Audiovisual Collections: Charles Findeisen aerial photographs open for research

Monday, November 24, 2014

The Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department is excited to announce the opening of a collection of aerial photographs by hobbyist turned professional Charles Findeisen. The collection consists of fifteen linear feet of negatives and photographic prints documenting the growth and development of various properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware from 1960 to 2000.

Findeisen was an aerial photographer hobbyist turned professional who spent most of his life as a pilot. His love of flying likely began during World War II as a radio operator in the 450th bombardment group of the 15th Air Force of the U.S. Army. Findeisen’s interest in photography began as a hobby, but after retiring from his career as a draftsman at the South Jersey civil engineering firm of Taylor, Wiseman & Taylor in 1984, he turned it into a business.

Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey

Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey

Findeisen’s work largely documents real estate development projects that were taken for his clients over a period of years to document the progression of a particular site. The three properties Findeisen photographed heavily over many years are Greentree Village, Pureland Industrial Complex, and Village Harbor. Greentree Village in Marlton, New Jersey, was a community with both residential and commercial aspects that was developed on the site of the Roberts family farm. Findeisen began photographing it as the farm in the early 1970s and continued until the early 1990s, several years after construction was completed. The construction of Greentree took place from 1977 to 1986, and Findeisen photographed it monthly during this time period. Pureland Industrial Complex was a huge business park in South Jersey while Village Harbor was a purely residential community at the Jersey shore.

Unidentified airport runway

Unidentified airport runway

In addition, the collection includes images of highway construction, particularly Route 55 and Interstate 295 in New Jersey; a comprehensive series on the Salem Nuclear Power Plant; and many regional airports.

Corinthos oil tanker, post-explosion, 1975

Corinthos oil tanker, post-explosion, 1975

As a hobbyist, Findeisen’s interest are clear in many of the photographs in the collection, such as several dramatic shots of the Liberian oil tanker, Corinthos, while docked at Marcus Hook after it was struck by another ship, the Edgar M. Queeny, which resulted in a huge fire and environmental disaster. Other aerial shots of interest include the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth 2 at Philadelphia; a hot air balloon in flight; and various landmarks in Center City, Philadelphia.

View the finding aid online at http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2009_223.xml

Click here to view a small selection of images from the collection in the Hagley Digital Archives

Alex Miller is the Reference Assistant for the Audiovisual Collections and Digital Initiatives Department at Hagley Library.

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