Author Archives: Kerri

Telluride in the Mountains, A Local Somerville History Nut, and Houdini’s Escape

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Hello and welcome to a special Monday edition of Friday Favorites! It has been hectic here at Historypin, but I still wanted to get the word out there about some of the great content that went up in the past week. Check them out:

 Pin of the Week

Fourth of July Parade, Colorado Street, Telluride, 1895.

Pin of the Week comes from the Telluride Historical Museum, with a scenic photo of a Fourth of July Parade in Telluride in 1895. Located in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, Telluride has a rich history as a mining town; from the local Native American Ute culture, the discovery of gold and silver, and the arrival of the railroad, the museum aims to chronicle this diverse history. The world is familiar with Telluride through the the Telluride Film Festival, held for the past forty years and on parr with Cannes and Sundance. I myself knew about Telluride through my love for film, but am glad to be able to explore the town’s history.

Unfortunately there is currently no Street View available for Telluride (get on that Google Maps!), but looking at the photo below, it seems that the intimate small-town feeling still remains:

Downtown Telluride, present day.

Telluride, surrounded on all sides by mountains

I look forward to seeing more pins from the Telluride Historical Museum; in the meantime, visit their Channel and their website.

Pinner of the Week

South End kids pose on a stone lion, Boston, MA, 1933-1943.

Pinner of the Week is user binarydreams, a self-perscribed “local history nut” from Somerville, Massachusetts. With over one-hundred pins, binarydreams shares an array of photos from not only Somerville’s past, but other cities in Massachusetts such as Boston. From sledding on underwater ice to raids on speakeasies in the latter, to child laborers in 1912 Somerville, decades of local history leading up to the present are brought vividly to life.

A yard full of homework, Sommerville, MA, 1912.

A city farmer tends his vegetables in the Fenway, Boston, 1973.

I love individuals that are so enthusiastic about their local history; there is so much to discover and learn, and the potentially more personal element involved can instill a sense of belonging and participation in the timeline of local culture. Binarydream’s Channel certainly has the scope that allows not only locals, but those from around the world to see how much has changed (or what has not) in the area, and reflect on “remember how we used to…”

Check out the Channel’s wonderful collection of photos here.

Story of the Week

Harry Houdini preparing for an escape stunt, 1912. (Library of Congress)

In the weeks leading up to Halloween, Story of the Week comes from the mysterious magician Harry Houdini. A master at his craft, Houdini defied the efforts of experts in almost every part of the world to devise a restraint from which he could not escape. He escaped from iron boxes, paper bags, bank safes, and coffins buried six feet under.

On July 7, 1912, Houdini attempted to escape from a wooden crate submerged in the East River in New York harbor. In the photo above, he shows his handcuffs and chains as he stands with the wooden crate that he will climb into, the hook for it visible on the left. The police inspected that his bindings were secure, then the large box was nailed shut and weighted down with lead weights. The box was then slowly lowered into the harbor, to the delight of a huge crowd onshore.

Here Houdini describes the mental strength necessary to complete an escape: “When I am stripped and manacled, nailed securely within a weighted packing case and thrown into the sea, or when I am buried alive under six feet of earth, it is necessary to preserve absolute serenity of spirit….If I grow panicky I am lost. And if something goes wrong; if there is some slight accident or mishap…I am lost unless all my faculties are free from mental tension or strain. The public see only the accomplished trick…”

Within a minute of being submerged in the box, Houdini’s head appeared in the water, unbound and free. When the bindings were inspected back on the pier, they were found in the exact condition they were in before the box was lowered into the water. Hat’s off to one of the world’s greatest escapists!

Funny Animals, the Swinburne Institute, and Iwo-Jima

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Happy Friday! Thank you to all the institutions and individual users that have joined and started using Historypin this week, we have come across some wonderful Channels recently. Here in London, where everyone is in denial over the fact that winter has started, let’s keep warm and cozy with some Friday Favourites:

Pin of the Week

Goat stealing a horse's food, April 18, 1895.

For the Pin of the Week, I thought it would be fun to showcase two great Channels through their fun animal-themed photos. This first one, of a goat cheekily stealing a horse’s food, continues the surprising goat-themed week we have been having here at Historypin. The Samuel Butler Project, who have pinned the photo, have many more animal-centric photos from the prolific Victorian photographer of the same name, including sheep and horses on steamers and a man with a monkey. Butler travelled around Europe extensively during the 1800′s and captured the charming, humorous, and poignant slices of life, and this photo is just one great example.

Seal meets man on site of the 'Cities Service Boston' wreck, 1943.

The second is from the Shellharbour Libraries and Museum in New South Wales, Australia, of a man meeting a seal on the beach. The photo was taken on the site of a shipwreck in 1943, in which soldiers from the 6th Australian Machine Gun Battalion AIF rescued the entire crew of 62 Americans, tragically losing four soldiers in the process. A memorial to their bravery now stands on the northern side of Bass Point in Shellharbour. I like the way that this fun photo unexpectedly tells a larger story of local heroism.

Check out the Samuel Butler Project’s Channel here, and the Shellharbour Libraries and Museums’ Channel here.

Pinner of the Week

Fighting boys by the Domestic Economy Building, 1911-1917.

Pinner of the Week is the wonderful Swinburne University of Technology, who have been pinning some great photos of campus life reaching back to the early 20th century. Founded by George Swinburne in 1908, this Melbourne, Australia-based campus holds thousands of historical photographs illustrating the rich history of learning and teaching at the institution. Swinburne’s Channel provides a snapshot of retro learning, from dressmaking and laundry to blacksmith and practical plumbing classes.

Junior laundry class, 1915.

Drum-up some school nostalgia by viewing more photos on Swinburne’s Channel.

Story of the Week

The Battle of Iwo Jima, February 1945.

Story of the Week comes from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library, who have pinned some haunting photos of The Battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945. Many capture Invasion Beach, where 61,000 American marines poured onto in one of the bloodiest and final campaigns of World War II. The battle was marked by changes in Japanese defense tactics-troops no longer defended at the beach line but rather concentrated inland; consequently, the marines experienced initial success but then got bogged down in costly attritional warfare.

The Battle of Iwo Jima, 1945.

These photos were taken by Richard H. Stotz, a combat photographer during World War II who was dispatched to Iwo Jima’s front lines to capture the battle as it was taking place. The job of a combat photographer was very dangerous because they were never heavily armed, usually carrying only a single weapon and their camera equipment. Photographs taken during a combat assault, like Iwo Jima, were rarely developed in the field.  The photographers’ film was sent out by plane or naval ship to an alternate location to be developed.  Interestingly, photographers usually never saw the actual photographs. Photos like these of Iwo Jima were used for training purposes, and to identify any mistakes that may have occurred.  Today, these images of Stotz’s comrades, Japanese prisoners, downed military airplanes and combat operations are valuable historical records and memories.

Check out more photos at their Channel here.

The Historic New Orleans Photo Collection

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Central Fire Station, 300 Block Decatur Street, 1928-1932.

Historypin recently helped to Street View hundreds of photos belonging to the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum, research center, and publisher located in the heart of the French Quarter. Founded in 1966 by L. Kemper and Leila Williams, THNOC has grown to include collections of photography, film, jazz, literature, decorative arts, Mardi Gras memorabilia, and oral history narratives. The Collection’s Historypin images are drawn from the Charles L. Franck Studio Collection, comprising 16,000 photographs and negatives that chronicle the growth of Louisiana and New Orleans during the 20th century. From the classic iron-railing buildings of the French Quarter to the hustle and bustle of Canal Street, THNOC chronicles city-life for over half-a-century.

Here are some favorites that I found while Street Viewing:

Up Carondelet Street from the 100 Block, 1921-1925.

Up Canal Street from the 1000 Block, 1932-1936.

Mar - Jean Apartments, 1002 Esplanade Avenue, 1941.

French Market-Morning Coffee Call House, 1948-1952.

Having never been to New Orleans, going through this Collection extensively has made me feel like an honorary local. If you too want a tour of both old and present-day New Orleans, check out the rest of this fabulous Collection on the Historic New Orleans Collection Channel.  You can also check out their collection on their own Historic New Orleans iPhone app which we built for them.

Filming on Campus in the 1900′s, Family History, and West Side Story in Hell’s Kitchen

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Happy Friday to everyone! Here are some of my favourites from this week:

Pin of the Week

Street View, Movie Camera in Memorial Court, 1914-1918.

One of my favourite Street Views this week comes from The Stanford University Archives, of an early movie camera shoot on the University grounds. This fantastic angle utilizes Google’s recent project to Street View university campuses, with Stanford being among the first.

Movie Camera in Memorial Court, 1914-1918.

This is a wonderful snapshot of early film history, as well as campus life. In the early 20th century, film was only getting on its feet with the more wide-spread distribution of silents in Hollywood; it is great to see a candid from this era of film in a more localized setting in Stanford. These are the origins of the student television crews reporting campus life today, and the digital-camera-wielding parents whose sons and daughters reluctantly let them film their university visit. We also get a sense of how much has changed with the wonderful WWI-era fashions, especially on the boy standing next to the early movie camera. These outfits are certainly fancier than the average shorts and t-shirt-wearing California students today!

To see more photos like these, visit The Stanford Archive’s Channel.

Pinner of the Week

Paddling, 1927-1931.

Pinner of the Week is user KateMasheder, who has pinned some fantastic stories and photos of her English and Irish ancestors. As someone who can hardly find family photos dating before 1950, KateMasheder’s photos are a treasure-trove of family history. From her grandparents on picnics in the 1920′s to her great-grandfather’s shopfront in London’s East End, she charts over a century of her family’s story. In addition, she has pinned many interesting photos of unknown people and places spanning the same time period.

KateMasheder also asks the rest of the Historypin community to engage in these histories, asking for some help in solving some family mysteries. For example, she asks if anyone knows the precise location her grandmother’s childhood home near Martinstown, Northern Ireland (below), and whether or not it still exists. I love when users ask one another to become history detectives; in utilizing the entire Historypin community, you never know who might be out there with an answer!

Lisbreen Cottage, County Antrim, 1885 - 1915. Click the photo if you think you know the modern-day location...

Browse her Channel here.

Story of the Week

West Side Story promotional shoot, New York City, 1957. (Friedman-Abeles Collection/NYPL)

This past Wednesday marked the 55th anniversary of the Broadway opening of West Side Story, conceived by choreographer Jerome Robbins, written by playwright Arthur Laurents and composed by Leonard Bernstein. Originally entitled East Side Story and centering around Jewish and Catholic star-crossed lovers, the final production developed into how we know it today: a tale of love across the divide of two street gangs, one Latin and one white-ethnic. The change in story also brought about a new-up-and-coming lyricist, the now legendary Stephen Sondheim, who enlisted the help of Broadway producer Hal Prince to help save the controversial show. It eventually opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 26, 1957.

The musical’s iconic promotional shot, made for the original cast album cover, shows Tony (Larry Kert) playfully chasing after his girlfriend Maria (Carol Lawrence), on a block of four-and five-story tenement buildings; this area, in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, is similar to the one in which Maria might have called home in the musical, set in the mid-1950′s. Photographer by Leo Friedman, who captured some of Broadway’s greatest hits over the course of his career, tried various locations for this shoot. ”We shot for days,” recalls Lawrence. “All around Central Parkóup and down staircases, jumping through greenery. Everything.”

West 56th Street today.(click for larger)

The eventual West Side location, just a few blocks from Friedman’s studio, allowed the photographer to contrast the gritty neighborhood with the boundless optimism of the young lovers. Lawrence further recalls the marathon-like day: ”Leo may remember it as an easy shot because he was standing still, but we must have run up and down that street 300 times on a very hot summer day,” she says with a laugh. “We didn’t have any police help, so there were pedestrians going by. We even knocked down a little old lady and got yelled at. I was a dancer and Larry was an athlete, so we were in good shape. But we were in better shape after that picture.”

Getting Back into the 1951 Spirit

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The Dome of Discovery and the Skylon, 1952

As this summer’s Southbank Festival of the World in London demonstrated, the area that once encompassed 1951’s Festival of Britain is continuing its traditional role as a world exhibition site.

The Festival of Britain aimed to raise the nation’s spirits and promote the rebuilding of areas still left in ruin after the devastation of World War II. It was held on the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition under the reign of Queen Victoria, and like this pioneer of world’s fairs the 1951 event promoted the very best of British design, industry, and art to a world audience. As someone borderline obsessed with the history of the Great Exhibition, I love seeing photos and reading the history of festivals and events that continue its legacy.

The Southbank Exhibition and the Battersea Pleasure Gardens were the Festival of Britain’s main showpieces, and both officially opened on May 3rd, 1951. As with many great world’s fairs and exhibitions however, many of the original buildings from the Festival of Britain were demolished after it ended; today only Royal Festival Hall remains.

Festival Pleasure Gardens, Battersea Park, 1951.

King George VI and his family visiting the Southbank Exhibition, 1951.

Historypin contributor Ben Brooksbank was there in 1951 and took photos of the construction of the festival buildings, as well as the crowds enjoying the grounds after they had opened. His carefully-labeled photographs not only provide a great historical resource, but also a wonderful personal record of this 1951 world’s fair. Here are some below:

Power and Production Pavilion and County Hall, 1951.

Constructing Battersea Park Festival Pleasure Gardens, April 1951.

Royal Festival Hall and the Shot Tower from Waterloo Bridge, February 1951.

Interior of the Unicorn Restaurant in the 'Lion and Unicorn' Pavilion, Southbank Festival, 1951.

Check out more Festival of Britain photos from Ben and other contributors here on Historypin map, as well as a short Tour of the Festival that we have created.

One of the high-flying attractions on the Southbank as the Festival spirit continued this summer

Do you or your family have any photo memories from the Festival of Britain or the current Festival of the World? Tweet or Facebook us what you’ve pinned to the map!

Favourite Photo Memories

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Running the bases at 3Com Park, 1997.

I would like to share one of my favorite photo memories from my family photo albums, of my younger sister and I running the bases at Candlestick Park (then 3Com Park). ‘The Stick,’ with its unmistakable bright orange bleachers, was the former home of the San Francisco Giants, and my Dad would take my sister Maile and I to baseball games there when we were little. We always brought our baseball gloves, hoping to catch foul balls, and I remember cheering for Barry Bonds because he was left-handed like me.

Every Sunday after a baseball game they would let children twelve and under go out onto the field and run around the bases one time (I remember them being really strict about the ‘one time’ bit). This was the first time my sister and I did this together, and I still remember how great it was to be able to step onto the field where the greats had just played. We ran as fast as we could, and it was over before we knew it. In the photo we are also wearing the Giants t-shirts they gave away to fans that day. Tailor-made sleep-shirts for us! I’m also wearing my favorite Nike sandals that I wore everywhere, and those clear hair-clips that used to be cool in the 90′s.

I recruited my sister to help me look through old photo albums at our home in San Francisco via Skype, and we ended up having a three-hour virtual reminiscing-session over the many photos she found. The best part was that we decided together that this base-running photo was our favourite, despite being separated by an entire country and ocean. Thanks to the miracle of technology, it was as if I was right there in our living room in San Francisco looking through these photo-memories with her. My sister subsequently scanned the photo she found, sent it to me, and I pinned it on Historypin.

This photo, and others we found like it, certainly make me grateful for all the wonderful memories I have had with my family over the years. Though we are now too old to run the bases, hopefully one day my sister and I will be able to return to the baseball field after a Sunday game and let our kids do the same.

I encourage everyone out there to collaborate with friends and family too, and contribute your own special memories on Historypin.

Olympic Memories

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Bill Plester carrying the 1948 Olympic Torch

The Olympics may have come to a close, but we wanted to remind everyone that you can keep adding to our Olympic Collection. Whether they are your own memories or those from your family or community, we would love to see them!

We have just received some wonderful contributions from Steve Plester, son of 1948 Olympic torch-bearer Bill Plester. Steve pinned photos of his Dad, then a 21-year old athlete from Basingstoke, England, carrying the Olympic torch through his hometown. After the Opening Ceremony at Wembley Stadium in London, the flame made its way out onto the English streets again on a second journey to the coast at Torquay; Bill was one of the lucky ones chosen to for this task. The photos suggest a great atmosphere, with large crowds of local Basingstoke residents coming out to support him. We are lucky to have a family member contribute this wonderful memory to our Olympic Collection!

If you have a cherished memory from the Olympics or Paralympics past or present, add them here.

Bill Plester passing on the flame in Basingstoke on August 1, 1948.

Futuristic sunglasses, Welsh storytelling, and the Beatles in Minehead

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Happy Friday everyone! We are in the process of making some exciting changes here at Historypin, so keep a look out on our site for some great new features. Here are some fun stories and photos that caught my attention this week:

Pin of the Week

Woman in sunglasses at the Royal Richmond Horse Show, 1939.

Pin of the week comes from the Science and Society Picture Library, with this great photo of a woman in sunglasses in 1939. I have never come across this particular thick-framed design in the 30′s before, and it’s fascinating to see something so oddly anachronistic-looking. This woman, enjoying the Royal Richmond Horse show, looks as though she went to the future and brought back a pair of 3D glasses. She certainly stands out among the crowd, and the sunglasses match her other accessories to boot!

Pinner of the Week

St. Illtyds Corpus Christi Day, 1964-1965.

Pinner of the Week is the George Ewart Evans Centre for Storytelling, based in the University of Glamorgan in Wales. The Centre is dedicated to promoting, teaching, developing and researching storytelling in all its forms, and this week have been pinning photos with some wonderful local stories.

For example, the caption from the photo above, contributed by Pete Keohane, reads: This is my brother, Tim fourth from the left circa 1964. Unfortunately theres no colour as each schools sash was a different colour. All the schools would celebrate the day and meet up in an open area for an open mass. Much later (after Bishop Headly was built) I did the march myself…..very loong day all in all – always someone fainting!! There was always interest from the locals of course – everyone came out to have a look. But those immaculate white outfits were difficult to keep clean!

This is great example of local oral history and storytelling, something we would love to see more of on Historypin! Check out the Centre’s Channel here.

Story of the Week

The Beatles with young fan Alison Atkins at Minehead Railway Station, 2 March 1964.

Story of the Week is about the Beatles, when they traveled to the small town of Minehead in 1964 to shoot their iconic film a Hard Day’s Night. Minehead, located on the coast of south-west England, had its relatively peaceful surroundings disrupted by the excitement of Beatlemania, which by 1964 was in full-swing. Teachers at local schools gave into demands to take the day off, and hundreds of screaming teenagers gathered at the railway station to greet John, Paul, George, and Ringo the morning of March 2, 1964.

Among the crowd was Sheena Reed, who wrote about her experience at the train station to her grandmother: “We all ran down to the railway line and had to cross a field to reach it” she wrote. “When we arrived there was a terrific crowd, all screaming and shouting around the train. Somehow we found the exact window that the Beatles were in and, as can be expected, there was an extra large crowd there. Some of our crazy sixth-formers raised a banner saying ‘Your kingdom is crumbling’ and ‘Viva Brahms’. The Beatles looked out of the window and pulled faces. My friend Sandra said when she saw their faces she just had to pull the banner down. When the Beatles saw it gone they all started clapping. They were eating dinner all the time we saw them.” Imagine people breaking out into hysterics while you were trying to eat your dinner!

This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Beatles, with Ringo joining the line-up in 1962. The world of course, would never be the same. Click here to see a silly scene from a Hard Day’s Night filmed that day on the train through Minehead.

Carnivals, Soldiers in the Far East, Walking on Water

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We hope everyone had a great weekend! With the inspirational Paralympics in full swing, the world’s attention is once again on London, and the city has been busy celebrating with many diverse activities (three words: Ice Cream Festival.). Here at Historypin, we have had so many fabulous contributions from both individual users and institutions alike over the past week. Here are just some of the few photos and stories that captured our attention.

Pin of the Week

Northampton Carnival, 1957.

In keeping with the festive mood here in London, our Pin of the Week comes from the wonderful Carnival Archive Project. As their name suggests, their Channel is dedicated to the heritage of carnival, and currently focuses on the English towns of Luton, Northampton, Norfolk and Southend-on-Sea.

The photo above is a really fun representation of the Northampton Carnival Parade, which by the 1960s was firmly established as part of Northampton’s leisure culture. Thousands of spectators came to the town to witness the fantastic costumes and floats, with participants including youth clubs, companies and charities. The competition included such quirky categories as ‘Fancy Dress Get-up on Cycle-Juvenile’, Motor Car-Any Age-Any-Type-Decorated’ and ‘Traders’ Decorated Advertisement Get-up or Otherwise.’

Check out more great photos on their Channel.

Pinner of the Week

Two men on a roadside outside Naha, Japan, 1943-1947.

Pinner of the week is the Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, who have contributed photos of military operations in the far east during the 1940′s. One of the libraries’ strengths is US military history, and this week they illustrate their diversity in that category with photos from the American military operation in Okinawa, Japan. From the bases to the local villages, these photos provide an interesting snapshot of a soldier’s life abroad during and after World War II. Experience local life along with the GI’s at the Library’s Channel.

Children on a porch, Koza, Japan, 1943-1947.

Story of the week

Walking the Channel, 25 August 1978.

Our story of the week is fun and unusual, of US Army Sgt. Walter C. Robinson “walking” across the English Channel in 1978. This photo is from the start of his attempt to cross over to France at 5:30 am, where well-wishers saw him off on his home-made inflatable shoes. Wearing a special shirt reading “The World’s First Int. Waterwalker,” Robinson propelled himself forward by oars through the sea tides.

Robinson ended up covering 21 miles from Dover, England to Cap Gris Nez, France in eleven and a half hours.  He was quoted saying: “My army mates think it is quite a courageous thing to do… Anyways it’s a bit of a challenge. I suppose one day water shoes could take the place of Channel ferries. Who knows? They got to the moon and they didn’t think that was possible.”

I love to hear stories of people attempting to so something quirky and out-of-the-ordinary, like Robinson. Walking across the Channel has yet to come into high demand, but as he suggests, anything is possible!

Interview with Kerri Young, Historypin Intern

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Name: Kerri

Role: Historypin Intern

Why did you want to intern at Historypin?

I wanted to intern here because Historypin has such a fresh take on engaging the public with history.  I am currently doing an MA in Public History, which is all about the ways in which people engage with history through museums, heritage, television, etc. I love how Historypin is one of the pioneers in this field, making the best use out of something that much of the world now uses: social media. The fit with my area of study is fantastic and provides a great learning opportunity.

How did you come to hear of the project?

I came across Historypin on Twitter. An enthusiastic user described something she had pinned, and I was intrigued about an online-archive that was so hands-on and easily accessible. Anything that helps to promote history in a fun way, I am all for it.

Describe an average day for you as a Historypin Intern.

An average day consists of moderating content that goes up on the site, updating Historypin’s social media accounts, doing some pinning, and finding interesting material for blog posts. Basically, lots of exploring of all the great content that’s out there!

What do you do when you’re not at Historypin?

Since I’m not from around these parts (San Francisco native), I like to explore London and its surroundings as much as I can. I like to visit new museums, go to concerts, and bike-ride in park-when it’s sunny of course! Pub-culture in this country is fantastic as well.

What’s been your best moment here?

I don’t think I can pick one moment, but finding the exact location for vaguely-located photos on Street View is pretty rewarding. In general, it’s great to be able to pick out interesting content and share it with everyone via our blog and Twitter. Sharing is caring!

What excites you the most about Historypin?

What excites me the most is that everyone who explores our map has the chance to be inspired by someone else’s history. The individual moments and stories that are pinned contribute to a larger history of a time, place, or event. Also, that fact that you can travel down a street in Street View where both archival institutions and individual users contribute historical memories is an exciting collaboration between the professional and public spheres.

Unlike your straight-forward online historical archive, Historypin is interactive and visually-fun to explore, and is a great tool for bringing in those who may not engage with history that often.

Can you show us a photo you have personally pinned on Historypin?

Princess Diana Dancing With John Travolta, Nov. 5, 1985.

What’s your favourite photo that has been pinned to the Historypin map and why?

Muni Streetcar 101 and Bus 1 | W5065, 1920, San Francisco MTA Archives

There are so many great photos on the site, but this is one of my favorites because it blends personal and local history with an amazing Street View. This photo shows two old  lines from Muni, which is still San Francisco’s local transportation system. As a native San Franciscan, images like these are fascinating, especially since I and so many other people still use Muni each day. I can’t get enough of local transport images like these, and even wrote a blog post about a similar SFMTA photo. Something mundane like taking the bus every day somehow seems a little less so when having a glimpse at the line’s changing history.

What kind of content would you like to see more of on Historypin?

I would like to see more family and local history on the site, something we are taking great strides towards. Family and community are associated with some of our greatest memories, and I think at its heart Historypin links different ones together from all over the world and places them within a larger historical context. Individual ‘histories’ are definitely changing how we perceive History with a capital H!

Why do you think people should add their photos and stories to Historypin?

This is the chance for people to encourage the spirit of sharing and learning about history with both their local community and the rest of the world. The more people pin, the more the site can grow and encourage the collaboration between individual users and historical institutions. Contributing to our site will also help people find the things they are interested in more easily. Historypin only works when people participate-and that means you!

What do you think the future of Historypin is?

I see Historypin expanding even further through social media, allowing it to utilize more resources and collaborate with more people from all over the world. I also see Historypin becoming a very useful learning tool in the classroom, especially in relation to local community engagement. If students everywhere collaborated on projects akin to Pinning Reading’s History, they can literally put their community ‘on the map’ and expand the often neglected field of local history.

Contact:  kerri.young@wearewhatwedo.org