A District Sojourn

The architecture of Washington DC and beyond, historic and modern. The buildings and streets of the District, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York - preservation, demolition, construction, renovation. From the author of Built St. Louis and A Chicago Sojourn.

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Midcentury storefronts of East Passyunk Avenue, south Philadelphia. These types of renovations typically occurred in the two decades after World War II as store owners in aging buildings sought to make their stores look more up to date. Common elements seen here include the terrazzo entryways with colorful patterns, address numbers, and the names of (usually long-gone) businesses; 1x1 mosaic tile in a rainbow of colors; angled storefront display windows and entryways;  and Vitrolite slipcovers with stainless steel lettering.

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On and around Passyunk Avenue, south Philadelphia

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Toynbee Tiles of Greenwich Avenue, New York.

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Sunset behind the National Cathedral.

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So I’ve only been to Asbury Park, New Jersey twice, right? Once in April 2000, when I knew my time in Philadelphia was ending soon and I wanted to explore everything I could on the East Coast. And once this weekend.

Folks? Let me tell you, this fabled little Shore town has bounced back HARD.

The boardwalk was doing GREAT. There were tons of people there - families, teens, hipsters, punk rockers in town for a festival. There were shops and stores and restaurants. They were selling Korean fusion tacos, ferchrissakes, whatever those are. There was new construction and stuff happening and almost no trace of the mournful wreck of a beachfront that inspired Bruce Springsteen to write “My City of Ruins” the same year I visited.

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Wildwood motel signs by night.

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The mid-century motels of Wildwood, New Jersey by day. The 1955 completion of the Garden State Parkway to the southern tip of the state spurred an explosion of construction in this seaside resort town. Many of its famed neon signs have been lost, but plenty still remain.

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Ocean Grove New Jersey is utterly adorable! The town began and remains a Methodist tent revival camp with a semi-permanent tent village around a main auditorium / church. Dozens of ornate wood Victorian houses line the surrounding blocks.

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The state of Maryland can lay claim to some impressive historical stuff.

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Things you’ll see from the Ben Franklin Bridge.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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From the Brooklyn Heights promenade.

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St. Nicholas Avenue, upper Manhattan. Bustling, dense, vital. This is LIFE, y'all!

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A sampling of the Deco sculptures in and around Rockefeller Center.

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The Baltimore & Ohio rail museum in Baltimore owns this utterly beautiful piece of machinery. Built in the 1920s, it was rebuilt after World War II and given its streamlined shroud for upgraded passenger service. There are precious few of the great Deco streamliners left, especially the really loopy ones like this. Seeing it was a real treat.

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Pennsylvania Railroad keystone logo railings, at 30th Street Station Philadelphia.

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In and around downtown Newark, New Jersey. A town that still believes in the power of signage. Also home to the second best set of vertical lift bridges in the country (the best, of course, are on the Calumet River, just south of Chicago.)