I have this fear that the wonderful old neon signs in San Francisco will disappear in my lifetime. I have a collection of photos that I’ve taken of ghostly billboards painted on old brick walls, structures that have been demolished and other favorite sights —even newer ones like graffiti— that no longer exist in the San Franciscan’s collective experience. I know that I, and many other photographers, sometimes feel like we’re in a rush against time, and development (“Progress!”). That we’re scrambling to capture images before what we’re looking at disappears from existence and memory.
I find the presence of the past to be comforting. Being confronted with layers of the past around us can help us feel grounded, that we are part of a continuum of history.
quintessential SF. love it.
Thanks, Medea. I wish all of SF looked like this.
Love this angle and this group of signs! I’m also a huge fan of the older relics seen around SF, especially signage like on beauty parlors. Anything from the 20′s thru 50′s strikes me deeply, and I also live with the sad fear that one day these will be replaced. A book is due!
Laurel, then we must band forces to document as much as we can. And yes, a book would be a very good idea.
Sadly, the neon signs may very well disappear over the course of the next ten years or so. The past is slowly being eaten up by what everyone wants for the future. It’s great that we are all able to capture these remnants of the past before they disappear completely.
Beautiful photo, Julie.
As long as people don’t see too much economic prospect in the Tenderloin, then some of the best signs will stay. Also many places in the TL have been registered as historic landmarks so perhaps that will keep the condo builders at bay.
the grit on the sf city street sign and the old neon signage do make this shot. If feels like it could have been taken in the past 40 years.
I’m loving very hard b&w photos lately. Probably influenced my love of noir. I see this image as something from an old movie.
I’m curious if the recent rain has cleaned the grit off some of the signs. Maybe i’ll go roam around there tomorrow.
PS I have a pretty hardcore crush on BW too… and its ok i’ve come to terms with it…
I don’t know about the grime on the signs but the sidewalks smell a bit cleaner. We’ll need more rain, though, to keep this city clean!
Super…
This is a real lesson in seeing…
I’ve never noticed the tall skinny sign above, or the Scenic Drive sign…
To shoot that I’ll probably need a wider lens and maybe a more flexible neck…
About as deep in the T.L. as I’d want to go with a pricey camera…
Donald, Donald, weren’t you one of those nice people who told me that it doesn’t matter what kind of fancy camera you have to take a good photo? Now you know I don’t have any of those things you mention… so no excuses, go out there and take a photo in the TL. You’ll be fine.
Great composition … (which is something I have been struggling with lately) … everything is where it should be …. very nice
Some pictures make themselves. All I did here was look up.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by mib13: “Along the Scenic Drive.” http://bit.ly/1qCX6V [via @calibersf]…