Carol M. Highsmith Archive photos from the 1980s

Aerial view looking north across National Mall, Washington, D.C

Aerial view of Alexandria, Virginia

Aerial view of buildings, northern Virginia

Aerial view of Annapolis, Maryland

Aerial view of Central Park, New York, New York

Aerial view looking west showing Thomas Jefferson Building and James Madison Building, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

Aerial view of Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California

Aerial view of Candelstick Park in San Francisco, California

Aerial view of Federal Triangle, Washington, D.C

Aerial view of Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

Aerial view of Candlestick Park, home stadium of the San Francisco 49ers National Football League professional team, with downtown San Francisco, California, in the distance

Aerial view of Arlington, Virginia

Aerial view of a California movie studio lot

Aerial view of an office complex, Houston, Texas

Aerial view of Annapolis, the Maryland capital

Aerial view looking northeast toward U.S. Capitol and Union Station. Washington, D.C.

Aerial view of a waterfront community in Houston, Texas

Aerial view of a swampy roadside outside Houston, Texas

Aerial view of a suburb near Houston, Texas

Aerial view looking toward the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C

Aerial view of Annapolis, the capital of Maryland

Aerial view of a California coastal community

Aerial view of CIA headquarters, Langley, Virginia

Aerial view of the CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

Aerial view of Chicago, Illinois. The black skyscraper is Willis Tower, previously known as Sears Tower, a Chicago landmark

Aerial view of Chicago, Illinois

Aerial view of Chicago, Illinois, spotlighting Willis Town, previously and more famously known as Sears Tower

Aerial view of Chicago, Illinois, with a focus on Willis Tower, long known as Sears Tower

Aerial view of Chicago from Lake Michigan

Aerial view of downtown Washington, D.C.

Aerial view of Fireman's Insurance building and land where the Navy Memorial and Market Square will be built on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.

Aerial view of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C

Aerial view of Ellis Island, Jersey City, New Jersey

Aerial view of Ellis Island with New York City World Trade Center in the background

Aerial view of Crystal City, Virginia

Aerial view of Ellis Island immigration station, Jersey City, New Jersey

Aerial view of downtown Chicago, Illinois, from Lake Michigan

Aerial view of Federal Triangle in Washington, D.C

Aerial view of Dulles airport, Virginia

Aerial view of Crystal City, a high-rise neighborhood near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Arlington, Virginia

Aerial view of downtown Washington, D.C

Aerial view of downtown Chicago, Illinois

Aerial view of Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Fish carving, Florida Keys

Aerial view of Franklin Square, Washington, D.C

Aerial view of Houston, Texas, above its famous Medical Center

Aerial view of Hoover Dam, near Boulder City, Nevada

Aerial view of Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C

Aerial view of Houston, Texas, with the Astrodome in the foreground

Aerial view of high-rise neighborhood in Arlington's fast-growing Rosslyn, Virginia

Aerial view of Houston, Texas, with focus on the San Jacinto Monument

Aerial view of Hoover Dam, Nevada

Aerial view of Hoover Dam near Boulder City, Nevada

Aerial view of Grafton, West Virginia

Aerial view of Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California

Aerial view of high-rise buildings, New York, New York

Aerial view of Houston, Texas, with downtown in the distance

Aerial view of Hoover Dam, near Boulder City, Nevada, with the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which the dam's blocking of the Colorado created, in the distance

Aerial view showing construction of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, which opened in 1998, on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C

Aerial view of lakeshore, Chicago, Illinois