March 5, 2019 Comments Off on Wonders of the world – wonders in the making Views: 954 Imago, Looking Back, Nostalgia, Photography

Various lists have been comprised since ancient times up until present day to catalog some of the world’s most jaw-dropping manmade structures, in other instances wonders of nature as well. From the Pyramids of Giza to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, today sites such as these are iconic for the cities and the countries where they had been built. Sites of worship, they erect as ultimate symbols of civilizational progress, might and power, liberty. Thousands of tourists flock to see them, make a photo and keep that as a memento of their journey abroad.

But have you ever wondered how some of these wonders looked during their construction stage, or when they were first recovered from negligence and forgetfulness? Have a look at the collection of historical photographs below.

Borobudur, the 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Indonesia, after restoration efforts in 1911. Note the reconstructed chhatra pinnacle on top of the main stupa (now dismantled), Courtesy : Tropenmuseum , part of the National Museum of World Cultures, CC BY-SA 3.0

Borobudur’s main stupa in mid 19th-century , a wooden deck had been installed above the main stupa. Courtesy: Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures, CC BY-SA 3.0

Reclaiming wonders from the endless dunes of Africa: The Sphinx Armachis, Cairo partly under the sand, ca. the 1870s. Notice the pyramid in the background

View of Tower Bridge construction works in London, September 28th 1892.

Work on the Eiffel Tower’s foundations in 1887.

20 March 1888: Completion of the first level of the Eiffel Tower.

Construction of the Sacré-Cœur in Paris, 10 March 1882.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, 26 December 1888: Construction of the upper stage.

Excavation of Moai at Easter Island, c. 1915. On the photo: Lantern Slide (black and white); view of stone wall houses, with a Chilean boy standing on the right for scale; Orongo, Easter Island. Courtesy: British Museum

Chilean boy next to an unexcavated Moai, Rano Raraku, Mana Expedition to Easter Island, Courtesy: British Museum

A 1860s photo of the Golden Temple in India with the Gothic clock tower under construction during the colonial British era. This clock tower was demolished later. Sikh devotees regard the temple as a significant pilgrimage site and come to bathe in the purifying waters of the tank, view the temple deity and receive religious teachings from the original Sikh holy book, the Adi Granth.



Historical photograph of the Sagrada Família, the large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, a heritage from the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Image by Baldomer Gili i Roig, 1905. Modern copy of the original crystal negative.



Construction phases of the Flatiron Building, formerly the Fuller Building, the famous triangular, steel-framed, 22-story building at 175 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, early 1900s



Construction of the Obelisk of Buenos Aires, Argentina on the 9 de Julio Avenue. The Obelisk is a National Historic Monument, and was built in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city.

East Berlin, the 1960s: The making of Berlin’s iconic TV Tower,

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-G0822-0020-001 / Sturm, Horst / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Early construction of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, c. 1926. Courtesy State Library of New South Wales

An Empire State Building worker bolts beams during construction; the Chrysler Building can be seen in the background. New York City, 1930

Icarus, Construction work at Empire State Building MET DP106525, New York City, 1930

From the second stage of the Sydney Opera House construction, 1966. “Taken by my grandmother in 1966,” says Robey Clark who has provided this photograph for the public, CC BY-SA 3.0

Sydney Opera House still under construction in 1968, Credit: Phillip Clark, CC BY 2.0

Probably the nine most famous letters of the world today. In the 1970s, the iconic Hollywood sign reached its most dilapidated state. This image was taken shortly before the sign’s 1978 restoration. Credit: Bobbeecher, CC BY-SA 3.0

The RMS Titanic in final stages of construction, 1911. The ship was constructed on Queen’s Island, now known as the Titanic Quarter, in Belfast Harbour where was part of the Harland and Wolff shipyard.

View of the Tyne Bridge towers under construction, 6 September 1928. The Tyne Bridge is one of the North East England’s most iconic landmarks, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. Photo by James Bacon & Sons

1970s Toronto, Canada: CP Rail’s “The Canadian” arrives from Vancouver passing the CN Tower in its initial construction phase. The footings are in place and the concrete slip form is starting to build the tower. All the railway infrastructure except for the lines into Toronto Union Station and the CN roundhouse have been demolished. Courtesy: Robert Taylor from Stirling, Canada

CC BY 2.0

CN communication and observation Tower before completion. Much work on the interior still has to be done before the tower is operational. Toronto, 1975. Courtesy: Robert Taylor from Stirling, Canada CC BY 2.0

Historical photograph of the Great Wall of China from 1907, before serious maintenance

Detail from Pedestal for Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty on Bedloe’s Island, New York Harbor, drawn by W. P. Snyder and published in Harper’s Weekly, June 6, 1885.

The head of the Statue of Liberty, displayed at the Paris World’s Fair, the 1870s

Front page of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, week ending June 13, 1885

Unpacking the Head of the Statue of Liberty delivered June 17, 1885

Prague: Comparison of Dancing House site in 1945 and 2010

We also thought to remind you of the ancient city of Petra (personal recollections from This City Knows contributor Gabriela Stachurska Goseva)

Tags: Berlin TV tower, Borobudur, Easter Island Moai statues, Eiffel Tower, Golden Temple, Great Wall of China, Sagrada Familia, Statue of Liberty, Sydney Opera House