Environmental Protection Agency

The Sunday porch: Boston

February 4, 2018February 6, 2018 Cindy at enclos*ureLeave a comment

An unusual front stoop on Bennington Street in East Boston, near Logan Airport, next to the elevated East Boston Expressway, May 1973, by Michael Philip Manheim for DOCUMERICA, via The U.S. National Archives Commons on flickr.

I think the site of these houses is now the end of the Vienna Street exit from the expressway.

DOCUMERICA was a 1970s photography program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Manheim recorded the disruption to the lives of East Boston residents due to the expansion of Logan Airport.

There are more of his photos here.

Philadelphia

October 5, 2017October 2, 2017 Cindy at enclos*ureLeave a comment

“Crossing the painted road which extends east from The Philadelphia Museum of Art, August 1973,” by Dick Swanson, via the U.S. National Archives Commons on flickr (all photos and captions in quotes here).

“From the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art — looking down Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward City Hall and Center City.”

The road painting, “Big Stripes,” was created by Gene Davis in 1972. At the time, it was the world’s largest painting. Davis was a leader in the Washington [D.C.] Color School.

“Fountains surrounding Philadelphia Museum of Art are especially popular in a heat wave.”

Swanson took these images for DOCUMERICA, a photography program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From 1972 to 1977, it hired over 100 photographers to “document subjects of environmental concern.” They created an archive of about 80,000 images. In addition to recording damage to the nation’s landscapes, the project captured “the era’s trends, fashions, problems, and achievements,” according to the Archives, which held an exhibit of the photos, “Searching for the Seventies,” in 2013.

“The art of cooling off is enthusiastically pursued in the fountains of The Philadelphia Museum of Art.”

Washington, D.C.

August 10, 2017August 10, 2017 Cindy at enclos*ure1 Comment

Small front gardens and a sidewalk cafe on 17th Street, N.W., between H and I Streets, August 1973, by Dick Swanson for DOCUMERICA, via The U.S. National Archives Commons on flickr.

(Click on the image for a better view.)

None of these buildings remain today. The current view (from the ground) is here.

DOCUMERICA was an photography program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From 1972 to 1977, it hired over 100 photographers to “document subjects of environmental concern.” They created an archive of about 80,000 images.

In addition to recording damage to the nation’s landscapes, the project captured “the era’s trends, fashions, problems, and achievements,” according to the Archives, which held an exhibit of the photos, “Searching for the Seventies,” in 2013.

The Sunday porch: Houston, Texas

August 6, 2017August 10, 2017 Cindy at enclos*ureLeave a comment

Mexican-American home in Houston, Texas, April 1973, by Danny Lyon for the DOCUMERICA project, via The U.S. National Archives Commons on flickr (all three photos here).

Lyon made a series of 21 black and white photographs in East Texas in 1973. “They document the environments remaining from the 19th century in terms of architecture, commerce and lifestyles,” according to their original captions. “The pictures also compare the contemporary city showing displacement of the unique by the ordinary and noting current urban problems.”

Above: houses in the Fifth Ward, Houston. Click on the images to enlarge them.

The Sunday porch: South Beach

May 18, 2014April 11, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure4 Comments

“Inexpensive retirement hotels are a hallmark of the South Beach area [of Miami Beach, Florida]. A favored place is the front porch, where residents sit and chat or watch the activities on the beach.”

These c. 1975 pictures* (shown here with their original captions) were taken by Flip Schulke for DOCUMERICA — a photography program created in late 1971 by the brand new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA hired over 100 photographers to “document subjects of environmental concern.” The work continued until 1977 and left behind an archive of about 20,000 images.

In addition to recording damage to the nation’s landscapes, the project captured “the era’s trends, fashions, problems, and achievements,” according to the U.S. National Archives, which held an exhibit of the photos, “Searching for the Seventies,” in 2013.

“One of the many residential hotels for retired people living on small incomes. . . . The front porch is a favorite retreat.”