Take a moment today to look at these San Francisco houses of yore

Bygone structures that almost withstood the test of time

Charles W. Cushman’s private color photos, now available via the Indiana University Archives, feature scenes of San Francisco’s vivid past. From the World’s Fair to circa-1967 Haight street hippies, Cushman documented the city like no other.

After all, how many photogs captured a man and his pet raccoon going for a walk on Telegraph Hill?

But of all his shots, the ones of razed San Francisco homes might be of most interest to architecture geeks. From homes to a few structures that are no more, here are a few of our favorites.