Unquestionably an American landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge’s symbolic impact exceeds that of the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty in part because of its portrayal of optimism, a very American quality. Its visual relationship of form and environment, goal and design, does not set limits but rather symbolizes Western prospects and Pacific possibilities. Here the American ideas of…
Among American icons, the Hollywood sign could be singular. It is a monument whose white letters are recognizable everywhere as the main movie sign. Day after day visitors wanting to position themselves for the finest possible angle on the sign stroll into nearby Griffith Park or troll up and down the streets for the Hollywood Hills with cameras. To moviegoers…
Early November 1985, Princess Diana and her husband Prince Charles visited the United States. The royal pair remained at the White House and on November 9 attended a gala supper. Photographed in the Entrance Hall dancing with actor John Travolta to the soundtrack of his 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, the 24-year-old Princess Widely shared worldwide, the pictures and TV…
With its unique fashion styles, the 1980s were a decade marked by excitement and daring taking the stage. Among the other classic designs that arose during this period, the Rah-Rah skirt was considered as a representation of young inventiveness and energy. The vibrant world of cheerleading is where the Rah-Rah skirt first originated. Renowned for their energetic displays and dramatic…
This is the narrative behind the well-known photo of test pilot George Aird thrown from his Lightning F1 fighter jet. September 13, 1962 saw Jim Meads take the image. Newspapers all throughout the world at the time published it; many people believed it to be fake until the Ministry of Defence attempted to place a “D Notice” on the picture…
The finest thing in luxury air travel was the German Zeppelin airship before first-class suites and contemporary flight. With the dirigible gliding peacefully in the skies, the Hindenburg was built to carry passengers across the Atlantic in peace. Considered the longest class of flying machines and the biggest airship by envelope capacity, the airship was Airships such as the Hindenburg…
Taken on September 20, 1932, the classic picture known as “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” catches a moment captured in time. Eleven courageous ironworkers are shown in this black-and- white picture seated atop a steel beam, flying 850 feet (260 metres) over Manhattan, New York City. Nestled inside the grandeur of Rockefeller Centre, their great elevation is the sixty-ninth floor of…
1940s teenage females had an unexpected degree of freedom and a way of life that would cause jealousy in many contemporary young people. Their childhood was anchored in custom, raised in a period when society standards stressed dressing well to woo a future husband and working part-time jobs to acquire things like nice wedding china. Still, the surroundings changed significantly…
The finest women’s stockings were fashioned of silk until the end of the 1930s. This changed in the US when DuPont started nylon production in 1939. October of that year saw restricted sale of nylon stockings, then a countrywide introduction at a few chosen locations in 1940. Though they cost the same as silk, eager American consumers bought the new…
Born in 1935, American singer and actor Elvis Aaron Presley, sometimes known mononymously as Elvis, made a lasting impression on the fields of music and entertainment. Considered as the “King of Rock and Roll,” he is among the most powerful cultural person of the 20th century. Audiences responded powerfully to Presley’s energetic renditions of songs and his bold performing style,…