The Iowa Department of Transportation is dedicated to the preservation of our state’s transportation-related photographic heritage. Its mission is to make its resources available and useful to Iowans and the American public and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.

Understandably, the original physical archives (most are glass negatives) are extremely susceptible to damage from handling and remain inaccessible to the public. Therefore, the primary purpose of the Web site is to provide a means of public access to the images in the form of digitized copies.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Historic Photographic Collection is used regularly by educators, students, authors, historians, publishers, and media across the state, nation and globe. Its popularity is due, at least in part, because it is one of the few collections of historical transportation photos of its type in Iowa and the Midwest.
The Iowa Department of Transportation presents these images as a part of the record of the past. These images reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Iowa DOT does not endorse the views expressed in this collection, which may contain materials offensive to some viewers.

The images have not been manipulated or altered in any fashion. No retouching is done to eliminate imperfections existing in the negative or the original material.