than 760,000 residents, as well as some other unknown relics. Discover more images of tourist attractions under construction here.

Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Weeki Wachee, Florida

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park combines a natural wonder with a family attraction full of heart. First and foremost, Weeki Wachee is a beautiful natural spring – one of the deepest in the US, in fact – but it’s known for something else. Since the 1940s, the spring has hosted “mermaid shows” (pictured), which involve the real-life “mermaids” swimming up to 66 feet (20m) below the surface to perform impressive synchronized dances. Discover the most beautiful state parks in America.

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Weeki Wachee, Florida

Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

This theme park, one of the oldest in America, has always set great store by its thrill rides. The first roller coaster debuted here in 1892, a couple of decades after the park’s inauguration, and this later shot shows the 1920s wooden Cyclone in the background. Cedar Point is known for its dizzying coasters today too. See more historic images of America’s theme parks in full swing.

Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Mount Rushmore, Keystone, South Dakota

The huge granite faces – each around 60-feet (18m) tall – would take more than a decade to realize. This photo is thought to have been captured circa 1940, a year before the great feat was finished. It shows the bold profile of Thomas Jefferson and the outline of George Washington in the farther distance, as seen from the top of Abraham Lincoln’s head. Find more fascinating facts about America’s tourist attractions here.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

Today the bridge remains a defining feature of San Francisco, carrying more than 100,000 vehicles per day. It makes a great subject for photographers too, and it looks particularly enigmatic in this 1940s shot, with a fisherman silhouetted beneath the bridge’s expanse.

Discover the world’s tourist attractions that no longer exist

Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, California

The Hollywoodland sign stood tall for several decades, but eventually fell into disrepair. When it was finally fixed up in the 1940s, the “land” section was ditched and the landmark we know today was born. It’s pictured here around the mid-1920s, with white-washed Kanst Art Gallery rising up beneath it. Here’s what to see in modern-day LA.

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