Soul Stirring

Soul Stirring


In July 2006 I was making my periodic trip to Braddock, PA to document the changes in this dying community. Braddock was once a powerhouse of the American steel industry. Located along the Monongahela River just upstream from Pittsburgh it commanded entire valley and fed raw steel to other finishing plants on both banks of the river and both upstream and down. 

 

chairs in Braddock alley
Click for larger image
The post-WWII employment was at about 5000 men.  They and their families constituted a large portion of the local population. Braddock was home to many more workers who toiled in the East Pittsburgh Westinghouse factory and the towns of Linhart, Rankin and Swissvale. 

The town, officially the Borough of Braddock, contained a bustling retail and professional business district along Braddock Avenue. 

 

When the steel industry failed regional employment plummeted. Urban mobility was once defined by the streetcar tracks and inter urban passenger rail lines. Towns grew up along the tracks and the tracks defined where businesses could locate. 

white door in a Braddock alley
Click for larger image

 

The automobile exacerbated the decline of centralized retail and professional enterprises. Some pundits blame the conversion to rubber tired diesel buses for contributing to change but those bus routes essentially follow the former streetcar routes. 

 

My photo journalistic endeavors have spanned 50 years in Braddock. I see a bittersweet story in my photos. It is a story of what is left behind. My images are mostly devoid of people but show the evidence of their presence a few minutes ago or their imminent return. 

 

On that day I saw these two chairs facing the white door. One cushioned vinyl and the other plain lacquered wood. I couldn’t help visualizing Edith and Archie Bunker sitting there. Some one might have been holding the red bound book and leading a semicircle of congregation in song.

 

Click for larger image

 

I’ve returned many time to this spot and seen the white door open revealing the interior of the building, blocked by tires and other debris. But never the poignant image of the two empty chair and red book. 


 

My study of Braddock is embodied in my Braddock Album at the ClickaSnap.com platform.  70 images as of this publishing date.

 

 

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Photos are copyright by Robert Carlson. Most are available for purchase for personal use. Email Lens4anEye@modalchoice.com for commercial licensing.


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