Last Updated on July 23, 2025 by Matt Staff
This was a time when modern life was just beginning to take shape: electricity was spreading, industry was booming, and the world was on the edge of great transformation.
But beyond the big changes, there are small, human moments; children playing, workers pausing, people simply living. These images remind us that while technology and fashion have evolved, the essence of life remains familiar. Here are 20 colorized photos from 1905.
1. Italian immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, 1905
2. A living sign on Fifth Ave in New York City, 1905
3. Atlantic City Beach on the Jersey Shore, 1905
4. Palm Beach, Florida, 1905
5. Fifth Avenue in NYC, 1905
6. The Flatiron building in New York City, 1905
7. A lifeguard at Brighton Beach, New York, 1905
8. “My Great-Grandmother in Yosemite, 1905”
9. A portrait of an old commercial fisherman, 1905
10. Newfoundland dockworkers, 1905
11. The Launch of Frank J. Heckler, September 2, 1905
12. Wilbur Wright, 1905
13. The boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey, 1905
14. Senator George Witmore and his wife in a “Horseless Carriage”, 1905
15. Norwegian soldiers at the Swedish border, October 1905
16. New York City after 36 hours of heavy snowfall, 1905
17. Copper miners heading into the mines, 1905
18. Tennis courts in the lawn, Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania, 1905
19. Alfred Jacobson, French artillery Sub-lieutenant, 1905
20. Eleanor Roosevelt on her wedding day, 1905
Want to see more early 20th-century content?
Check out 25 Colorized Photos of the Beginning of the 20th Century (1900-1905), or if you’re interested in the first decade of the 20th century, check out 20 Colorized Photos from the First Decade of the 20th Century (1900-1910). Finally, if you want to see vintage photos of the Edwardian Era, check out 20 Vintage Photos of the Edwardian Era (1901-1910).
