Last December my husband, son, and I took a trip into Center City Philadelphia. It was right before Christmas and a miserable day – cold and pouring down rain. I took the pictures for this little book all on that day – and all of them taken in the vicinity of City Hall. It’s an area very familiar to me – I worked for quite a few years in this section of town.
Every sight and every location have layers of meaning for me. I tried to express that feeling in this book.
After it was finished, I sent it to my son.
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Front cover.
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Page Spread 1
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Page Spread 2
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Page Spread 3
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Page Spread 4
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Page Spread 5
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Back cover
Here is the text of the book – if you want to read it all at once.
Center City
1.
Rain.
Cold.
Gray.
December.
Street lights on
at lunchtime.
The newsstand an oasis.
Shake off the raindrops
buy a magazine to read on the bus.
2.
The light changes.
Sweep around the curve and accelerate away down the shiny street.
Rush up to the curve turn the wheel veer off and around.
The light changes.
Stop, foot hard on the brake.
Glance up and down
lines of traffic
opposed, suspended.
The light changes.
Imagine that you stand on this corner all day.
Know that you would not see the end of it. There is no end to it.
3.
If you have no umbrella today,
you will very shortly feel the lack of it.
Everyone is anonymous on a rainy day.
4.
There is a pattern here,
but
what does it mean?
Arrange it.
Assemble it.
You decide.
Yourself.
5.
The flow of cars on the street.
Low clouds crowding tall city buildings.
Skinny rain-polished tough black trees, leafless, dripping.
The bowling alley sign.
You will not get tired of this view.
6.
The bus moves into the curve.
Awkward. Inelegant. Taken for granted.
Absolutely necessary to the city.
A confident roar. The bus pulls away, triumphant.
7.
The city
explained
ordered
neatly arranged.
All the questions have answers
and can be found somewhere on the map.
8.
The rain comes down harder and harder.
Run or be soaked.
9.
Headlights streak the wet streets.
The buildings endure the weather.
The people hurry through it.
What is it that you said?
Rain.
Cold.
Gray.
December.
In the city.
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