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[Last Rail Laid at Promontory Point, May 10th, 1869] (Full Front)

Alfred A. Hart

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

The construction of the transcontinental railroad required overcoming political, financial, and geological obstacles; significantly, it also shifted the attention of the American public away from the sorrows of the Civil War to the promise of westward expansion. This photograph displays the crowd of workers and dignitaries gathered in Utah to commemorate and celebrate its completion. To properly mark the occasion, the last spike tying the rails was made of solid gold.

Gift of Weston J. and Mary M. Naef

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  • Title: [Last Rail Laid at Promontory Point, May 10th, 1869] (Full Front)
  • Creator: Alfred A. Hart
  • Date Created: May 10, 1869
  • Location Created: Sacramento, California, United States
  • Physical Dimensions: Mount: 8.3 × 17.1 cm (3 1/4 × 6 3/4 in.)
  • Type: Stereograph
  • External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
  • Medium: Albumen silver print
  • Terms of Use: Open Content
  • Number: 84.XC.979.4214
  • Culture: American
  • Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of Weston J. and Mary M. Naef
  • Creator Display Name: Alfred A. Hart (American, 1816 - 1908)
  • Classification: Photographs (Visual Works)
The J. Paul Getty Museum

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