Gateway to the World

In the early 1900s the growth of Houston was unbridled. Opportunity could be found around every corner of the bayou city and a host of individuals trying to find it. During The 1920s alone there was a building boom that lasted a decade giving local professional photographers plenty of work. Despite a crushing depression crippling the rest of the nation Houston would survive better than most. The photographs featured in this exhibit showcase the best of the best of commercial photography and photographers during the 1920s & 1930s. Using huge cameras that created an 8 x 10 inch black and white negative these skilled craftsmen captured day to day life in and around Houston with amazing clarity. Each image is a visual time capsule revealing an important part of our community’s historical past. 

The mechanical process of 19th and 20th century photography in the age of the digital world…