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Humeur actuelle :  occupé
And so I bring to you Gowanus, Brooklyn. The borders are roughly Butler Street to the North, Third Ave to the East, the Brooklyn Queens Expressway to the South and Hoyt/Smith Street to the West. And if you'd like to see the inspiration for these kinds of photo essays, I highly recommend the chapter put out by Forgotten New York.
I'd heard a lot about the Gowanus Canal before, but like much of Brooklyn, I'd never been there before. To be fair, for most of the past oh, 60 years, Gowanus has been the kind of neighborhood that you make a point to avoid. It's filthy, it's full of industrial streetscapes, and up until very recently, it stank to high heaven, thanks to the kind of toxic cocktail that only heavy manufacturing and the effuent of millions of residences can conjur.
Well, that was then, this is now. It's still gritty, but it doesn't stink anymore, and truth be told, I can see myself living there now, at least along the perimeter. It's one of the few neighborhoods left that's easily accessible and affordable. I should note that there are quite a few places there to live; I just found the other stuff more picture worthy. Enjoy. At the corner of 5th Street and Hoyt, where the canal hooks a right (or a left depending on the direction you're heading, is this hulking thing. Your guess is as good as mine. Some of the industrial buildings in Gowanus are still being used, but quite a few are not. This door, for instance, has been closed for some time now. This is looking just off the side of the Third Street Bridge. From what I understand, the Third Street Bridge was actually the third bridge built over the canal. Neat, huh?..Anyone care to translate? Aw, it's a sad graffiti star stop sign. Old New York City Subway power stations don't age particularly well in this part of town. Hey, that's me! Pretty soon this cute little number will be neighbors with a Whole Foods store. The biggest side track of the canal leads over to Third Ave. No surprise that it's frozen over here; the banks are completely devoid of any activity. This is back down by Sixth Street, not far from the elevated F train. Thus, the elevated sign. Over on the 6th Street block between Second and Third Ave., one of the warehouses was doing a little house cleaning. Can I just say I love the cobble stones? Something tells me this bus never quite made its intended destination. Damn, that'd be one hell of a tall tractor trailer! Second Ave just off 9th Street. If I couldn't get it all new and shiny again, this is what I'd take to a demolition derby.  S tanding on the 9th Street Street Bridge, looking south to the BQE. There's something about a big claw picking up mounds of scrap metal that's absolutely mesmerizing.  I think this guy has a notary business or something. I could be wrong though. All we're missing here is the Statue of Liberty shedding a tear. The end of Huntington Street was not a very happy place when I visited there. The view from Huntington Street across the canal was interesting though. Dig that green reflection! I just love how this tree has become one with the guard rail. That's some serious hardiness. This snazzy looking place is on Garnet Street, within striking distance of the canal, the BQE and the subway. What more could you want? Garnet and Smith Street never has to worry about freezing in the winter, that's for sure. This is one of the more unusual subway stations in the system; it's actually high up on a viaduct that goes over another bridge that crosses the canal. I believe the black stuff you see is some sort of temporary canvas material that keeps the concrete from breaking off and konking someone in the head. Over on the other side of the canal, the first truly "urban" Lowes sits on 12th Street. Whimsical murals were apparently part of the approval process. Um, I think this is on Carroll Street. The frosted window caught my eye. There are only two retractile bridges left in the city, and this is one of them. When it opens for boats (which is very infrequently now), it slides on tracks back and to the right, in sort of a diagonal motion back onto land. This is looking at the bridge from the other side of the canal. You can see the tracks over on the left side. According to the city, the bridge opened 704 times for boats in 1994, four years later it only opened 110 times. My understanding is this was meant to apply to horse and buggy drivers, not cars. Which makes sense, because the cars driving over it when I was there were definitely ignoring it. Also, the bridge was built in 1898. I'm no expert on the subject, but this area seems to be a mecca for street art. We're up in the vicinity of the Union Street Bridge. I really can't remember where though. The locals weren't very talkative. From the looks of it, "Callie" may be the one who tends to the garden in the front yard of this cute little abode. Follow DeGraw Street from Nevins Street to the canal, and you'll find very impressive piles of trash and overgrown weeds. Look south at the barbed wire surrounding the lot along the water, and you see something else. This, I have to say, is impressive. It's hard to really show why, but basically someone had to weld this to a post while practically hanging over the bulkhead bordering the canal. One false step, and splash! Heading back towards Third Ave away from the Canal on Degraw, you see this. Kind looks like a missile sticking out of the ceiling, doesn't it? On Butler Street, the unofficial northern border of Gowanus, the Statue of Liberty that's missing over on Smith Street makes an appearance. I find it interesting that she's facing to the side in this rendition.  Right in the middle of the part of Butler Street, across from the the Douglass Street Pumping station at the end of the canal, there resides someone who's obviously an artist. The resident of this place has interesting tastes in doormen.Fin.
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