The Way We Were: Rock Island Photos from the 1890s

From 1888 until 1903 a Rock Island photographer named Oscar Hakelier worked from his studio in downtown Rock Island. He called it the "Vienna Photographic Studio," and it was located at 1722 Second Avenue. As he worked he took many photographs of Rock Island, the Arsenal Island, riverboats on the Mississippi River, and other activities that show how life was lived in the 1890s. The fragile photographs, one of the library's treasures, are kept safely in its archives. These black and white images have been digitized, restored, and now you can see them in this special presentation in our Community Room. Make an evening of it. Enjoy looking back through time at Rock Island as it was over 120 years ago.