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Born 1889 in Lyck, Germany (now Poland) and emigrated in 1907, American photographer Theodor Horydczak is believed to have taken up photography during or after World War I, possibly while a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. His numerous “Washington as it Was” photographs are housed in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division in the James Madison Memorial Building.

The United States from the late 1920s to ’40s photographed by Theodor Horydczak

Horydczak was known for his photographs of the exteriors and interiors of commercial, residential, and government buildings and of events such as the 1932 Bonus Army encampment and the 1933 World Series. He retired in 1959.

Horydczak used a large-format Gold Ansco camera and typically used the photographic style called “bracketing,” or taking many subsequent images at different aperture settings. He married Frederica; they had a daughter Norma.

Horydczak died in 1971 in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, aged 82. These fascinating photos are part of his work that Theodor Horydczak took the United States from the late 1920s to 1940s.

Marketing at Center Market, Washington, D.C., circa late 1920s to early ’30s

Shopping at Center Market, Washington, D.C., circa late 1920s to early ’30s

View of the Lincoln Memorial statue through columns, 1925

Construction of Memorial Bridge over Potomac River, Washington, D.C., circa 1930

Exterior of the Washington Gas Light Co., circa 1930s

Lobby, Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Co. building, Washington, D.C., circa 1930s

Turbine hall of the Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant, 1930

Window display of whiskey at Leon’s Delicatessen, circa early 1930s

Exterior of Cavalier Hotel, Washington, D.C., circa 1931

View of Terminal Tower at night, with eagle on right, Cleveland, Ohio, 1931

Shoreham Hotel from across Calvert Street, Washington, D.C., circa 1932

Front of wrecked automobile, Washington, D.C., 1933

The Empire State Building from 41st St. and 5th Ave., New York City, July 4, 1933

Miss Lucy Alexander, food tester, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., circa 1935

Potomac Electric Power Co. service station building, 10th Street and Florida Avenue. Linemen’s truck, Washington, D.C., circa 1935

Sheaffer fountain pen factory, Fort Madison, Iowa, 1935

Exterior of Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Co. building, Louisiana Avenue, Washington, D.C., circa 1937

Passageway between ICC and Departmental Auditorium sections at U.S. Labor Department and Interstate Commerce Commission Building, 1937

Potomac Electric Power Co. pole setting, Washington, D.C., or vicinity circa 1937

Library of Congress annex (John Adams building) and Folger Library from northwest, Washington, D.C., 1939

“Beach with sunbathers.” Chapel Point, Washington’s “playground on the Potomac” near La Plata, Maryland, circa 1940

East front of U.S. Capitol at night in winter, 1940

Electric Institute of Washington. Display of ranges in lobby at Potomac Electric Power Co. building, April 17, 1940

Ernest Kendall, teacher of U.S. Capitol pages, Washington, D.C., circa 1940

National Naval Medical Center, front from left. Part of the hospital complex known today as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, circa 1940

Air raid equipments and personnel at Potomac Electric Power Co. Building, 1941-45

Interior of waiting room showing ticket counter of National Airport, Arlington County, Virginia, circa 1941

Plane in front of the passenger terminal at the National Airport, 1941

Closeup of Benning plant with good clouds, Potomac Electric Power Co., May 31, 1943

Commercial kitchens, restaurants and lighting of Potomac Electric Power Co. Sholl’s Georgian Cafeteria, 3027 14th Street N.W., Washington, D.C, December 3, 1946