The Butte, MT Power Grid
Power and its presence in the hundred years’ past boomtown of Butte, Montana.
Uptown spires / heights may not be as advertised.
Splitting the Hillside "M" of Montana Tech.
Headframe gateway atop "the richest hill on Earth".
Tangled supply chain.
A gentleman's bet. The spiral staircase races the mountaintop to the sky.
Electricity arrived early to the Copper King Mansion, one of Butte's 6000+ listed buildings that together form the largest National Historic Landmark District in the United States.
Implements of power at the intersection of Main and Broadway.
Mercury / heavy metal.
End of the line.
Power Wash overlooking the Berkeley Pit, a one-time open pit copper mine that is now the site of the largest Superfund clean-up in the country.
Electricity descending / electricity submerged.
Quarryscape dominance.
Hillbrow Modern
Three images from an incomplete photo essay examining the modernist architecture of Johannesburg’s inner city.
Pressure-packed.
Skyscraper gaze.
Fire exit ribbon.
The Five Ring Circus: Game Faces
Canada takes on the USA for Olympic Gold. Two kilometres from Canada Hockey Place at LiveCity Yaletown, 28 February 2010.
Full regalia.
Detail of a crowd.
Maple leaf array.
Canada celebrates a goal from Jonathan Toews 12:50 into the first period.
Canada takes a 2-0 lead with a second period goal from Corey Perry.
America comes back to narrow Canada's lead with a goal from Ryan Kesler.
America comes back to tie the game in the dying seconds, forcing overtime.
Tie game.
Crosby takes possession of the puck for Canada...
...shoots...
"Where were you when Canada won gold?"
Eruption.
Thrash.
Tears.
150,000 best friends.
Believe.
"Oh Canada..."
"...with glowing hearts..."
"...we stand on guard for thee..."
Looking for a Landmark II
Wish upon a postcard.
The sun shines down on all buildings equally, no matter what they’ve done to deserve it.
Distortions.
Tower spire in fog.
—-
Tourists at a Tourist Attraction III
Elongated subject.
Leapfrog dare.
Six fingers.
Two times two.
Sneaker market.
Nuclear.
Awe. Cloud Gate, Chicago.
—-
Concrete/Skate
Skaters at the Bonsor Skate Park at Metrotown, Burnaby.
Shadow play.
Decks.
Bail.
Soles.
Touch.
Rolling.
Table.
Grind.
Wings.
Vert.
Tractlands
Words found in sales brochures for various planned community, circa 1951-1959.
“The Budgeteer. This is a brand new idea in duplexes. Each house rents from $65 a month. They are not for sale. Available only to employees of designated defense companies. Leases are for one year and tenants must deposit a cash security of $130.”
“Look through these pages for the modern answer to your housing problem. See how beauty, utility and craftsmanship have been combined to give you the glamorous exteriors and the unique, new floor plans from which to choose the home you have always wanted.”
“In this final year of construction, four wonderful houses are being shown, all in limited quantities: the Jubilee, the Pennsylvanian, the Colonial and the Country Clubber, which, at moderate additional expense, can be completely air-conditioned.”
“No single feature of a suburban residential community contributes so much to the charm and beauty of the individual home and locality as well-kept lawns.”
“Homeowners are encouraged to plant a natural fence of privet hedge or evergreens.”
“Your first impression … and it stays with you … is one of quiet, spacious beauty. The gently curving streets with modern lighting are uncluttered by cars … Everywhere you look, your eyes rest on the loveliness of well-kept lawns, majestic shade trees, fruit trees and flowering shrubs.”
“Road layouts have been planned so that no child crosses a main road to reach school. Wide, parked boulevards crisscross the town to make every house easy to reach. Even street names have been keyed to make sense. For instance, Sweetbriar Lane (and any road beginning with “S”) is in the Stonybrook section.”
“As an innovation, these three houses are being intermingled side by side rather than being built in separate groups. In other words, no longer do we have a section of “A” houses, another of “B” houses, and a third of “C” houses. Instead we are building all types in the same neighbourhood, right next to each other, to provide greater variety and a more pleasing appearance.”
“Every house includes a General Electric refrigerator, automatic washer, electric range and oven, screens for all windows, and complete landscaping. In addition, the “C” house includes a General Electric dryer.”
“No booklet can be a substitute for seeing with one’s own eyes. All this can do is give a few facts and figures to supplement a personal visit.”
“Elsewhere in this booklet you will see pictures of the homes to be built, but you can see the houses themselves at the Exhibit Center on Route 13. Go into the Display Building and see everything—every nail, every bolt, every last item of equipment—that goes into their construction.”
“To you, Mr. and Mrs. Homebuyer… first things come first, and the first thing you want to know is – Is This House a Good Buy?”
“Question: When is a dollar more than a dollar?
Answer: When it’s used in Levittown, the most perfectly planned community in America!”
“There once was a place where neighbors greeted neighbors in the quiet of summer twilight. Where children chased fireflies. And porch wings provided easy refuge from the cares of the day. The movie house showed cartoons on Saturday. The grocery store delivered. And there was always that one teacher who always knew you had that special something. Remember that place? Perhaps from your childhood. Or maybe just from stories. It held a magic all of its own. The special magic of an American home town.”
Postcards from the Sunshine State
Searching for 1960s Florida on Australia’s Gold Coast, circa 2007.
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Tomatoes About Town
Then, feeling like a bit of a voyeur, I approached our friendly tomato vendor, initiated some small-talk gesticulations, then parted with an er yuan note (30c) in exchange for a basket-sized baggy of plump cherry tomatoes. Yum!
She declined to have her photograph taken.
