chad davis's photography

Downtown St. Paul sits along a bend of the Mississippi River, about nine miles downstream from Minneapolis. The First National Bank Building, completed in 1931, rises 32 stories and carries a red "1st" sign that has topped the tower since its construction; it remained St. Paul's tallest building until Wells Fargo Place overtook it in 1987. The Wabasha Street Bridge, rebuilt in 1998, carries traffic across the river between downtown and the West Side neighborhood. St. Paul has served as Minnesota's capital since 1849.

More of my coverage: Photos: Operation Metro Surge, ICE in Minneapolis

More of my coverage: Photos: Operation Metro Surge, ICE in Minneapolis

The former Perkins restaurant and Sports Dome on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul across from Allianz Field construction.

Volcán de Agua rises over Antigua Guatemala, a colonial city founded by the Spanish in 1543 and named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for its well-preserved Baroque architecture and grid of cobblestone streets. The volcano stands about 3,760 meters tall and looms just south of the city, visible from many of its avenues. Antigua served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala until a series of earthquakes prompted colonial authorities to relocate the seat of government to present-day Guatemala City in 1776. Tuk-tuks, adapted from the three-wheeled auto rickshaws common in South and Southeast Asia, have become a popular way to navigate the city's narrow, uneven streets, offering an alternative to cars in a historic center where many roads predate motorized transport by centuries.

Volcán de Agua rises just south of Antigua Guatemala, its symmetrical cone reaching 3,766 meters and anchoring the valley where Spanish colonists founded the city, then called Santiago de los Caballeros, in 1543. Builders often aligned doorways, courtyards, and stairways of the city's churches and residences toward the volcano's slope, a pattern still visible in surviving colonial structures. Earthquakes in 1717 and 1773 badly damaged much of Antigua's original architecture, prompting reconstruction that retained the thick plastered walls, arched openings, and stone stairways typical of 16th- and 17th-century Spanish colonial design. UNESCO named Antigua Guatemala a World Heritage Site in 1979, recognizing its preserved colonial street grid and Baroque-influenced buildings set against the volcanic landscape.

The San Francisco el Grande complex in Antigua Guatemala dates to 1579, when Franciscan friars established the church and convent on this site. Earthquakes in 1717, 1751, and 1773 repeatedly damaged the structure, and the 1773 Santa Marta earthquake left much of the convent in ruin, prompting the colonial capital's move to present-day Guatemala City. Hermano Pedro de Betancourt, canonized in 2002 as Guatemala's first saint, founded a hospital order here and is buried within the church that was later rebuilt beside the ruins. The vaulted stone corridors and roofless chambers that survive are what remain of the original convent's service passages and storage rooms, left largely as the earthquakes and subsequent decades left them.

The Convento de San Francisco in Antigua Guatemala was founded by Franciscan friars in 1579 and grew into one of the largest religious complexes in colonial Central America, with a church, cloisters, and schools built around courtyard gardens like this one. The 1773 earthquake that devastated Antigua left much of the convent in ruins, and the site was largely abandoned after the capital moved to present-day Guatemala City. Hermano Pedro de Betancourt, the Franciscan friar canonized in 2002 as Guatemala's first saint, lived and worked at the convent and is buried in the adjoining church, making the complex a pilgrimage destination to this day. Restoration work over the past several decades has stabilized sections of the ruins and reopened the gardens and stone walkways to visitors.

Antigua Guatemala's streets retain the cobblestone paving laid during the Spanish colonial era, when the city served as the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 to 1773. A 1773 earthquake prompted the colonial government to relocate the capital to present-day Guatemala City, leaving Antigua's low-rise, single-story buildings largely intact. UNESCO designated the city's historic center a World Heritage Site in 1979, citing its well-preserved Spanish Baroque architecture and grid layout based on Renaissance urban planning principles. Many of the colorful facades along these streets house small hotels, shops, and residences within structures that date to the 16th through 18th centuries. The Volcán de Agua, visible beyond the rooftops, has served as a geographic reference point for the city since its founding.

The Santa Catalina Arch spans Calle del Arco in Antigua Guatemala, connecting a former Santa Catalina convent to a school on the opposite side of the street. Nuns built the arch in 1694 so they could cross without being seen in public, in keeping with the cloistered order's vows of seclusion. A clock was added to the structure in the 19th century by Antigua's last colonial-era clockmaker. Antigua itself served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala until earthquakes destroyed much of the city in 1773, prompting the Spanish crown to relocate the capital to present-day Guatemala City. UNESCO designated Antigua a World Heritage Site in 1979, citing its well-preserved Spanish Baroque architecture and colonial urban layout.

Santa Catalina Arch spans 5a Avenida Norte in Antigua, Guatemala's colonial-era former capital. Nuns of the Santa Catalina convent built the arch in 1694 so they could cross the street between the convent and its school without appearing in public, honoring a cloistered vow of seclusion. A clock was added to the structure in the 19th century. Antigua's historic center, including the arch, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Antigua Guatemala's colonial street grid, laid out in the 1540s, still runs on the original cobblestones of the Spanish colonial capital. The city served as the seat of Spanish colonial government in Central America until a 1773 earthquake prompted authorities to relocate the capital to present-day Guatemala City. Antigua's historic center was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, prized for its dense collection of colonial-era buildings and its grid plan based on Renaissance urban design. The Cerro de la Cruz and the surrounding volcanic peaks, including Volcán de Agua, form a permanent backdrop to the town's low colonial rooflines. Arcaded buildings like the one along this street date to the era when covered walkways sheltered market stalls and shops from sun and rain.

Antigua Guatemala's streets follow the grid laid out by Spanish colonial planners after the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala in 1543. Cobblestones and low, thick-walled buildings with tiled roofs are typical of the city's colonial architecture, much of it rebuilt after repeated earthquake damage, including the major 1773 quake that eventually pushed colonial authorities to relocate the capital to present-day Guatemala City. Antigua was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture. The city sits in a valley ringed by three volcanoes — Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango — which remain visible from many of its streets.

Iron Mountain Road winds through the Black Hills of South Dakota, connecting Custer State Park to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Built in the 1930s under Governor Peter Norbeck's direction, the route includes three granite tunnels deliberately aligned to frame the carved presidential faces in the distance. Mount Rushmore itself, completed in 1941 under sculptor Gutzon Borglum, depicts Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln at roughly 60 feet tall.

Sylvan Lake sits at about 6,145 feet in Custer State Park, near the start of the Needles Highway. It was created in 1881 when a dam was built across Sunday Gulch, and its granite outcroppings are part of the Harney Peak granite formation that also shaped Mount Rushmore and the nearby Needles. The lake covers roughly 17 acres and has long been a swimming and rock-climbing spot, with trails circling its shoreline and leading into Sunday Gulch. Custer State Park itself spans more than 71,000 acres, making it one of the largest state parks in the country.

This small cascade lies along the granite outcrops surrounding Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, part of South Dakota's Black Hills. The lake itself was formed in 1881 when a dam was built across Sunday Gulch Creek, and the surrounding trails wind through the same 1.6-billion-year-old granite formations found throughout the park. Sunday Gulch Trail, one of the park's more rugged hiking routes, follows a similar creek bed through boulders and stairstep drops on its way down from the lake.

Sylvan Lake Dam holds back the waters of Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park, South Dakota, in the Black Hills. The current granite-faced dam dates to 1937, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps to replace an 1881 structure that first impounded Sunday Gulch Creek. Water released through the spillway drops into Sunday Gulch, a narrow granite canyon followed by the park's Sunday Gulch Trail. The lake itself covers about 20 acres and is ringed by the same granite formations found along the nearby Needles Highway.