Denver's evolution from a vast prairie to a bona fide big city has been closely chronicled by photographers. Shutterbugs started snapping in the mid-1800s, and they haven't stopped since. And an exhaustive archive of their work -- more than 600,000 historical images -- has been compiled by the Denver Art Museum, the Colorado Historical Society and the Denver Public Library's Western History/Genealogy Department. The grainy black-and-white photos are a portal through time, reviving everything from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show to women in big, weird hats on Larimer Street at the turn of the century. The images are arranged in galleries searchable by keyword at www.photoswest.org or in person on the fifth floor of the Central Library. For about twenty bucks, DPL staff will print and ship a nice digital copy of any photo in the collection; all you have to do is slap on a frame, and you've got grown-up-looking art that's picture-perfect for your wall.