Browse Items (993 total)
- Collection: Chester Smolski Photographs
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Miami: The Miami Seaquarium
The Miami Seaquarium is an oceanquarium. It is located in Biscayne Bay. Completed in 1955, the Miami Seaquarium was South Florida’s first Marinelife attraction. The Miami Seaquarium is primarily a tourist destination, famous for it’s opportunities to…
Miami Beach: Aerial View, Residential and Hotels; Carillon Hotel
The Sunset Islands were the last of the man made islands to be built in Biscayne Bay. During the 1920s a land boom fueled the creation of several man made islands in Biscayne Bay, but at the end of a decade it the boom ended and many realtors went…
Miami Beach: Residential
An aerial view of Indian Creek shows private residences around Indian Creek Golf Course. According to satellite photographs none of these structures are still standing, the large house with the green roof seems to have been split into three smaller…
Miami Beach: Aerial View of Residential Area
Residential neighborhoods and a drive in theater seen in this aerial photograph of Miami Beach. In the 1970s Miami Beach was largely a retirement community, but emigration from Cuba largely pushed them out in the following decade and effectively…
Miami Beach: Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel
The Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach was completed in 1956. Designed by architect Morris Lapidus after completing the Fontainebleu, the Eden Roc’s neighbor. Lapidus used curvy and innovative designs that were widely criticized at the time they were…
Miami Beach: Fontaineblue Hotel
The Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach is the largest and grandest example of Miami Modernist Architecture (MiMo). It was designed by Morris Lapidus, who designed many of the building in Miami Beach, and completed in 1954. In 2008 the Fontainebleu…
Miami Beach: Aerial Photograph, Oceanfront Looking North
Looking north across Miami Beach’s Oceanfront show’s the hotels lined up on Collins Ave., the Bal Harbor Islands and Indian Creek, and finally North Miami on the horizon.
Miami Beach: Fontainebleau Hotel, Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel; Collins Ave.
The Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach is the one of the grandest hotels in the city and perhaps the epitome of Miami Modernist Architecture (MiMo). Designed by Morris Lapidus, it is considered the most significant building of his career. Just to the…
Miami Beach: Versailles Hotel Condo, Jamie Tuttle Causeway; Aerial View
The Versailles Hotel Condo was built in 1940 in a style between Miami Beach’s Art Deco and Modernist style. Behind the condo is the Jamie Tuttle Causeway, which connects the beach with Midtown Miami.
Miami Beach: Collins Ave. Hotels, Oceanfront; Carillon Hotel
At the center of the aerial photograph is the Carillon Hotel, a wonderful example of the Miami Modernist Architectural (MiMo) style designed by Norman Giller. First opened in 1957, it has since been repurchased and modified. The current owners and…
Miami Beach: Aerial View of Bal Harbour, Collins Ave.
Looking south, this aerial photograph show’s Miami Beach’s Oceanfront in the late 1970’s. Clearly visible is the string of hotels in the style now known as Miami Modernist Architecture (MiMo) along Collins Ave. In the late 2000’s preservationists…
Miami Beach: Bal Harbour
An east facing aerial photograph shows Miami Beach’s Oceanfront and Bal Harbor Islands in the late 1970’s. In the 1970’s Miami Beach’s tourism industry saw declines. Over the next decade, hundreds of Cuban refugee’s would move into the area which in…
Miami Beach: Bal Harbour Area
This southeast facing photograph looks across Bal Harbor toward Miami Beach’s Oceanfront. Visible at the bottom of the frame is construction of Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus.
Miami Beach: Bal Harbour
This aerial view shows Bal Harbor, Bal Harbor beach, and Biscayne Bay. At frame left, just above the small island, is where Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus would be located. In this image some of the early construction for the…
Baltimore: Row House Architecture
Row houses were popular in urban areas of the East Coast throughout the 19th century. Baltimore’s urban landscape has the best representation of the row house architecture, varying from grand manses to middle-class homes in various architectural…
Baltimore: Mount Vernon Place
The Washington Monument and Museum at Mount Vernon Place, visible beyond busy Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland. The monument is 178 feet tall and sits atop a hill in the heart of Baltimore. Architect Robert Mills designed the monument. Completed…
Miami Beach: Aerial Photograph of Oceanfront, Hotels
An aerial photograph of La Gorce island in Miami Beach, Florida. In the foreground is La Gorce Golf Course and Country Club. The eastern shore is lined with hotels and resorts.
Baltimore: Cross Street Market
The Cross St. Market on Charles St. is a one of Baltimore’s six surviving marketplaces. This structure was built in 1952 after a fire destroyed the two story Italian revival building that had stood since the turn of the century. The Cross St. Market…
Baltimore: Cross Street Market Interior
The Cross St. Market is one of Baltimore’s six surviving market places. Located in Federal Hill and close to the Inner Harbor, it is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike. The Cross St. Market sells produce, fresh meat and seafood. The…
Baltimore: Cross Street Market Interior
An interior view of the Cross Street Market is located on Federal Hill in Baltimore. This popular market, established in 1846, has gone through a couple incarnations. It’s current structure, completed in 1952, is 30,000-sqaure-feet and hosts about…
Baltimore: National Aquarium, inner Harbor
The National Aquarium in Baltimore photographed in 1985 shows it in it’s original form under the direction of Peter Chermayeff of the Cambridge Seven. Additions to the aquarium were made in 1990 and 2004. The National Aquarium is in Baltimore’s Inner…
Baltimore: USS Constellation, Inner Harbor
An aerial photograph of the USS Constellation shows it in it’s deteriorating condition prior to it’s 1990’s restoration. The 19th century fighting ship was used in military service through World War II before ending up in Baltimore as a relic.
Baltimore: Inner Harbor, Maryland Science Center
This southwest facing aerial view of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor shows it in a transitional stage. The Maryland Science Center is without it’s later added IMAX theater and lobby. The long tan building on Light St. is Christ Church Harbor apartments, an…
Baltimore: Inner Harbor Plaza
The Inner Harbor Plaza is a tourist friendly area in downtown Baltimore that has been described as a model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment. This 1985 photograph gives an impression of the amount of draw the museums, shopping and…
Baltimore: Row Housing
Row houses were popular in urban areas of the East Coast throughout the 19th century. Baltimore’s urban landscape has the best representation of the row house architecture, varying from grand manses to middle-class homes in various architectural…
Baltimore: Harborplace Mall Light Street Pavilion
This interior photograph shows the Light Street Pavilion at Harborplace Mall. This Inner Harbor mall was opened in 1980 as the centerpiece of the downtown revival. The mall originally consisted of two two-story pavilions, Pratt St. and Light St.…
Baltimore: National Aquarium, Inner Harbor
The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. Photographed from a restaurant across the Inner Harbor, this 1985 view of the National Aquarium is before the historic ships, including the USS Torsk were moored as permanent installations. The building…
Baltimore: Row Housing
Row houses were popular in urban areas of the East Coast throughout the 19th century. Baltimore’s urban landscape has the best representation of the row house architecture, varying from grand manses to middle-class homes in various architectural…
Baltimore: Row Housing
An example of row housing in Baltimore, Maryland. While row houses are popular in many cities, Baltimore in particular has them in the thousands in various architectural styles. This 1978 photograph from the Smolski collection shows an unidentified…
Baltimore: Federal Hill, Museum of Science, Inner Harbor
The Maryland Science Center (MSC) was built in the Inner Harbor in 1976, but grew from the Maryland Academy of Sciences formed in 1797. When the MSC opened in June 1976 it had both interactive exhibits and a state of the art planetarium. Since then…
Baltimore: Skyline, Tower Building, City Hall
This view of the Baltimore skyline show’s the city in transition during the revitalization process that began around 1970. The 18 story building in the center of the photograph is the Maryland Casualty Company Tower, known locally as the Tower…
Baltimore: Inner Harbor, Docks
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor has become the cultural center of the city since the waterfront revitalization project launched in the 1970’s. This 1978 photograph show’s the docks before they were developed into the National Aquarium and various commercial…
Baltimore: USS Constellation; Old Harry Ship and McCormick Spice Factory
This 1978 photograph shows the USS Constellation at the inner harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. It was moved here in 1968 as part of the city’s revitalization plan. In the 1970’s the Inner Harbor emerged as the cultural center of Baltimore with the USS…
Baltimore: Row Houses
Row houses were popular in urban areas of the East Coast throughout the 19th century. Baltimore’s urban landscape has the best representation of the row house architecture, varying from grand manses to middle-class homes in various architectural…
Boston: South End
The Boston neighborhood known as the South End (see notes) was once marshland that was filled in the 1840s as a solution to overcrowding in the Back Bay area. Renowned architect Charles Bulfinch created a plan for the South End neighborhood’s…
Boston: South End, Brick Sidewalk
The Boston neighborhood known as the South End (see notes) was once marshland that was filled in the 1840s as a solution to overcrowding in the Back Bay area. Renowned architect Charles Bulfinch created a plan for the South End neighborhood’s…
Boston: South End
The Boston neighborhood known as the South End (see notes) was once marshland that was filled in the 1840s as a solution to overcrowding in the Back Bay area. Renowned architect Charles Bulfinch created a plan for the South End neighborhood’s…
Boston: South End, Side Street
The Boston neighborhood known as the South End (see notes) was once marshland that was filled in the 1840s as a solution to overcrowding in the Back Bay area. Renowned architect Charles Bulfinch created a plan for the South End neighborhood’s…
University of Wisconsin, Madison Campus
The University of Wisconsin, Madison Campus situated along Lake Mendota. The Madison Campus is the oldest and largest in the University of Wisconsin system, established in 1849. Notable architectural landmarks on the campus include the Science Hall…
Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine is located in the south coast region of the state. Portland is home to almost one quarter of Maine’s residents, and is known as the “metropolitan hub” of this region.
New York Skyline
Aerial photograph showing Manhattan and Brooklyn looking West towards the city. This image shows the New York skyline as it was known from the late 1960s until the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.
Santo Domingo Aerial
An aerial view over Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic.
Catedral Santa Maria la Menor
The oldest cathedral in the Americas is Catedral Santa Maria la Menor located in Santo Domino, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic was the first island in the Americas to be taken over by the Spanish after Christopher…
White House Tourists
Tourists visiting the White House in Washington D.C., photographed by Chet Smolski. Until the early twentieth century, The White House was open to the public, but has since been restricted due to security concerns. However, free and public tours of…
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery was established during the American Civil War and currently covers an area of 624 acres in Arlington, VA. This photograph, taken in the mid-1980s looks north across the cemetery and shows the Arlington skyline on the…
Washington Monument at Night
The Washington Monument, the most prominent fixture in the D.C. skyline, was completed in 1884 in honor of the first American president, George Washington. The monument stands over 555 ft tall and offers views over thirty miles. A design competition…
The Washington Monument
The Washington Monument, the most prominent fixture in the D.C. skyline, was completed in 1884 in honor of the first American president, George Washington. The monument stands over 555 ft tall and offers views over thirty miles. A design competition…
The Smithsonian Institute
The original home of the Smithsonian Institute was built by architect James Renwick, Jr. The Romanesque style building, referred to as the “Castle”, is located on the National Mall in Washington and was commissioned in 1846. The structure was built…
Hirshhorn Museum
Exhibits at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C. The Hirshhorn is an architectural landmark and includes an outdoor sculpture garden on its grounds. The Hirshhorn Museum is a Smithsonian institution located on the National Mall.
The museum is…
Hirshhorn Museum
Exhibits at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C. The Hirshhorn is an architectural landmark and includes an outdoor sculpture garden on its grounds. The Hirshhorn Museum is a Smithsonian institution located on the National Mall.
The museum is…