News today of the impending two-year closure of the Pulaski Skyway, an eighty-two year old bridge connecting Newark and Jersey City, NJ. It’s a major artery leading to the Holland Tunnel and the reconstruction project is likely to snarl traffic for a long time. The governor better be on his best behavior.
The Skyway is a pretty unique trip back in time. While it is still used by 40,000 cars a day, driving it you can feel the ghosts of depression-era cars as you navigate the tight lanes, short ramps, concrete bed and black iron. I photographed the Skyway in the late 90’s as part of a personal project documenting areas on the periphery of Manhattan.
4×5, Tri-X, my Toyo VX125, Schneider large format lenses. Can’t say that I miss cleaning and loading the film holders or the darkroom. But… that was a great camera, some perfect lenses, and a nice slow methodical way to work.