8 Amazing 1940s American Infrastructure Images

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As part of the Library of Congress’ Bound for Glory: America in Color exhibition of newly digitized color images taken of 1940s America, several show the infrastructure that people made their livings working on and that helped grow the country. The photographs are by famed photographers such as John Vachon, Jack Delano, Russell Lee, and Marion Post Wolcott and “mark a historic divide in visual presentation between the monochrome world of the pre-modern age and the brilliant hues of the present. They change the way we look—and think about—our past.”

View in a departure yard at Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company's Proviso yard at twilight. Chicago, Illinois, December 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

A welder who works in the round-house at the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company's Proviso yard. Chicago, Illinois, December 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

 

Welder Mike Evans at Proviso yard of the Chicago and Northwest Railway Company Chicago IL April 1943 Photo by Jack Delano Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress Switchman throwing a switch at Chicago and Northwest Railway Company Proviso yard Chicago, Illinois, April 1943. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress Rebuilt caboose at Proviso yard Chicago IL April 1943 Photo by Jack Delano Prints and Photographs Division Library of Congress Shasta dam under construction. California, June 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress TVA's Douglas Dam TN June 1942 Photo by Alfred T Palmer Prints and Photographs Division Library of Congress Road cut into the barren hills which lead into Emmett. Emmett, Idaho, July 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Photos courtesy of the Library of Congress Bound for Glory Exhibition

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