Greene Street

Shorpy, a historic pictorial blog that I’ve mentioned before, has an awesome picture out today of Ithaca, New York circa 1900.  I love this street.  The caretakers of this block clearly respected their environment.  Look at the attention to detail in the well laid out cobblestones, edging, grass, and trees. 

With the Google, I was able to find today’s Green Street.  The buildings on the left match up, but hardly anything is left of this once proud rue.  Today’ caretakers probably wouldn’t think twice about the cracks in the road, the grass growing through the sidewalk, the strewn wires blanketing the streetscape.

When did Green Street stop caring about the physical surroundings they live in?  Is it that they had too much to do?  Did their fortunes fade?  Did they have too many places to be in that they couldn’t keep up with their own place? Did the invention of the car, engineering, and cheap manufacturing ruin their street?  Or did the mechanization of their lives just make them oblivious to their changing surroundings?

Place is important.  The streets we live in make up our lives.  This is why I get so mad at the City of Portland for spray painting construction notes all over the cities brick sidewalks. Here’s an example, it might as well be Congress Street or Monument Square (it’s not)

For now, here’s your moogaz homework.  Keep an eye out for street scenes like the one above as you walk around Portland and remember what a well laid out environment could look like.  Oh Greene Street.