Duke University Construction Progress Photographs, 1925-1932

As part of their work on the expansion of East Campus and the construction of West Campus, the Duke Construction Company was charged with taking professional photographs of the construction’s progress every few weeks. The resulting “progress pictures” (166 of East Campus and 439 of West Campus) systematically capture the stages of the vast construction project, then the largest construction project ever undertaken in the South. In addition to providing a timeline for the construction of many of Duke University’s best-known buildings and landscapes, the progress pictures frequently capture the workers responsible for Duke’s construction, many of whom remain unidentified.