On my commute today I was surprised to find I-5 completely closed off and empty.
What could be the cause? A quick look at West Seattle Blog
answered that question. In this vintage photo, Max R.
Jensen shows us an I-5 almost as empty and sans motorcade (it must have been nice). The date is unknown. Click for the high res shot.
An interesting view of Seattle, Washington from the central business district across Lake Union toward the northern residential area. Showing on the right is the freeway, part of U.S. Highway 5, which runs from Mexico to Canada without a single stop sign.
Color photo by Max R.
Jensen.
They are not vintage, but my photographer friend Steve Luke Hanson made a series of photos of an “empty” modern I-5. You can see them at http://www.stevelukehanson.com/. It is an exercise for the viewer to figure out how they were made, but they involve only a camera – no darkroom or photoshop tricks.
Wow, this is a tasty one. Lots of nice old buildings here. Where’s the Camlann, is it the yellow one? My brain wants to put it more to the left.
I note that Wallingford is tall-tree-less. You can see every single house, without exception. Was there a neighborhood covenant or something?
Finally, I like how the stiff mesh of streets crossing I-5 forms a ghost of the former topography. You can almost imagine the houses sitting on those erstwhile blocks, hovering over the new superhighway.
Thanks Jess!
The phrase “river of concrete” comes to mind when I look at this. I-5 looks like a river in this shot, gently undulating into the distance. Very nice!
Wow! I used to live right up the street off of Pine from the Camlin. However it took me a minute to figure out that in the picture it is the yellow building to the middle right. Can someone fill us in on what the red building is right in front of the Camlin? I can’t make out if it was a synagogue? A fire station? Great pic!!!
Here is a similar shot I took a few years ago: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevelukehanson/750700185/in/set-970706/
The gas holder tank is still at the gasworks! I (barely) remember that. It fascinated me as a child!
I can see the Fox Theatre as well as the old Nordstrom’s bldg before they sheathed most of it in that ugly brown tile.
The building in front of the Camlin is the Seattle First Baptist Church. It was torn down in 1970 to make way for hotel parking.
Steve, your Flickr photo is set to private.
What is the building across the street from the Roosevelt Hotel(I love that neon sign on the roof!), is it the old Fox Theater???
Gee, I can’t believe no one’s said this yet, so I may as well say it: “Water tower!”
Good call, TomK. I had to look for fully five minutes (full res) before I finally found it, even after you said that. I completely missed it on my first several views.
The Fox Theatre was called the Music Hall long before that picture was taken.
What a great example of induced demand. The drivers on that near-empty road probably imagined it would never fill up. Then their friends realized they could move to a cheap house with a big yard out in the suburbs and still get to work quickly. Fast forward to today and that’s led to suburban sprawl and rush hour gridlock.
But wait! They’re going to expand 520. I’m sure that’ll fix traffic…