What Offices Looked Like a Century Ago (35 Photos)

We all know what a modern office looks like: computer desks, office equipment, and the ubiquitous water cooler. Some are lucky enough to have their own private office, while others endure the constant noise of an open-plan workspace. Many white-collar workers love browsing photos of impressive corporate interiors belonging to tech giants like Google. Either way, the office is a familiar habitat for most of us. But what did workplaces look like a hundred years ago? Has much really changed over the past century? Let’s take a look back in time with this collection of vintage photographs showcasing company offices and government institutions from the early 20th century.







Freight shipping company office, 1911.





L. L. May & Co., 1911.



Statesman Journal newsroom, 1913.



1914.



Swift & Co. office, Denver, 1917.



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1914.



Giant Clothes Store office, 1912.



Brokerage firm, 1910.



Salida, Co., 1911.



1912.



Worcester railroad station, 1914.



Treasury department of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1910.



L. L. May & Co. office, 1911.



Accounting department, National Lead Co., 1917.



Dr. Tichenor's Antiseptic Co., New Orleans, 1917.



Elmer Candy Co. headquarters, 1917.



Roebuck & Co., Chicago, 1913.



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1910.



Judicial department office, Cincinnati, 1914.



Sedalia Music Store, 1914.



1911.



Accounting department, First National Bank, 1915.



Bureau of War Risk Insurance, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1917.



Customs Division, Washington, D.C., 1910.



1911.



Office of the editor of the Waconia Patriot newspaper, 1915.



1911.



Interior of the Council Bluffs Savings Bank, 1915.



1911.



1912.



1913.



Santa Fe Railway office, 1911.



White Brothers Hardwood Lumber office, San Francisco, 1910.