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Bradford Beck, Bradford, England
2007
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During the British Empire the northern United Kingdom produced most of the world's wool and cotton. These "wealth of the nation" industrial towns depended on water to power their factories through the early 19th century, paving the way for the Industrial Revolution. The Bradford Beck once ran mightily through the center of town but as steam power and electricity became more common, and the beck became more polluted, it was channeled underground, and forgotten. The arches seen here are not only part of the underground waterway, but are also the foundations for Bradford’s 19th century city hall. |
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Arthur Kill Bridge
2005
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This is a view downward from the 215 foot tower of the Arthur Kill Bridge. When this lift-bridge was built in 1959 it was the longest moveable-span bridge in the world, a distinction held until 2001. |
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St. Paul Diptych (Abandoned Utility Tunnels)
2006
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16"x22" - $200
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The twin cities of St Paul and Minneapolis, MN, are unique among American cities for the extent of their underground environments. Both cities were industrial powerhouses in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the relics of their old industries include underground flumes and tailraces that channeled water from the Mississippi River into water-powered mills and then back out into the river. More importantly, the unique geology of the region is perfect for underground structures. A layer of limestone is at the surface; this contains many natural caves, some of which were used for storage and for brewery storage vaults. Below the limestone is a much thicker layer of sandstone (St Peter sandstone), which allowed for tunnels to be dug very easily.
Underneath downtown St. Paul, there are at least seven different utility tunnel networks (sewers, storm drains, telecom tunnels, electric power tunnels, and others). Over time connections have been formed between these systems, either intentionally or throug small collapses, created a massive labarynth of tunnels, some of which are still in use and some of which are abandoned. This shot shows two abandoned tunnels in the labaryinth system, one an old telephone cable tunnel, and the other housing an oldfresh-water pipe. |
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Paris Catacombs "Le Chambre Egyptienne"
2006
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The Paris Catacombs are a network of over 200 miles of ancient limestone quarry tunnels, dating as far back as the twelfth century. The paintings in this room, which was popular for parties in the 1970s and 1980s represents a 200 year old tradition of cataphiles decorating the underground environment. This chamber was discovered by Steve and his colleague Moses during a thirty-six hour trek beneath the city. |
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Petit Ceinture & Catacomb Entrance, Paris
2006
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12"x18" - $200
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The extensive network of catacombs (mostly old quarry tunnels) in Paris has entrances throughout the city, though most have been closed as the city has grown over time. The Petite Ceinture, an abandoned railroad line around the outskirts of Paris, travels through a series of tunnels and open cut sections, and provides access to some of the tunnels in the catacomb network.
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Sunswick Creek
2007
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16"x22.26" - $350
12"x16.7" - $200
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Sunswick Creek was a wide, fish-filled stream in Queens until the 19th century. Its origin was in the area of southern Ravenswood and Long Island City, and it flowed about two miles north-west until its outlet in the East River. It was covered over as Queens developed and became part of New York City, and it was integrated into the region’s sewer system by the early 20th century. Nothing of the old watercourse is visible aboveground except during very heavy rains, when the sewer channel sometimes floods and overflows into the East River.. |
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Queensboro Bridge, NYC
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This view looks eastward (toward Roosevelt Island and Queens) from the top of the Queensboro Bridge's western tower.
New York's Queensboro Bridge is a cantilever bridge, with four irregularly-spaced towers that step across the East River and over Roosevelt Island. Including approaches, the bridge is well over a mile long.
It was completed in 1909, and it opened up Queens for both residential and commercial development. (Queens had only become part of NYC a few years before, in the 1898 consolidation of the boroughs.)
In the upper right of this picture is the Citicorp building in Long Island City, the tallest building in Queens. Closer to the foreground of the picture is Roosevelt Island. For many years, the Queensboro Bridge provided the only automobile access to Roosevelt Island, via a car-sized elevator that carried cars and people down from the bridge deck. |
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Smallpox Hospital, NYC
2005
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Opened in 1856, the Smallpox Hospital was designed by James Renwick, the architect best known for creating St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. The hospital represents one of the first serious attempts in the United States to quarantine sick citizens. Blackwell Island, later known as Welfare Island, and today as Roosevelt Island, was for 113 years the "heartbreak house ... the miserable sewer into which New York dumped its pitiful sweepings." The building was abandoned in the 1950s and the magnificent gothic ruin sits at the south end of the Island. The Citicorp Building is seen through the windows. |
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Tent of Tomorrow and Meadow Lake
2006
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This picture was taken from the top of the 1964 World’s Fair observation towers in Flushing Meadows, Queens. At the foot of the towers one sees the remains of the "Tent of Tomorrow,” an open structure designed by Philip Johnson that featured the world’s largest suspended-roof, which was supported on 16 concrete columns, each 98 feet high. The structures have been unused since the fair and decades of rain, wind and snow have taken their toll, almost completely destroying the metalwork inside the observation towers – including the stairs used to access this vantage point. The view stretches towards Meadow Lake, a man-made body of water also created for the Fair. |
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Angel on the Tour St. Jacques, Paris
2006
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The free-standing Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris’ 4th Arrondissement is all that remains from the old church of Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie, which was built between 1509 and 1523. (The name of the church reflected the profession of its patrons, butchers at the nearby Les Halles market.) The church itself, except for this tower, was destroyed in 1797 during the French Revolution. The top of the tower, about 170 feet high, is higher than any other structure in the area and the statuary angels have looked out over the cityscape through centuries of change. The top of the tower was accessible only briefly while surrounded by scaffolding for a survey of the stonework, but a group of Parisian urban explorers obtained keys to the site in order see the city from this unique perspective. |
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Williamsburg Bridge
2006
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The Williamsburg Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn was the second of New York’s great suspension bridges, built between 1901 and 1903. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was built—beating the previous record-holder, the neighboring Brooklyn Bridge, by 4 and 1/2 feet. It was the first major suspension bridge in the world with all-steel towers, and the engineering techniques used helped pave the way for almost all modern suspension bridges. Though the bridge looks ungainly from the ground, the arching steel at the top of the towers becomes graceful when seen up close, and offers what is probably the best cityscape view in all of New York. |
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Bergen Street Lower Level
2005
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This part of a dual-level tunnel was built in 1933 as part of the Independent Subway line, which added to New York’s original 1906 subway system. The lower level was never used for passenger service except briefly in the 1970s and has been essentially abandoned ever since. Running directly underneath an active subway station, this track still occasionally carries maintenance trains and therefore the third rail, straddled by Steve to achieve this shot, has remained live. |
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Manhattan Bridge
2006
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The Manhattan downtown skyline is seen here from the top of the Manhattan bridge. Built in 1909 it was the third bridge to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. In many ways it is the most beautiful of the trio. It has delicate steel curves and abundant ornamentation. Steve says that, when he's at the top, next to the orb-like finials, staring down at the cables reflected in the water, he feels like he is in a fairy-tale version of the city he loves. |
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River Fleet
2007
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One of the largest tributaries of the Thames in the early days of London was the River Fleet, which was a water source and transportation route from Roman times onward. As late as 1826, it was recorded that the river was 65 feet wide as it passed through the area that is now Camden Town. In the 1850s, a series of sanitation crises led London to build a massive sewer network under the engineer Bazalgette. A huge brick tunnel was built around the River Fleet as part of this effort, well over twenty feet high at its largest points, and it serves now as one of the largest sewer channels in the city. This photo shows an intersection of two channels of this tunnel. |
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Three Layers of Paris – Triptych
2006
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This image shows three levels of the same spot in Paris: underground, at street level, and at the level of the rooftops along the Rue Saint-Jacques in the 5ème arrondissement.
All major cities are multi-layered, but few show this as clearly as Paris, where centuries-old “catacomb” tunnels (many of which are the remnants of old limestone quarries) form a network under the southern half of the city. Above this, the street level is the view of Paris seen by most residents and visitors, while above the rooftop, the cityscape shows the 19th-century limestone architecture of the city interrupted by churches and the Eiffel tower. |
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Walbrook/London Bridge Sewer
2008
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The Walbrook, a tributary of the Thames River, was so named because it was the only body of water to cross underneath the ancient Roman walls that surrounded the city of London. As the city’s population grew, the Walbrook became polluted from over use. In the 1840s it was covered over and became an underground sewer; it remains the oldest active sewer tunnel in London. The deep springs that supplied the brook with water now force themselves through cracks in the brick tunnel. The spot where this photo was taken is almost exactly underneath the Bank of England.
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