Special Report

Early Photographs of the World’s Most Famous Landmarks

spyarm / Getty Images

One of the most iconic landmarks in the United States, the Statue of Liberty towers 305 feet above Liberty Island in the New York Harbor. Before Lady Liberty — built by the French over the course of nine years — was given to the United States, however, her head was put on display in a park at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair to raise funds for her body’s completion. Luckily, photos of this display — as well as images of her torch-bearing arm on display in Madison Square Park — still exist today. (Look at these other photos from American life in the 19th century.)

Early photographs of famous monuments and buildings can help keep the history of these cultural sites alive. 24/7 Tempo assembled a list of some of the most important and visually stunning monuments and landmarks around the world from a number of sites, including CNN, Travel & Leisure, Architectural Digest, Britannica, The Culture Trip, and Wonders of the World. Then we sought out memorable early photographic images of the key examples we found.

Because the older landmarks, such as Stonehenge and the Colosseum, were already in a state of disrepair by the time photography was invented, the earliest photos we have of these ancient sites may still leave much to the imagination as to their previous splendor. (To see some examples of better-preserved ancient architecture, check out Europe’s most beautiful castles.)

Click here to see early photographs of the world’s most famous landmarks

Many of the newer monuments — such as the Sydney Opera House and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpar — are still in good condition, but like all things, they will inevitably decay over the centuries, so having a photographic record of them in their relative youth will be appreciated by future generations.

By National Media Museum - 'Le Sphinx Armachis, Caire' (The Sphinx Armachis, Cairo), No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7966412 / Wikimedia Commons

Great Sphinx of Giza
> Location: Giza, Egypt
> Construction completed: circa 2520 B.C.
> Year of photograph: circa 1870s

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Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

The Great Pyramid of Giza
> Location: Giza, Egypt
> Year of photograph:
> Construction completed: circa 2490 B.C.

Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Stonehedge
> Location: Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England
> Construction completed: circa 1600 B.C.
> Year of photograph: 1935

V&A Images / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

The Parthenon
> Location: Athens, Greece
> Construction completed: 432 B.C.
> Year of photograph:

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Print Collector / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

The Western Wall
> Location: Jerusalem, Israel
> Construction completed: 20 B.C.
> Year of photograph: 1895

Sean Sexton / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

The Colosseum
> Location: Rome, Italy
> Construction completed: circa 80
> Year of photograph:

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Print Collector / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Pantheon
> Location: Rome, Italy
> Construction completed: 125
> Year of photograph: Late 19th century

George Rinhart / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Hagia Sophia
> Location: Istanbul, Turkey
> Construction completed: 537
> Year of photograph:

adoc-photos / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Angkor Wat
> Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
> Construction completed: circa 1150
> Year of photograph:

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By Hiram Bingham III, « Work Accomplished by the Peruvian Expedition of 1912, under the Auspices of Yale University and the National Geographic Society » (see the Rediscovering Machu Picchu in the menu of http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/1913/04/machu-picchu/bingham-photography). - National Geographic, April 1913 : http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/1913/04/machu-picchu/img/22-general-view-machu-714.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1411730 / Wikimedia Commons

Machu Picchu
> Location: Cuzco area, Peru
> Construction completed: circa 1450
> Year of photograph: 1912

V&A Images / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Leaning Tower of Pisa
> Location: Pisa, Italy
> Construction completed: 1372
> Year of photograph: Unknown

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Michael Maslan / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Mont Saint-Michel Abbey
> Location: Normandy, France
> Construction completed: 1523
> Year of photograph: circa 1880

Hulton Deutsch / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

St. Basil’s Cathedral
> Location: Moscow, Russia
> Construction completed: 1561
> Year of photograph: circa 1875

Hulton Deutsch / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)
> Location: Istanbul, Turkey
> Construction completed: 1616
> Year of photograph:

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Hulton Deutsch / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

St. Peter’s Basilica
> Location: Vatican City, Italy
> Construction completed: 1626
> Year of photograph:

Print Collector / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Taj Mahal
> Location: Agra, India
> Construction completed: 1653
> Year of photograph: Early 20th century

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Print Collector / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Buckingham Palace
> Location: London, England
> Construction completed: 1703-1913
> Year of photograph: Unknown

Print Collector / Getty Images

St. Paul’s Cathedral
> Location: London, England
> Construction completed: 1710
> Year of photograph:

By Unknown author - http://i116.piczo.com/view/3/1/x/q/v/h/z/7/m/0/c/9/img/i192524696_54951_3.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17613243 / Wikimedia Commons

The Grand Palace
> Location: Bangkok, Thailand
> Construction completed: 1782
> Year of photograph: circa 1880

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By John Plumbe - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID cph.3c12293.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3385334 / Wikimedia Commons

The White House
> Location: Washington, D.C., United States
> Construction completed: 1800
> Year of photograph: circa 1846

Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Brooklyn Bridge
> Location: East River, between Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
> Construction completed: 1883
> Year of photograph: circa 1875

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By Albert Fernique - NYDL / Flickr: [Head of the Statue of Liberty on display in a park in Paris..., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22269768 / Wikimedia Commons

Statue of Liberty
> Location: Liberty Island, New York Harbor, New York City, New York, United States
> Construction completed: 1886
> Year of photograph: 1883

Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Neuschwanstein Castle
> Location: Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, Germany
> Construction completed: 1886
> Year of photograph: circa 1900

Buyenlarge / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Washington Monument
> Location: Washington, D.C., United States
> Construction completed: 1884
> Year of photograph: 1864

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Library of Congress / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Eiffel Tower
> Location: Paris, France
> Construction completed: 1889
> Year of photograph: 1889

Heritage Images / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Tower Bridge
> Location: London, England
> Construction completed: 1894
> Year of photograph: 1894

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Alexander Alland, Jr. / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Flatiron Building
> Location: New York City, New York, United States
> Construction completed: 1902
> Year of photograph: 1902

Bettmann / Getty Images

Times Tower (One Times Square)
> Location: New York City, New York, United States
> Construction completed: 1904
> Year of photograph: circa 1910s

The New York Historical Society / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Manhattan Bridge
> Location: East River, between Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
> Construction completed: 1909
> Year of photograph:

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Library of Congress / Corbis Historical via Getty Images

Lincoln Memorial
> Location: Washington, D.C., United States
> Construction completed: 1922
> Year of photograph: 1922

Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Hollywood (originally Hollywoodland) Sign
> Location: Mount Lee, Hollywood Hills, California, United States
> Construction completed: 1923
> Year of photograph: 1924

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By Walter Mittelholzer - This image is from the collection of the ETH-Bibliothek and has been published on Wikimedia Commons as part of a cooperation with Wikimedia CH. Corrections and additional information are welcome., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50707670 / Wikimedia Commons

Plaza de España
> Location: Seville, Spain
> Construction completed: 1928
> Year of photograph: 1932

Edwin Levick / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Empire State Building
> Location: New York City, New York, United States
> Construction completed: 1931
> Year of photograph: Early 1930s

Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor)
> Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
> Construction completed: 1931
> Year of photograph: circa 1930

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Underwood Archives / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Sydney Harbour Bridge
> Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
> Construction completed: 1932
> Year of photograph: Early 1930s

PhotoQuest / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
> Location: San Francisco Bay, California, United States
> Construction completed: 1934
> Year of photograph:

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Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Golden Gate Bridge
> Location: San Francisco Bay, between San Francisco and Marin County, California, United States
> Construction completed: 1937
> Year of photograph: 1935

Chicago History Museum / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Fallingwater
> Location: Mill Run, Pennsylvania, United States
> Construction completed: 1939
> Year of photograph: 1937

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Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Mount Rushmore
> Location: Pennington County, South Dakota
> Construction completed: 1941
> Year of photograph: circa 1940

Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

The Space Needle
> Location: Seattle, Washington, United States
> Construction completed: 1961
> Year of photograph:

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Pictorial Parade / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Gateway Arch
> Location: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
> Construction completed: 1965
> Year of photograph: circa 1964

Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Madison Square Garden (current location)
> Location: New York City, New York, United States
> Construction completed: 1968
> Year of photograph:

Smith Collection/Gado / Archive Photos via Getty Images

Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano)
> Location: Milan, Italy
> Construction completed: 1386-1965
> Year of photograph: 1922

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Bettmann / Bettmann via Getty Images

Sydney Opera House
> Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
> Construction completed: 1973
> Year of photograph: 1973

Chicago History Museum / Archive Photos via Getty Images

The Willis Tower (Sears Tower)
> Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
> Construction completed: 1974
> Year of photograph: circa 1972

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Yves Forestier / Sygma via Getty Images

Channel Tunnel
> Location: English Channel between Folkestone, Kent, England and Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, France
> Construction completed: 1994
> Year of photograph: 1993

Serge Attal / The Chronicle Collection via Getty Images

Petronas Towers
> Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
> Construction completed: 1996
> Year of photograph: 1996

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