PROJECT: Portland Switching District
2008-Present
How does industry shape a city, and a city shape industry? This photographic project examines the relationship between street grids, urbanism, rail infrastructure, and urban industry.Published in the Spring 2011 issue of the National Railway Historical Society Bulletin.
Solo Exhibit: City Club of Portland, March 14-April 8, 2011.
Author Archives: ABC
Historic Preservation, Unusual Artifacts, and the Big Preservation Question
Historic preservation is difficult under even the most ideal conditions, but it is all the more difficult when the subject is—important or not—odd or obscure. Thus we have the case of the last dual gauge streetcar track in Portland. Its … Continue reading
Posted in Cities, History, Land Use & Transportation
Tagged Historic Preservation, History, Portland, Transit, Transportation
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Photo Call
For all of my transit geek photographer friends: I am working on a project related to modern streetcars. I need a few specific images and I am writing to see if any of you may have some: • Signs or … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Brushwork and big plans
Recently, I was notified of an exciting opportunity to further my education: I was accepted into a graduate program at the University of California Berkeley. I am very excited by this, and looking forward to it tremendously. However, this new … Continue reading
Posted in Painting
Tagged Architecture, Bridges, Highways, History, Landscapes, Northwest, Transit, Transportation, Watercolor
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Getting to know dead people
Being a writer with a strong interest in the region’s history, I find myself running across certain names with great repetition. It is hard, for example, not to read about the Ladds in Portland, or John McLoughlin in the pre-territory … Continue reading
Illustrating the masters: McKim, Mead & White’s 1882 Portland rail station
The above is an architectural rendering I created in recent months, but it is more than that: it’s a connection between myself and a lost fragment of time. The building in the rendering is an 1882 rail station design by … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Land Use & Transportation, Painting
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Upcoming: Presentation on the Mount Tabor streetcar line
Interested in the past, present, and future of streetcars in Portland? Since late last year, the Architectural Heritage Center has been celebrating the city’s streetcars, first with “Streetcars Build a City”, an exhibit of streetcar artifacts, as well as with … Continue reading
Posted in Cities, Culture, Land Use & Transportation, Photography
Tagged Architecture, Historic Preservation, History, Northwest, Portland, Transit, Transportation
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2012 Ten Favorite Images
As 2012 rolls to a close, it’s time once again to look back at the year’s photography. I’ve been doing this for five years, so this is the sixth time for the review. The exercise is rather interesting for me, … Continue reading
Posted in Photography
Tagged Abandoned, Architecture, Bridges, Canada, Digital Photography, Film, G9, Industry, Landscapes, Northwest, Photographic Technique, Portland, Railways, Seattle, Tacoma, Ten Best, Transit, Transportation, Travel, Vancouver Island, XF1
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Announcement: Presentation on railroad architecture in Portland!
Interested in architecture, the history of American expansion, the Gilded Age, or rail transportation? If so, consider yourself invited to attend Railroad Architecture and the Northwest: Economics, Ethos, and Culture, an educational program given by me at the Architectural Heritage … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Land Use & Transportation, Photography
Tagged Architecture, Historic Preservation, History, Northwest, Portland, Railways, Seattle, Tacoma, Transportation
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2011: Ten Best Images
It’s almost the end of the year again, and with most of my photography is done, it is once again time to look back and pick out the ten best images of the year. “Best” is, of course, a rather … Continue reading
Posted in Photography
Tagged Bridges, Digital Photography, Film, G9, Industry, Landscapes, Portland, Railways, Small Towns, Ten Best, Transit, Transportation
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Review: Steam: An Enduring Legacy
Steam: An Enduring Legacy: The Railroad Photographs of Joel Jensen By Joel Jensen. Essays by John Gruber and Scott Lothes, Afterward by Jeff Brouws. W. W. Norton & Company, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110; wwnorton.com; 11.9 x 11.1 … Continue reading