Historypin: A Virtual Time Capsule for Vintage Photos

Historypin is a compelling way to connect the past and present, online and all over the world.

The site provides a platform for people to share their old and new photos and "pin" them on a large virtual map (using Google maps) of the world. You can search them by a combination of year and location and through "tours" other users have created. Right now, more than 50,000 photos have been uploaded so far, but only around 20 pinned in the Twin Cities region, so there is plenty of room for your contribution. While I'm assuming it will take people a while to dig through, scan in and categorize their old family photos, this can can become a truly groundbreaking interface as more and more people start to contribute. It could change the way we see the world and relate to the past.

I know I can't wait to browse the collections out of curiosity. I've always been fascinated, like most, I assume, about what it was like to grow up in a different decade and I get lost in old photos of my family, so this site is definitely filling my vintage void.

I haven't uploaded anything yet, but I'm already sifting through the Brooklyn photos during the time that my parents lived there, for inspiration, information and any revelation that may come of it. Eventually I plan to add their photos to the mix. Recent photos are also encouraged and will be great for comparisons of locations and lifestyle changes through the years, but I'm much more impressed by the exchange of history and perspective.

The featured photo shows my grandfather Nono in front of the USS Talamanca (AF-15), a ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during WWII. Nono was a merchant marine and sailed on that ship when it was a fruit ship. My Uncle Billy, a Navy veteran who holds a lot of valuable stories and knowledge about my family, put the photo on a flash drive he gave me for Christmas a few years ago and estimates that the photo was probably taken sometime between 1944 and 1946, before the ship was sold and renamed. This will likely be my first contribution to Historypin because I actually know the relative location and year it was taken and I feel like it says a lot about the pride and work ethic of my great grandpa and is a bit of an ode to the interesting life my family led in Brooklyn, NY. 

This site is for the history buff and the voyeur. It's for people who want to know more about the past and for those who are interested in exposing their family ancestry through photos. Even if you just want to take a peak at the architecture from the 1950s in your area or take in another perspective; Historypin has something for everyone.