Whether the concerns of incredibly awful traffic -the condition in which I have been photographing all these many years while stuck in it, in my car, on my shift and out my window - to the absence thereof leading up to the closing of the 405 to demolish the old Mulholland Bridge to amazing plans and works from municipal, electrical, aeronautic and other agencies to put together this last final parade of this beloved of space shuttles, Los Angeles has drawn together as one community these days. It is exhilarating.
I walked the streets yesterday and today - Crenshaw and Martin Luther King - streets that radiated neighborliness, talking to people from within and without, all entranced by the shuttle's passage. Adults brought their mothers and fathers. Parents brought their children. Cameras and mobiles recorded pics and through it all, the space shuttle moved ever so slightly, to the right, to the left, to avoid a tree branch here, an electric light pole there.
I heard talk of the history of what we now call "South LA" and could see vestiges of that even as I walked: the old Jewish temple now a baptist ministry. The reminder that what was once called "West" in the early days of the city, a place filled with magnificent homes - many still beautifully preserved and others now being revived - and orderly communities - was name-changed to South Central after the Watts riots of 65. Now changed further to South LA. The shuttle passed Leimart Park, a gathering of intellectuals and jazz clubs in the 20th century, started out African American but appealing to smart people all over the city. A fought for new Metro stop brings us there again.
I met those who had worked at some of our fabled rocket plants - Hughes, Rocketdyne, Lockheed...
For now - perhaps more later - some pics from yesterday on Crenshaw below Martin Luther King Bouldvard, people waiting for the shuttle and today, starting at 8:30 am, there it was...
below: a somewhat chronological order and this first set, people watching...
