The University Avenue Underpass Project is a reprinting of photographs taken in 1939 and 1941, before and after construction of the underpass that connects downtown Palo Alto and Stanford University. This art project consists of seventy-six pairs of before and after photographs made from second and third generation negatives discarded by the city of Palo Alto in 1972.

Each Before image shows what a specific location looked like in 1939 before the underpass was built. Each After image is the same location after construction of the underpass. A small chalkboard in each image shows a location number and date of the photograph.The photographs were taken within a two block radius of the underpass along University, Alma, El Camino and the train tracks. Sets 45, 77, 78, 79 and 80 are missing. The total number of images originally taken is unclear.

Various before and after sets were mailed in July 2006 to organizations that may have an interest in the images. Sets were also sent to selected addresses that closely correspond to locations depicted in the series.

The intent of this site is to share these found images with all interested individuals and organizations. It is a private art project that has no association with the city of Palo Alto or any other organization, and has no commercial agenda. If these photographs interest you, another site that has many historical images of Palo Alto is pahistory.org