On the Waterfront - Seattle, Washington (Summer 2024)

The Seattle waterfront has changed drastically since I lived in Seattle in the mid-1970s. At that time, the horrible 2-level Alaskan Viaduct snaked along the waterfront. Underneath was a sort of nether-land, similar to the underside of the Southeast Expressway in Boston. But at least there was parking under the concrete. Back then, waterfront Seattle was a working district, with warehouses, small factories, and industrial activities. 

Today, the viaduct is gone! Alaskan Way is sunny. Now there are bike lanes, gardens, and a clean new surface street, Elliott Way. Warehouses have been rebuilt into condominiums, and totally new buildings have been erected. And the traffic flows underneath through the SR99 tunnel. 

Alaskan Way

Pier 50 view north along Alaskan Way (Kodak Tri-X film, Rolleiflex 3.5E camera)

The grotesque viaduct once marred this view. Now this is a cheerful and popular bund or esplanade.

This monstrous cruise ship loomed over the waterfront. I have never been close to a vessel this large. It was like a floating office building. I can understand why more and more popular destinations in the Mediterranean, like Venice, Santorini, and Barcelona, object to these ships disgorging thousands of tourists in a short period. They overwhelm the local infrastructure, water supply, and plumbing. But the merchants like the shoppers.

Pier 70 view south along Alaskan Way from the Olympia Sculpture Park

Sounder commuter train

BNSF tracks near Pier 66

In the past, I wondered where the trains came from that ran on the tracks parallel Alaskan Way. I only recently learned that the Great Northern Tunnel extends for about a mile under the business district. This was a major engineering accomplishment in 1904. The southern entrance is just north of the King Street station. The northern entrance emerges from the mountain almost under the Pike Place Market. The opening is obscured by fencing along Elliott Way.  This is another example of the great engineering that made a nation. 

Great Northern Tunnel north entrance (Samsung phone digital file)

BNSF freight train near Pier 70

It feels like a train comes along about every 15 minutes. The amount of commerce is amazing.

Pike Place Market

Everyone takes pictures and selfies at the famous Pike Place Market. My Olympia photography friend comes here often and does excellent work. I took pictures in the Market in 1973 when I lived in Seattle. 

The famous Pioneer Building is a Richardsonian Romanesque edifice of stone, red brick, terra cotta, and cast iron. It faces Pioneer Square, now rather grungy because of the homeless and filth. 

I remember entering the Pioneer Building when it was being renovated in the early 1970s. There was an inner atrium with iron railings. Somewhere in the basement was the well-known French restaurant, the Brasserie Pittsbourg. I remember eating here with friends and, possibly, my dad. Do I have any photographs from those happy and innocent 1970s?

Entrance to the Brasserie Pittsbourg, March 3, 1970 (courtesy of the Seattle Public Library, photograph by Werner W. Lenggenhager, 1899-1988)

This ends our short walk in downtown Seattle and along the waterfront. I took these photographs on Kodak Tri-X 400 film with a Rolleiflex 3.5E camera with 75mm ƒ/3.5 Xenotar lens. This is a 1959 model still going strong. Most Rolleiflex twin lens cameras are superb picture machines. Praus Productions in Rochester, NY, developed the film.

Olympia with Fuji NPH400 (Abandoned Films 12) (Oly 03)

Dear readers, we will continue our irregular series on Olympia, Washington. 

Moving to a new home in a new state was quite an adventure. Closets and boxes in our former home revealed all sorts of treasures (much of it junk). How did we accumulate all this stuff? Is this the curse of American suburbia? 

But I found some goodies. The depths of the freezer disgorged a box of 120 size Fuji NPH 400 film. The box expired in Feb. 2005. The last time I used a roll may have been in 2018, when I drove to Asheville, North Carolina, to The Vintage car show. Six years later, was it this NPH still viable? 

Being a 400 film, I thought it would be useful for hand-held work with my Rolleiflex, which has a ƒ/3.5 lens. One drizzly January morning, I walked around west Olympia while waiting for car repair. 

Eagan's Drive-In, 1420 Harrison Avenue - not yet open for the day

Eagan's toilets, maybe not available today

The dancing burger, Eagan's Drive-In

Division Street view north

Taco trucks ready to roll, Harrison Avenue

I took the Rolleiflex out on a cheerful sunny day. The NPH film responded much better.

Swantown Boatworks, Marine Drive NE 

Conclusion: Semi-success, this long-expired NPH 400 was still viable. But some of the frames were slightly underexposed, some more extreme. My Luna Pro light meter is working correctly because other rolls of film from 2024 are properly exposed, frame after frame. Could this old NPH film be more sensitive to reciprocity failure because of its age?  (Reciprocity with camera film means that the film sensitivity is not linear over a standard light range. Therefore, darker scenes need more exposure than a light meter might indicate.) For this roll, I set the Exposure Index at 320, but next time, I will use EI=200 or even lower. Regardless, it is time to use it up. Even frozen, it will not last forever.

Thanks for enduring another adventure in expired camera film. 

Revisiting the Wards, Houston, Texas (TX 10)

Introduction

The Wards are former political subdivisions of Houston, Texas. They no longer officially exist but still represent approximate regions of the city. Their inhabitants associate with their home ward. 

Houston Wards in 1920 (from Wikipedia, in the public domain)

This 1920 map shows the Wards at that time. Note that Hermann Park is in the bottom center of the map, in the countryside then. A hospital was already at the south side of Hermann Park. Just south of this today is the huge Texas Medical Center, with world-famous hospitals including the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

The little rectangle at the lower left is West University Place. The community, first developed in 1917,  never became incorporated into the City of Houston. Today, West U is a fashionable and upper-crust community to call home. 

Fourth Ward

Shotgun house, 1410 Robin Street (Ilford Delta 100 film, Rolleiflex 3.5E camera)

Historic wood houses, 1320 Robin Street (Ilford Delta 100 film)

Much of the Fourth Ward that I remember from the early 1980s has been totally transformed with modern townhouses and condominiums. A small cluster of wood houses on Robin Street is (or was) being preserved.

These buildings are in the Heritage Freedman's Town. This was the oldest African-American part of Houston and pre-dates 1865. A local resident told us that the City was trying to preserve a small cluster of the worker shotgun cottages. She said the local residents were upset because a contractor had been chosen without local input and there had been little or no progress in a long time.

The Houston Freedman's Town Conservancy is trying to preserve the heritage and the brick streets.

Fifth Ward

Locomotive approaching Lyons Avenue (Panatomic-X film, 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar lens)

The Fifth Ward was formerly a working class neighborhood, where many of the men worked at the Port of Houston and at associated industries. Several rail lines cross through the Ward (see my previous article on Tower 26), and I saw warehouses, workshops, and other commercial activity.

Brewster Street, view north (Panatomic-X film, 250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

Brewster Street cottages (250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens)

Bleker Street (250mm Sonnar lens)

Waco Street (250mm Sonnar lens)

As I wrote in my earlier article, some of the Fifth Ward is really rough. Some blocks of row houses look reasonably well-maintained, but others are horrifying. I did not feel too comfortable exploring on my own and did not take too many photographs. It reminded me of west Jackson, Mississippi.

Third Ward

Restored row houses, Holman Street (Ilford Delta 100, Rolleiflex 3.5E camera)

The Project Row Houses is an art program at 2521 Holman Street. Art exhibits are in some of the houses, while residents occupy others. According to the Row Houses web page:

Project Row Houses is a community platform that enriches lives through art with an emphasis on cultural identity and its impact on the urban landscape. We engage neighbors, artists, and enterprises in collective creative action to help materialize sustainable opportunities in marginalized communities.

Project Row Houses occupies a significant footprint in Houston’s Historic Third Ward, one of the city’s oldest African-American neighborhoods. The site encompasses five city blocks and houses 39 structures that serve as a home base to a variety of community-enriching initiatives, art programs, and neighborhood development activities.

PRH programs touch the lives of under-resourced neighbors, young single mothers with the ambition of a better life for themselves and their children, small enterprises with the drive to take their businesses to the next level, and artists interested in using their talents to understand and enrich the lives of others.

Although PRH’s African-American roots are planted deeply in Third Ward, the work of PRH extends far beyond the borders of a neighborhood in transition. The PRH model for art and social engagement applies not only to Houston, but also to diverse communities around the world.

Former local store, Holman Street at Emancipation (Fuji Acros film)

Fixer-upper house, Bastrop Street at Francis (50mm ƒ/2 Jupiter-8 lens)

No more ice cream, Ennis Street

Unity of Color, 3611½ Bennett Street

The Secret Recipe - well, not any more, 3801 MacGregor Way

The Third Ward is a mixture of light commercial and residential, partly decayed, and partly reviving. 

North of the Gulf Freeway (I-45), the area now called East Downtown has become very sophisticated with restaurants, town houses, and garden apartments. Brass Tacks is a very nice coffee bar and casual restaurant. I biked there several times on the Columbia-Tap Rail Trail.

Further south, the scene becomes a bit more earthy without as much redevelopment (yet).

This completes our short and semi-random tour around three of the Houston Wards. There is plenty more to see. Next trip. Thanks for riding along.

From the Archives: Washington Avenue, Houston, 1981 (TX 09)

In the long-ago earlier life, my wife and I moved to Houston, Texas, in 1980. The big city! There was so much to see and explore! 

Having a real job and some income, I bought a used Rolleiflex 3.5E camera at Southside Camera Center (long gone). What do you do with your first medium format camera? Well, start looking for interesting urban decay topics. Back then, Houston was full of grunge and decay. (Some critics say Houston is still full of grunge, but we better not go there this time.) As you long-term readers can see, I have been doing this decay topic for a long time. 

My 1956 Rolleiflex 3.5E camera with its superb 75mm ƒ/3.5 Xenotar lens - why did I stupidly sell it when I though digital might be the next great thing?

Washington Avenue runs approximately east-west out of downtown Houston, Texas, through the former Sixth Ward. Washington Avenues in US cities are typically older streets that run through well-established and often run-down neighborhoods. This one fit the pattern in 1981. Here are some samples. Please click any frame to see it enlarged.

Turney Motor Company occupied a 1920s gas station building. You could drive a Chevrolet Nova for $35/week - it says so!

The building is gone, and the lot provides parking for the trendy Ivy House cocktail bar next door. Washington Avenue was not very trendy in 1981....

Houston Junk, now possibly Rose Recycling on Center Street

Time for a 50¢ beer, corner of Center and National Streets

Historic 1872 Glenwood Cemetery, an oasis of green and peace in the city

June 1980 view of Houston from Glenwood Cemetery (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Nikkormat FTn camera, 28mm ƒ/3.5 lens)

Early 20th century brick commercial building, 1722 Washington Avenue 

In the mid-20th century, all American cities had commercial buildings of this type. The families who ran the shops or small businesses often lived in apartments on the second floor. White flight to the suburbs after World War II destroyed many traditional and mixed inner city communities that would have depended on local shops in such buildings. 

This building is gone and a modern town house/condominium is in its place. At least in Houston, the cycle is turning and professionals are returning to live within the city. 

Early 20th century wood cottage Washington Avenue. 

This was one of my early examples of photographing dilapidated houses. This building is gone, probably demolished years ago. A large framed print of this scene has hung in my house for four decades, but the print has changed colors and faded.  

This handsome old fire station is still extant

Gent with his laundry, 1712 Washington Avenue

This is another example of an early-20th century commercial building. Note the formerly handsome tall arched windows. The lower floor had ventilation transoms. 

I took these photographs on 120-size Kodak Vericolor II Film with my Rolleiflex on September 5, 1981. The colors are a bit muted, but all in all, the film survived the decades quite well. In those days, you could buy 120 film in many camera stores, but professional emulsions, like Vericolor II, came from larger stores with a film refrigerator. This roll probably came from Southside Camera Center on Bellaire Blvd.

Thank you for joining me for this look back to 1981. I also wrote about Main Street in 1982 (click the link).

The Central Texas Coast - Freeport to Corpus Christi (TX 05)

Hook'ers' Bait Shop, Hwy 332, Freeport, Texas (Rolleiflex 3.5E, Tri-X 400 film)

The Texas coast south of Galveston is a complicated terrain of wide bays, barrier islands, and inlets. In Texas, these openings between the sea and the bays are called Passes. Most are used by fishing and other commercial boats. The entire coast is famous for its birding because the wetlands and bays attract semi-tropical species rarely seen in other parts of the continental USA. 

Decades ago, I went in and out of some of the ports, like Port Lavaca, on crew boats. One day I'll scan some of those photographs. 

We will start in Freeport and work our way south. 

No gas any more, Tivoli, Texas (Acros film, 35mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens)

Fixer-upper house, Tivoli

Fixer-upper house 2, Tivoli

Tivoli is an unincorporated community in Refugio County, Texas. It is on Hwy 35 a short distance north of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. If you have been to Aransas, you probably zipped through Tivoli. I was surprised to see a street where most of the houses were abandoned. Did a developer buy the street?

Farmhouse near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Note the tar paper siding.

Aransas NWR is south of San Antonio Bay. The roads there are lonely and have a few abandoned old farmhouses. If you have never been to the refuge, definitely go. But be prepared for mosquitoes.  

Between Houston and Brownsville, Corpus Christi is the biggest city on the Gulf of Mexico coast. It sits on a wonderful location facing Corpus Christi Bay. 

Have a wee on the beach, North Beach, Corpus Christi (Fuji Acros film)

America the Beautiful (architecture), Surfside Blvd., Corpus Christi (Hasselblad, Tri-X 400 film)

North Beach is a rather cheesy tourist area. We stayed in a motel built up on stilts to avoid hurricane storm surge. Off season, the only food at North Beach appears to be at gas stations, so we drove across the bay into  the city.

Morgan Avenue, Corpus Christi

America the Beautiful (strip mall land), Morgan Avenue, Corpus Christi

House (bunker?) on Morgan Ave., Corpus Christi

The historic part of Corpus Christi and the business district have a beautiful setting on Corpus Christi Bay. But in my opinion, most of the city is an ugly mess of highways, urban sprawl, strip malls, fast food joints, and boring architecture. It's Americana extreme. It's a real shame.

Most of the photographs are from Fuji Acros film. I used my Leica M2 camera with 50mm and 35mm Summicron lenses.