40 Fascinating Photos Capture Helsinki’s Street Scenes in the Early 1900s
21/07/2025•
In the early 1900s, Helsinki’s street scenes reflected a city in transition—balancing tradition and emerging modernity. Horse-drawn carriages clattered over cobbled streets lined with ornate stone buildings in Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) style. Street vendors sold goods from wooden carts, and women in long skirts and men in bowler hats bustled along the sidewalks.
Trams, first introduced in 1891, were becoming a common sight, weaving through the streets powered by overhead electric lines. Children played near market squares, while fishermen brought fresh catches into the harbor. The air carried the scent of coal smoke and sea breeze. Streetlights—still gas in some areas—glowed dimly at dusk, casting long shadows over Senate Square and the grand Helsinki Cathedral.
Though modest in size, the city buzzed with the energy of a growing capital, still under Russian rule yet increasingly proud of its Finnish identity. These fascinating photos, taken by I. K. Inha (1865–1930), offer a rare glimpse into Helsinki’s street scenes during the summer of 1908.
Corner of Satamakatu, Luotsikatu and Kruununvuorenkatu on Katajanokka, Helsinki, 1908
Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Boys at Hietalahti harbor, Helsinki, 1908
Crossing of Aleksanterinkatu and Unionkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Crossing of Tehtaankatu and Kapteeninkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Customs warehouse building on Katajanokka, Helsinki, 1908
Esplanadi Park, Helsinki, 1908
Finnish Literature Society’s Building on Hallituskatu, Helsinki, 1908
Fredrikinkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Government Palace on Senaatintori, seen from Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Government Palace seen from Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Helsinki Old Church on Antinkatu (now Lönnrotinkatu), Helsinki, 1908
Hotel Seurahuone (now Helsinki City Hall) seen across Kolera-allas on Kauppatori, Helsinki, 1908
Huvilakatu, Helsinki, 1908
Kaisaniemi park, Helsinki, 1908
Kasarmitori, the corner of Fabianinkatu and Pohjoinen Makasiinikatu, Helsinki, 1908
Korkeavuorenkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Library for the blind on Ensi Linja, Helsinki, 1908
Merisatama, Helsinki, 1908
Mikonkatu, Helsinki, 1908.
Mikonkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Norrmén building on Katajanokka, Helsinki, 1908
Nylands Nation’s Building on Kasarmikatu, Helsinki, 1908
Restaurant Kappeli in Esplanadinpuisto, Helsinki, 1908
Student Union Building on Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Student Union Building on Itäinen Heikinkatu (now Mannerheimintie), Helsinki, 1908
Suomen Yhdyspankki Building on Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Swedish Theatre, Helsinki, 1908
Tallberg Building on Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, 1908
The steps of St Nicholas’ Church (now Helsinki Cathedral), Helsinki, 1908
The surroundings of Eira Hospital, crossing of Laivurinkatu and Tehtaankatu, Helsinki, 1908
Tokankatu (current name Hietalahdenranta) in Hietalahti, Helsinki, 1908
Töölö Sugar Refinery on the west bank of Töölönlahti Bay, Helsinki, 1908
Train running through Linnunlaulu rock cutting, Helsinki, 1908
University Building on Unioninkatu, Helsinki, 1908
Ursin bathing place in Kaivopuisto, Helsinki, 1908
Vendors at Kolera-allas by Kauppatori market square, Helsinki, 1908
View from Kaivopuisto towards Harakka and Uunisaari islands, Helsinki, 1908
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