Another dawn: joyous, painful, inconclusive. The streets of the Loop are beginning to jam. As the train flies south, each cross-street flies into view for a second, begging to be frozen in photographic time, a experience too fleeting to merit the name.
Yet the seconds do accumulate, just as beneath the train, the street scenes multiply, each a little different, each jammed with life, the footfall of a pedestrian, each car containing a person, or more. Strangers, perhaps; or is there someone here I know?
The still-cold buildings shine bravely, hit fitfully with the southern sun. Flags, surprisingly numerous, flap jauntily, interjecting a jarring patriotism. One knows Adams because of the Art Institute plugging the street, its pediment filling the gap satisfyingly, for a second, at least.
Down there is emotion of every kind. Some poor fool delighted to be alive; a young woman proud of her dress, her body; lifers bored or aggravated; cab-drivers stewing. More than one person thinking it’s a farce, wondering why they’re commuting, heads full of anxiety and money-worry.
Off to the office for another day, there to dream about love and the home we crave.
harley says
Yup, nice picture of a busy street scene. And sure enough, everyone is indeed caught up in their quite individual thoughts, worries, fantasies, etc, etc, etc. I like the action in the intersection where the bus is turning.
Celia says
H, yes, it’s funny how one picture rather than another has special appeal. I mean, I have dozens of pictures of these cross-streets, which I photograph almost compulsively from the train. Some of the pictures are really lousy. But this one really captures the feeling of morning, and also (if you look really carefully) drives home how many famous, famous buildings are along Adams. Many have been the subject of my earlier posts. On the left you can see the LaSalle Street Bank and ComEd buildings, followed by the Marquette, with the Citadel beyond. On the right is the Rookery (gleaming orange), then the Clark Adams and the Federal Plaza, with the red of the Berghoff sign gleaming brightly farther down. We seldom think of the street from this perspective, because of course the traffic flows one way the other way.
I liked looking at the vehicles and the pedestrians in the picture, too; especially the man on the right standing by the curb. . . .There is so much going on in one second of an ordinary day!