Have you ever wondered what famous cities used to look like before our time? The last 100 years or so have seen incredibly rapid development in architecture, urban planning, engineering and technology, so it's no surprise that some of the world's cities would look barely recognisable to someone from a century ago.
Here we journey back in time with historic images of the world's greatest cities, and find out what's changed and what hasn't...
Captured from Greenwich Park sometime between 1945 and 1965, the Old Royal Naval College and Queen's House dominate the landscape here while, directly opposite, the north bank of the Thames is dotted with countless factory chimneys. Canary Wharf, visible in the distance on the right-hand side, was among the busiest docks in the world in this period. After the 1960s, the port industry here declined and the docks closed completely by 1980.
In the 21st century, Canary Wharf looks completely different. Long gone are the factory chimneys, replaced by ultra-modern skyscrapers, tower blocks and cranes building yet more high-rises. While the Old Royal Naval College and Queen's House remain as they were, the old docks have been transformed into one of London's and world's most important financial districts. The development here is so rapid that 76 new skyscrapers were finished in central London in 2019 alone.
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Once the focal point of Las Vegas, Fremont Street is pictured here in 1953. Back then, the Golden Nugget (one of the oldest casinos still open in the city) and its huge sign were a dazzling symbol of Sin City. The area, also home to the Hotel Apache, El Cortez and the Mint, became known as the Glitter Gulch thanks to all the tall neon signs looming over the narrow street. However, soon after, a development boom kickstarted the rise of the Las Vegas Strip, and today Fremont Street looks a lot different...
Gone is the Golden Nugget's towering sign (though the casino is still open) and the tightly packed hotels of 1953. The street's appearance changed completely in 1995 when the new and improved Fremont Street Experience – a pedestrian mall with attractions, casinos and concert stages – was unveiled. Occupying five blocks, including the Glitter Gulch, the street was closed to traffic and covered with a massive light canopy in a bid to revive downtown. One of the few relics to survive to this day is Vegas Vic: a neon sign portraying a cowboy.
Originally built to house the British colonial administration in Kuala Lumpur, the Government Offices building, as it was then known, was opened in 1897, and is photographed here in the early 1900s. Located in the city centre, the ornate pile was the grandest in Kuala Lumpur at the time – the city was still in its early days, having only been founded in 1857.
Today, Malaysia's capital casts a vastly different figure. After gaining independence first from the British and then from the Japanese, Malaysia's growth was quick, particularly in the early 1990s. Famous additions like the Petronas Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Tower now define the skyline. The Government Offices building was renamed the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, and the structure currently houses the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Malaysia.
Captured from Twin Peaks in 1947, this San Francisco cityscape would be almost unrecognisable but for the Oakland Bay Bridge, finished just 10 years prior to this photo. While some high-rises had already appeared in the city's Financial District, much of the city changed in the coming decades, as the urban planning projects of the 1950s and the 1960s focused on widespread redevelopment of neighbourhoods and the construction of new freeways.
Some 70 years later, San Francisco's growth is obvious. While some landmarks, like the tree-lined Market Street and San Francisco City Hall can still be made out, others, like the Oakland Bay Bridge, are almost completely obstructed by the new developments in the Financial District, the East Cut and Rincon Hill. Much of the city's growth has been fuelled by the dot-com boom in the 1990s and the social media boom since the mid-2000s, driving gentrification and a second wave of high-rise developments.
Running along the bank of the Huangpu River, this famous boulevard, also known as the Bund, houses many of Shanghai's more European-style buildings, including what was once the Shanghai Bank (the large domed building) and the North China Daily News Building (with two smaller domes next to the flagpole). Captured here in 1927, the waterfront still had several docks for small boats and apart from the few grand buildings along the Bund, the rest of the city's skyline is low.
Almost a century later, it's a vastly different sight. While some of the buildings from 1927 are still there, like the old Shanghai Bank building and the North China Daily News Building (now the AIA Building), the rest of the city has changed immensely. The streets behind the Bund are obscured by towering skyscrapers and the docks have been turned into an attractive waterfront promenade. Across the river, just out of frame, lies Shanghai's main financial district, which contains several of the world's tallest buildings.
Consecrated in the 15th century, Berlin Cathedral, pictured here around 1890, has had multiple iterations. A significant city landmark then and now, it was badly damaged in the Second World War and its reconstruction didn't start until 1975. Around the time this photo was taken, Berlin had become the capital of the newly-founded German Empire, which inspired rapid growth and expansion. This, combined with the damage of two World Wars, means it's unsurprising that the city's face has changed so dramatically...
The reconstructed cathedral today is notably different to its predecessor. Gone are the ornate details on the central dome and the facade. As the cathedral fell into East Berlin after the division of Germany, the communist government also demanded the removal of as many crosses as possible. Today, it's one of Berlin's best-known landmarks along with the Berlin Fernsehturm (Berlin TV Tower) in the background. The latter has become the city skyline's most recognisable feature.
Established in the early 18th century as a fishing village, Dubai has come a long way. Even before the discovery of oil, Dubai played an important role as a trading post thanks to its proximity to Iran. But since oil was found in the region in the 1960s Dubai's growth really has been non-stop. Photographed here in 2003 is Dubai Marina in its early days: an artificial canal city that is now a district of Dubai.
Staggeringly, this photo of Dubai Marina was taken just 20 years later – a snapshot of Dubai's interstellar growth and development. Only the first phase of the Dubai Marina development has been officially finished and, when completed, it's expected to house more than 120,000 people in residential towers and villas.
A city with a long and illustrious history, Florence needs no introduction. Its famous Ponte Vecchio is captured here in 1893, just 22 years after Rome replaced the city as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. During the Second World War the city spent a year under German occupation and, as British troops closed in, the Germans drew up plans to destroy all the bridges along the Arno river. Thankfully, a consul managed to convince a German general to spare the Ponte Vecchio due to its historic value.
While some cities see enormous change every passing decade, there's something comforting about seeing Florence today almost exactly as it was back in 1893. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, much of Florence's historic centre is preserved and remains largely unchanged. So it is with the Ponte Vecchio, which still looks more or less as it did in the 16th century when the Medici family walked the Vasari Corridor through its upper floor.
These incredible images show what the world looked like in the 19th century
A hugely important city, Cairo has a history stretching all the way back to Ancient Egypt. While much has changed in the city over time, one of Cairo's most significant monuments has stood the test of time: the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan. Built in the mid-14th century, it's photographed here around 1930.
Pictured here almost a century later, much of the city has changed. Several high-rises dominate the skyline in the background, but the historic structures themselves look like not a day has gone by. Today, Cairo has a population of around 10 million and its urban sprawl has spread as far as the pyramids, bordering the Giza Necropolis complex.
Australia's most populous city, Sydney has had a tumultuous history, but established itself as Australia's major cultural and financial centre in the late 19th century. Although the Great Depression hit the country hard in 1929, the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened in May 1932. After the Second World War the city boomed and new industries grew. But in this image, captured in 1955, Sydney Harbour is still missing a key landmark that opened in 1973...
This more recent image shows the view we're so used to seeing, and includes the world-famous Sydney Opera House. There are other changes too: the city has grown in size and its central business district is now defined by skyscrapers and high-rises. There have also been changes on the other side of the harbour, where Luna Park Sydney, an amusement and entertainment park, has sprung up.
Very few locations in New York City have been through such drastic changes as Times Square. Grown out of a tiny hamlet known for carriage-making, the area developed into the centre of New York's horse carriage industry in the late 1800s. It was named Longacre Square after Long Acre in London, and it was here that William Henry Vanderbilt ran the American Horse Exchange. The square got its modern name when The New York Times newspaper took up residence in one of its main buildings in 1904. This image dates from around 1900, and faces south.
Since the Great Depression and the two World Wars, Times Square has grown dramatically, and has become a hub for theatres, dance halls and upscale hotels, as well as the centre of New York's New Year celebrations. It's also a major tourist attraction, and is where Good Morning America is broadcast live from ABC's Times Square Studios.
The Arc de Triomphe, officially called the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, is one of the French capital's most famous sights, commemorating the French soldiers who fought and died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Snapped in the first half of the 1900s, around 100 years after the landmark was finished, this aerial photo gives a good glimpse of what the city used to look like.
A much more recent photo shows that the leafy avenues and typically Parisian apartment buildings are still very much in place. In fact, unlike many other places in Paris, this enormous roundabout has changed remarkably little. One small change is the star shape emitting from the base of the Arc de Triomphe – a 12-point star pointing towards each of the junction's 12 avenues. It's a nod to the roundabout's previous name: Place de l'Etoile, with 'etoile' meaning star.
No work by legendary architect Antoni Gaudi is more famous or more impressive than Barcelona's sprawling mega-church, the Sagrada Familia. Work on the landmark began in 1882 (originally under the watch of Spanish architect Francisco de Paula del Villar) and it’s pictured here some 60 years later, around 1940.
This image shows the difference that 80 years of construction can make, and the Sagrada Familia today looks like a completely different building. In 2015 it was announced that construction was 70% complete and the church is now set to be fully finished in 2026 – the centenary of Gaudi's death.
International tourism only really got going in the late 19th century, and, then as now, Venice was one of its hottest destinations. This 19th-century image shows visitors feeding pigeons in front of St Mark's Basilica – a pastime that continued until 2008, when it was made illegal – while the trio of flagpoles are flying the old Kingdom of Italy flag, in use until the 1940s. Note the thick black suits worn even in the Italian sun, and the glinting chains of pocket watches.
Today the buildings of St Mark's Square remain in a state of preservation, though the paving stones are cleaner and clearer and the three flagpoles have been stripped of their flags. The biggest update is to the people, with suit jackets, canes and sun umbrellas swapped out for backpacks, plastic sunglasses and denim shorts.
Read on to see fascinating black-and-white images of America in the 1950s