Hello to all architecture freaks and observant travelers. I am starting a new bo ok on Main Streets in America and want to select 12-15 American towns or cities which have interesting, "authentic" (if that has any real meaning) main streets (don't have to be called Main). The photographer David Plowden has given me lot s of good suggestions in the upper Midwest and New York State. I've also scouted many towns and have tentatively chosen Kutztown, PA (a college town with a grea t mix of residences & businesses, 18th-century houses, and Amish buggies rolling through), Abbeville, SC (unspoiled Main Street square), Bristol, RI (great mari time and patriotic character) and Bisbee, AZ (physically & historically fascinat ing - or at least it was in 1994 when I was last there).
I will be making B&W diptychs of the streetscape and subdued color pictures of i ndividual facades, using an Arca 6x9 view camera. I will also interview residen ts & businesspeople for my text. I am not interested in the sort of gentrified s treets that have nothing but cafes, boutiques, and gift shops for tourists. They could be streets in decline if there's a good story in the decline. Extra cred it goes to streets with a hardware store, barber pole, and/or pharmacy (not CVS or Rite-Aid). I'll drive anywhere!
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