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A old photo of a destroyed city,

Hiroshima: Ground Zero 1945

After the United States detonated an atomic bomb at Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the U.S. government restricted the circulation of images of the bomb's deadly effect. President Truman dispatched some 1,150 military personnel and civilians, including photographers, to record the destruction as part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey. The goal of the Survey's Physical Damage Division was to photograph and analyze methodically the impact of the atomic bomb on various building materials surrounding the blast site, designated "Ground Zero." The haunting, once-classified images of absence and annihilation formed the basis for civil defense architecture in the United States. This exhibition includes 62 prints drawn from a unique archive of more than 700 photographs in the collection of the International Center of Photography. The exhibition is organized Erin Barnett, Assistant Curator of Collections

64 Items
  • [Ruins of Shima Surgical Hospital, Hiroshima]
  • [Directional signs for United States Strategic Bombing Survey and Hiroshima Airfield]
  • [Ruins of Sumitomo Fire Insurance Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • [Detail of mesh reinforcements of second story of Sumitomo Fire Insurance Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • [Collapsed roof and walls of Sumitomo Fire Insurance Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • [Ruins of Nippon Life Insurance Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • The Effects of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, Volume I
  • [Flash marks on granite lantern post at entrance to the Gokoku Shrine, Hiroshima]
  • [Ruins of Red Cross Building, Hiroshima]
  • [Blast-damaged ruins of Chugoku Coal Distribution Company or Hiroshima Gas Company]
  • [Reinforced-concrete fire shutter in cast wall of Yasuda Life Insurance Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • [Flash burns on steps of Sumitomo Bank Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • [Group of people near damaged trolley cars, Hiroshima]
  • [Buckling of heavy, reinforced-concrete wall of Teikoku Bank Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • [Interior with heavy spalling of cement plaster by fire in combustiible floor of Yasuda Life Insurance Company, Hiroshima branch]
  • [Corridor of third story showing portal construction and buckling of panel wall of Honkawa Grammar School, Hiroshima]
  • [Damage to roof framing system on third floor of Honkawa Grammar School, Hiroshima]
  • [Ruins of Honkawa Grammar School, Hiroshima]
  • [Rooftop view of atomic destruction, looking southwest, Hiroshima]
  • [Cemetery with debris, on the grounds of Kokutai Temple, showing sacred camphor tree charred by blast and Bank of Japan in background, Hiroshima]
  • [Blast-damaged Motomachi Water Station, Hiroshima Water Department]
  • [Complete destruction of wooden floor (air-space beneath) and telephone switch and relay racks of Hiroshima Telephone Company, Central District Exchange]
  • [Ruins of Chugoku Electric Company, Transformer Repair Station, Hiroshima]
  • [Fire-gutted ruins of Hiroshima Kirin Beer Hall]
  • [View of burned-over area with Hiroshima Kirin Beer Hall at far right]
  • [Corrugated iron stripped from walls by blast, Chugoku Electric Company Substation, Hiroshima]
  • [Blast- and fire-damaged electrical equipment, Chugoku Electric Company Substation, Hiroshima]
  • [Steel stairs warped by intense heat from burned book stacks, Asano Library, Hiroshima]
  • [Blast-damaged penthouse of Hiroshima Industrial Company (Old Fukuya Department Store)]
  • [Damaged fire trucks in public fire department substation in first story of Hiroshima Industrial Company (Old Fukuya Department Store)]
  • [Fire-gutted ruins of Ihda Hospital, Hiroshima]
  • [Distorted steel-frame structure of Odamasa Store, Hiroshima]
  • [Flash-burned asphalt on Bridge 20 over the Motoyasu River, Hiroshima]
  • [Fire-gutted ruins of Chugoku Shimbun Building, Hiroshima]
  • [Burned-over landscape with Nagarekawa Church of the Japan Christian Society in the foreground, Hiroshima]
  • The Effects of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, Volume II
  • [Burned-over landscape north of ground zero in the vicinity of Hiroshima Castle]
  • [Interior of Hiroshima City Hall auditorium with undamaged walls and framing but spalling of plaster and complete destruction of contents by fire]
  • [Charred boy's jacket found near Hiroshima City Hall]
  • [Blast-damaged ruins of Hiroshima Livestock Company]
  • [Blast-damaged trolley and mangled electrical wires, Hiroshima]
  • [Ruins of Japanese Army Divisional Grounds (Barracks), Hiroshima]
  • [Blast- and fire-damaged ruins of Takeya Grammar School, Hiroshima]
  • [Partly burned wood-lath and plaster ceiling in corridor of Hiroshima University of Literature and Science]
  • [Fire-damaged interior with books reduced to ashes, Hiroshima University of Literature and Science]
  • [Remains of a school building, Hiroshima]
  • [Ruins of Bridge 8 over Kyobashi River, Hiroshima]
  • The Effects of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, Volume III
  • [Fire perimeter, Hiroshima]
  • [Blast-distorted steel frame of Hiroshima Kerosene Company, Hiroshima]
  • [Blast-damaged south wall of Hiroshima Prefecture Agricultural Association Warehouse, Hiroshima]
  • [Completely burned out interior of Geibi Bank Company, Kyobashi branch, Hiroshima]
  • [Ruins of Geibi Bank Company, Kyobashi branch, Hiroshima]
  • [Streetscape with Geibi Bank Company and Nimi Store in background, Hiroshima]
  • ["Shadow" of a hand valve wheel on the painted wall of a gas storage tank; radiant heat instantly burned paint where the heat rays were not obstructed, Hiroshima]
  • [Damaged interior of Hiroshima Railway Station]
  • [Fire- and blast-damaged passenger station and shelter of Hiroshima Railway Station]
  • [Fire- and blast-damaged gas holders and buildings at Hiroshima Gas Company]
  • [Interior of Sotoku Middle School, Hiroshima, showing blast-distorted steel roof trusses]
  • [Damaged turbo-generator and electrical panel of Chugoku Electric Company, Minami Sendamachi Substation, Hiroshima]
  • [View of damaged buildings, including, left of stack, the Minami Sendamachi Substations of the Chugoku Electric Company, Hiroshima]
  • [Buckling of north wall of wing number one of Funairi Grammar School, Hiroshima]
  • [Typical blast damage to Japanese residential construction, Hiroshima]
  • [Ruins of Nagarekawa Church of the Japan Christian Society interior, Hiroshima]