In the Industrial Zone

There is no country in the world where machinery is so lovely as in America.

—Oscar Wilde


In the industrial zone, certain truths—not necessarily related to the surroundings—reveal themselves.





Some of the companies I passed: pipes, plumbing supplies, paper, recycling, waste disposal, Chinese food distribution, lumber, marble, floor coverings/linoleum, machine tools, valves, oil refining, oil recovery, plastics, garbage/shopping bags, windows and doors, building supplies, live poultry, roof tiles, steel doors, lamp importer, produce, store gates and iron work.





Chinese Economic Miracle (The Price of Globalization)



A trip down to the engine room, for a glimpse at the gears.






Concrete: the most prevalent manmade substance
Brooklyn IS concrete













Crossing the rails
Walking the streets
Spanning the city
Ped Xing

Google Satellite Map

Concrete Moment

39th St. & 10th Ave., 3/31/07 (Saturday) at 6:32 pm

The first car of the train appears around the edge of the concrete factory without warning. To capture that moment is exceedingly difficult. It took three tries, each marked by a long, uncomfortable wait sitting atop a rickety fence, looking through the viewfinder for at least ten minutes straight. The concentration was stifling—maybe a taste, as I thought at the time, of what a sniper might endure. I suffered for this picture, but of course it was worth it.

I discovered this tableau last September and it was one of the many images I encountered on my rambles that inspired me to get a camera. For six months I had a clear idea of this picture, and I finally returned, camera in hand. Above all I was focused on the industrial majesty of the scene, and my reflexes were primed to record something iconic. So if my literal focus and reflexes initially failed me, I believe my sense of the bigger picture is what saved the moment.

Concrete Factory and Train

How do you make sense of the neighborhood’s unique landscape--that odd juxtaposition of different elements like transit, industry, and residential buildings?

“In my mind, these pieces seem like they’re woven together--columns coming out of windows, roads sprouting from the middle of buildings, viaducts merging into factories. It’s pretty strange, but cool.”

From an interview with Scott Faucheux, architect and artist (whose studio is in Gowanus).