Historic Photos of Rainy Days as April Showers Hit the United States
With plenty of rain falling across the Eastern Seaboard of the United States this week and more forecast, the Library of Congress put out a timely selection of historic photos of precipitation.
“As one might expect given the season, April has arrived in the nation’s capital with substantial rain showers. Inspired by what I see outside and curious to see what kinds of rainy weather images I could find in the collections, I searched the online catalog,” writes Melissa Lindberg, reference specialist in the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress.
Lindberg had no problem finding historic photos of rain falling in Washington D.C. where the Library of Congress is located. In one fascinating photo, the famous dome of the U.S. Capitol building is reflected in a puddle on the damp streets outside.
In a historic photograph taken at President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second inauguration in 1937, a sea of umbrellas can be seen facing the stage as attendees braved the freezing temperatures.
But of course, rain isn’t exclusive to D.C., New York City gets its fair share. This week the Big Apple saw a thunderstorm roll in and lightning struck the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
PetaPixel delved through some of the Library of Congress’ remarkable archives to find some of our own rain photos and found a photo of President Coolidge greeting a crowd in Washington D.C. “against his physician’s orders.”
Image credits: Library of Congress
