Reading Viaduct - a photoessay
Steve Weinik
11/16/05
I recently took a trip to the Reading Viaduct with two other Philly photographers. (Albert Yee & Mike Webkist) This is a photo essay of my experience. I'll present the photographs, chronologically, as they were taken.
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As I waited for Albert and Mike at 9th and Spring Garden, I captured a shot of this old factory. You'll be seeing a lot of it over the course of this essay.
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On the same corner, I noticed this postcard lying discarded in a pile of broken glass and curbside weeds. The card reads: 10/3/96 - Dear (name eroded away) - I love you and I miss you. It was so good to hear your voice, Can't wait to be near you again. Who can love you like me?? NOBODY BABY – (Cha…?)
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The factory again. Set behind razor wire.
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Now we're up on the Viaduct. The Inquirer building is in the background. The trestle itself is completely overgrown.
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This leaf and the branches behind it struck me immediately. These small things can tell you as much about the feeling of a place as any dramatic vista.
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The light reflected beautifully off this brick tower. This is also the first of my ‘wire' shots.
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The skyline pokes up its head, as the sun dips below the wall.
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The factory and the wires, the growth and the decay.
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Same as above, minus the factory.
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Delicate, poison berries, rest on cold, rusted steel.
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A patch of golden grass, made a couple of beautiful shots.
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The tower, the wires and the growth. (reprise)
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The golden sun sets on the Ivory Tower.
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This is the full shot…
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And this is the crop.
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Nature hasn't quite reclaimed the space.
The factory through decaying columns of the Spring Garden Street station.
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I hope you enjoyed the trip.
