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50 "Before And After" Photos That Will Completely And Totally Change Your Perspective On The World

So much has changed so quickly.

1. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC in 1907...

2. And the Lincoln Memorial 100 years later:

3. Hong Kong circa 1920...

4. And Hong Kong today:

Kong Kong

5. The Azure Swimming Pool in Chernobyl before the nuclear disaster...

Indoor pool with large windows and a high diving platform where two people stand, while others swim below

6. And the same swimming pool today:

Abandoned indoor swimming pool with overgrown foliage visible through broken windows, creating an eerie and forgotten atmosphere

7. The Mayan temple at Chichen Itza in the 1860s before it was restored...

A building at the top of a wild hill

8. And the same temple today:

A temple at the top of stairs with maintained grass at the base

9. The New York City skyline in 1931...

Aerial view of New York City with the skyline and skyscrapers casting long shadows. The horizon features large water bodies in the distance

10. And the New York City skyline today:

Aerial view of New York City featuring dense skyscrapers, with the Empire State Building prominently in the center and Manhattan in the background

11. Nickelodeon Studios in the 1990s...

Brightly colored Nickelodeon Studios, with stairs and large toy objects outside it

12. And Nickelodeon studios today:

A blue-and-white balcony building with a few potted trees in front of it and a Hard Rock Cafe sign next to it

13. The great promenade deck of the Titanic in 1912...

covered deck with folded chairs along the wall

14. And the same deck on the Titanic today:

submerged in water

15. The "back" of the Hoover Dam prior to the dam being flooded with water...

The dam amid mountain ranges

16. And the same side of the Hoover Dam today:

It's surrounded by water

17. Mount St. Helens one day before it erupted in 1980...

Mount St. Helens before it erupted

18. And Mount St. Helens today:

Mount St. Helens after the eruption

19. Tokyo in March of 1945...

Aerial view of an urban landscape with widespread destruction. Few buildings stand amidst debris, indicating massive damage, likely from a disaster

20. And Tokyo today:

Aerial view of Tokyo with the prominent Tokyo Skytree tower surrounded by urban buildings and intersecting rivers

21. The face of the Statue of Liberty before it was installed onto the monument...

The Statue of Liberty's face

22. And the Statue of Liberty's face today:

Close-up of the Statue of Liberty's face and crown against a clear sky

23. Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the start of his first term as President in 1933...

A person in a suit seated at a desk with papers and a microphone in front of them

24. And this the last picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ever taken, snapped just one day before his death in 1945:

Closeup of FDR

25. Mount Rushmore before the presidential heads were carved into it...

Close-up of Mount Rushmore

26. And Mount Rushmore today:

Mount Rushmore National Memorial with sculpted faces of four U.S. presidents carved into a granite mountainside, surrounded by trees

27. Main Street in Los Angeles in 1897...

Historic black-and-white photo depicting a bustling city street with horse-drawn carriages and tall buildings lining both sides

28. And Main Street in Los Angeles 50 years later:

Historic photo of mid-20th century Los Angeles with cars on a highway and downtown buildings, including a notable tower in the background

29. The Berlin Wall in 1969...

A woman hangs laundry on a line beside a concrete wall topped with barbed wire, a church visible in the background. A bike lies nearby

30. And the same section of the Berlin Wall today:

Two people walk down a leafy sidewalk in an urban area, carrying backpacks, with parked cars and trees nearby

31. The statue of Anubis that was found inside King Tut's tomb...

A jackal-like statue on top of a sarcophagus in a small room

32. And the statue today:

Side view of the statue, which appears much darker

33. The Woodstock Festival in 1969...

A massive crowd gathers outdoors at a music festival, with a stage and scaffolding visible in the background under a cloudy sky

34. And that same field today:

A rolling grassy hill with a wooden fence in the foreground and a cloudy sky above

35. Abraham Lincoln when he became president in 1861...

Smiling slightly with a bow tie

36. And what he looked like four short years later, in 1865:

With a bow tie but many more lines on his face

37. Machu Pichu before any restoration...

Historic Machu Picchu site with ancient stone structures and terraces against a mountainous backdrop shrouded in clouds

38. And Machu Picchu today:

Machu Picchu landscape with ancient ruins in the foreground and a mountain backdrop under a cloudy sky. A llama grazes in the foreground

39. This is the Times Building, the center of New York's Times Square, under construction in 1903...

Times Building

40. And that same area over a hundred years later:

Times Square

41. The Singapore skyline in 2000...

Aerial view of a cityscape with skyscrapers and a waterfront, featuring a mix of urban and natural landscapes, including trees and water

42. And that same skyline today:

Aerial view of Singapore's Marina Bay at dusk, featuring city skyline and illuminated buildings

43. The city of Seattle in 1907...

Hilly terrain, gravel roads, and just a few small buildings in a black-and-white photo

44. And the city of Seattle today:

A cityscape view of downtown skyscrapers with a mountain in the distant background

45. The Hollywood sign when it was first put up...

Driving on a winding road towards the original Hollywoodland sign on a hillside, featuring vintage cars from the early 20th century

46. And the Hollywood sign today:

View of the Hollywood sign from a city street lined with telephone poles and trees

47. Queen Elizabeth II when she was 18...

Young Queen Elizabeth II

48. And one of the last pictures ever taken of Queen Elizabeth II, taken only two days before her death in September 2022:

An elderly woman with glasses and a plaid skirt stands smiling, holding a cane, in a cozy room with a fireplace in the background

49. Stonehenge before it was restored...

Black and white image of Stonehenge, featuring large ancient stone structures under a cloudy sky

50. And Stonehenge today:

Stonehenge under a clear sky with scattered clouds, surrounded by green grass and distant visitors exploring the historic site