JW Bledsoe, California Photographer

Late 19th and Early 20th Century Photography of the California Wilderness

Category: Maritime

Pacific Coast Scene

Pacific Coast Scene

Pacific coast scene, showing waves crashing onto the shoreline, with cliff and trees in the foreground. Location unknown, date unknown.

Photograph by J.W. Bledsoe

Thanks to Keith Moore.

Panorama, San Francisco and the Great White Fleet, May 1908

Bledsoe's 1908 Photo of the Great White Fleet

Bledsoe’s panoramic photo of the Great White Fleet.

Bledsoe’s panoramic photo of the Great White Fleet, May 7, 1908 is in the holdings of the Library of Congress. It shows a panoramic view of San Francisco from Twin Peaks. The Presidio and Golden Gate (sans bridge) occupy the left background of the image. Golden Gate Park with its conservatory and the panhandle occupy the center left. Center foreground shows a water tank I used to walk by on my way to work at UCSF. Market street can be discerned to center right, angling toward Yerba Buena Island (again, sans bridge). Treasure Island has not yet been built. The reconstruction after the 1906 earthquake is evident, and Teddy Roosevelt’s “Great White Fleet” is visible in the Bay to the right.

Dated May 7, 1908

Photograph by J. W. Bledsoe.

In the holdings of the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007660691/

SFPan2004Feb26

Photograph of the same location, taken by Richard Delwiche 99 years later.

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