Last week Gapers Block had a link to a great Flickr set Chicago photos from years past (including a cool photo of the Hancock building being built).

Looking over the photos it was interesting to see how different the city looks now (duh), and it gave me the idea to look for more old photos of the city (most I discovered are from the 1960s) and go take photos in the exact spot the original photo was taken.

What I was struck by most once I started looking at the photos side by side was how crowded things look now. Trees, signs, powerlines, bike racks, flower boxes, streetlights, etc. Obviously things change, but it's rare that you get to look at photos of the exact same spot, side by side, from 50 years apart.

Below are the results.

Michigan Ave., looking north from Superior St. [The Water Tower in the current photo almost completely blends in, and the Palmolive Building on the right is the only real way to tell that it's even the same spot.]

Michigan Ave., looking north from Jackson Blvd.

State St., looking north from Randolph St.

Michigan Ave., looking north from the Chicago River

Looking south across the Chicago River at Wacker Dr.

The northwest corner of Dearborn and Ontario [The former home of the Chicago Historical Society from the 1890s until 1931, this building now houses a nightclub named Excalibur.]