Beaumont, Texas traces its roots back to 1824 when Bobby and Nancy Tevis settled on the Neches River and built a small farm. A community grew up around them called Tevis Bluff. Developers Henry Millard, Joseph Pulsifer and Thomas Byers Huling purchased all of the land in the area in 1835 and began selling lots in a town to be called “Beaumont” after Henry Millard’s wife Mary Beaumont. Lumber, cattle and rice were early drivers of the local economy, as was the port which got these products to market. That all changed in 1901 when oil was discovered at Spindletop, and America’s first oil field was developed right there in Beaumont. The town’s population tripled almost overnight and oil has been the city’s main economic driver ever since. Today, Beaumont is a quiet city of about 120,000 people, with most living outside of the downtown core. I found the city to be charming, with a lot of great historical buildings. My favorites were the Jefferson Theater and Tyrell Historical Library. I was sad to see that despite some wonderful efforts at reviving the downtown area there didn’t seem to be much going on there during my visit. Regardless, I enjoyed my stay in Beaumont and it is definitely a city I will return to in the future.
Birmingham is Alabama’s most populous city, and was, from its very beginning, an industrial town. Founded in the wake of the Civil War, Birmingham got its name from its British cousin, the UK’s industrial center. One of the only places in the world where large amounts of iron-ore, coal and limestone are all naturally present, Birmingham was destined to become a steel town. The city would become a major producer of rail lines and rail cars and a major railroad hub itself. As the steel industry grew, so to did the town as some of the South’s earliest skyscrapers were built. Birmingham grew so fast during the Industrial Revolution and was so well suited to emerging industries that it became known as “The Magic City”. For many of the same reasons, the Great Depression hit Birmingham particularly hard, and with its residents fighting for work animosity grew, especially along racial lines. Birmingham would rebound during and after World War II, but as the Civil Rights Movement took hold, it became a primary battleground in the cause. It was obviously where Dr. Martin Luther King wrote his Letter From a Birmingham Jail, and police violence against peaceful protesters garnered international media coverage. The bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed four young girls, was one of the final straws that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and had many newspapers refer to Birmingham as “Bombingham” or “The Tragic City”. Today, Birmingham is a mid-sized but somewhat sleepy city. There are some beautiful old buildings and plenty of modern ones too. Birmingham has taken ownership of its role in the Civil Rights Movement with the excellent Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and a number of signs and statues around the city. With a great Minor League Baseball stadium, a vibrant University district and some excellent breweries, live music venues and restaurants, Birmingham is definitely a city on the rise. I really enjoyed my stay in town, and would definitely recommend you visit, especially in the spring when baseball is in the air and the flowers are in bloom. Enjoy these photos I took during my stay in The Magic City.
Coming into Alexandria, Louisiana up Route 1 from the south was a difficult ride. Buildings were crumbling, houses were obviously lived in but shouldn’t have been and the road itself was terrible. And then, before I knew it, I was in the heart of downtown, and at first glance it was more of the same. Broken glass, graffiti and boarded up old buildings seemed to be everywhere. I seriously considered turning around and heading right back out of town. But I knew Alexandria had been around for over 200 years and sat right on the banks of the Red River; there must be beauty there to capture somewhere. So I parked and started walking and slowly, very slowly, the beauty of Alexandria started to emerge from the cracks. I started wiping away the years with my mind and my lens and found some extraordinary buildings and scenes to photograph. And then, as happens, I started talking to the people who live there and every one of them from the businessmen to the homeless people were unbelievably friendly. While I found all of these wonderful scenes as I wandered the city, I would still say Alexandria’s real beauty is in its people. The more I lingered and the more people I talked to, the more it grew on me. I went to see a play at the Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center, took a stroll along the levy and stopped in for a beer or two at Finnegan’s Wake. By the time I was pulling out of town, I had an entirely different opinion of Alexandria. This was definitely a case of “don’t judge a book by its cover”, stick around a while and you might just like what you find there.
I had no expectations when I pulled into downtown Monroe, Louisiana last week. I had really never heard anything about it, good or bad. It was the biggest town in northeast Louisiana, but that was about the extent of my knowledge as I headed into town. Sometimes it is great when you go into a place blind, because you can see it completely unhindered by preconceived notions of what it should look like. I was impressed the moment I hit downtown by the beautiful classically industrial architecture and the lovely riverfront park and bridge. It helped that it was a gorgeous evening, but my camera and I were kept busy for hours as I wandered the streets, with amazing shots around every corner. I really had a great time taking these photos, even though it was really quiet as I wandered the streets. At one point, I was taking a photo on a street corner and a police car was stopped at the light. The officer rolled down his window and said something along the lines of “just taking photos of beautiful downtown Monroe?”. I replied “yes, I am” to which he just laughed and laughed. The light turned green, and I could still hear him laughing as he drove off into the evening. I wish I had called after him and given him my card so he could see these photos. Maybe it takes an outsider to see the real beauty in a place, and maybe that’s what makes me the right person to shoot these kinds of photos. I know he found it hilarious, but I loved my short stay in Monroe. It is truly a diamond in the rough of northeastern Louisiana.
Originally settled in 1788 at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers, Cincinnati grew to be the largest inland city in the country and the sixth largest overall in the years leading up to the Civil War. In the latter half of the 19th Century, Cincinnati was often referred to as the "Paris of America" due to its many large and beautiful buildings. Today, many of these grand old dames still tower over the city harking back to a time when things were built with style and built to last. I spent most of my time in Cincinnati with wide eyes and my camera whirring away. Here are some of my favorite old buildings ranging from private homes to churches to public buildings. Cincinnati is definitely a city worth visiting for many reasons, but the architecture was definitely what struck me the most. Enjoy!
One of my guidebooks for South Carolina described Greenville as "the coolest city you've never heard of". After spending a few days there over the last week or so, I would have to agree. I knew nothing about Greenville when I arrived, and absolutely fell in love with the city while I was there. It seemed like there was so much thought and care put into it and every time I looked around I found something else to smile about. It's an intensely livable city, with so many of the things I would look for if I was thinking about where to settle down, and it seems to be attracting quite a few young people who are doing just that. With a great arts scene, a few sports teams and some wonderful bars and restaurants it really has everything you could ask for in a city this size. And with all of these things in a city this size, why would you want to live somewhere bigger? Greenville definitely kept me around longer than I had intended to stay, and even when I did leave I felt a little bit sad to go. But I promise, I will be back. If Greenville isn't on your travel radar, it should be...
"The Prettiest Town in Dixie" is a pretty big claim to make. Having traveled fairly extensively around the south in my life, I've seen some really beautiful towns. But this claim is certainly an enticing one and a bold one, so I had to go and see for myself. The town that made this claim? Tiny Cheraw, South Carolina. I got there first thing in the morning with the intention of staying maybe an hour or two, and ended up being there the better part of the day. It really is a beautiful town, steeped in history and with one of the best tourism infrastructures I've come across in a town this size anywhere. I came knowing almost nothing about Cheraw, and left charmed by it and knowing it's a place I will return to.
It was great to be in Charleston for their annual Christmas Parade this year. Some of the costumes and characters really put a smile on my face. I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you guys. Enjoy!
