Urban Architecture Photos
Urban architecture photos are my passion. Metro-Photo presents images, stats, stories, sources and links to make cities’ buildings your passion, too. Why? Because our metros are living museums of architecture. They have millions of buildings erected over a span of more than four centuries in a fascinating palette of historical and modern styles.
Thousands of architects have toiled to plan a “built environment” for living, learning, working and playing. These mostly unsung heroes have designed so well that their work is mostly invisible. Architects’ creations are taken for granted almost as much as the sidewalks from which they rise. City dwellers routinely walk by historic landmarks without a thought of the effort and care needed to create those treasures.
So here are thousands of images to explore, reveal, and celebrate some famous structures and lesser-known architectural gems. This is a personal, not academic selection. I’ve discovered or re-discovered these buildings and neighborhoods mostly by walking around with my camera and shooting what I like. I usually do my research after I process the photos. Great buildings often have great stories, which I’ve condensed. The links with each page let you go deeper, if you wish. Like the cities themselves, this site is always under construction – at this writing, I have at least another 500 buildings to add!
I hope the photography in these pages inspires you to explore a city – any city, maybe even your own!
The Cities
New York City is where I started my photography, but the metro-photo.com collection now includes:
This site is a labor of love, built over a period of years without advertising. I ask only that you respect my copyright. If you need images for any reason, please use my Order Photos form to request them.
More about metro-photo.com
This started as a retirement hobby in 2011. I had time on my hands and started exploring New York City; I snapped some photos and shared them on Facebook. A friend recommended a book about NYC architecture,* and I became hooked. Buildings are amazing! They’re not just piles of masonry; they have histories, and style. They are collaborations of architects, developers, civic leaders, and urban planners.
I created NewYorkitecture.com, to share architectural photos and stories with a wider audience – not just my Facebook friends. After I started photographing other cities, NewYorkitecture.com became too limiting as a domain name. Metro-Photo.com is more inclusive.
*That book opened my eyes to the Big Apple’s amazing buildings: AIA Guide to New York City.
Yes, Amazon pays me a small commission if you buy something from one of my links. That helps defray the cost of this website, which has no other advertising or subscription fees. And all books mentioned are books that I have actually purchased and used myself.