Olivander's photostream

Postcard photo taken in the late 1930s. Silver Lake was a WPA project, completed in 1936. A portion of the original brick wall seen in the top photo can still be seen on the far side of the dam, not visible here.

Due to dramatic changes to the river channel and geography of 2nd St as part of the 1990s flood control project, the original shot is almost impossible to recreate today. As it is, the pedestrian bridge in the foreground (immediately beneath the skyway) virtually completely blocks the view of the rail bridge.

The postcard photo is postmarked April, 1909, just three months after the YMCA opened. The little bank building alongside it was moved there from where it originally stood near City Hall about a block and a half away; the Martin Hotel was built in its place in 1916. The Y was torn down in 1938.

The "now" shot is more or less an educated guess since the Rommel is long gone, destroyed by fire in 1953.

The angle isn't quite right, since the modern street is much wider than the 2-lane bridge the 1908 photo was shot from. I would have had to stand in the middle of 4th St to accurately recreate the shot.