Well, it’s been a quiet couple of weeks here at “Windows into York,” as I’ve been busy finalizing two books. The “homestretch” can be quite a process – proofing, editing, revising, proofing, editing, revising… One of the books, tentatively entitled York: America’s Historic Crossroads, is a photo-oriented book, with about 300 images from around York City.
When pulling together the “coffee table” photo book, I’ve noticed that it is immediately out of date! I’ve been photographing York for over 15 years, and after going through years and years of photos — film and digital — I’ve found two things: first, so much has changed in 15 years; second, so much has remained the same.
Much of our historic core remains — beautiful old historic buildings that have withstood the test of time. A photo taken 15 years ago may look as though it was taken today.
Other historic buildings have been rehabilitated and adaptively reused, a building-industry term for renovating a building and “re-purposing” it for something other than its original intent. The conversion of the former Eisenlohr Cigar Factory into the Greenway Tech Centre is an example of this. The building’s appearance has changed greatly. Other times, however, an adaptively reused building doesn’t change much in appearance — the exterior of the York County Court House still looks like it did three decades ago.
But there are also many new buildings – Susquehanna Commerce Center, York County Judicial Center – buildings that have changed York’s skyline.
I also noticed the Bradford Pear trees. Boy, have they grown. Even since the late 1990s – when they’re in bloom, they actually hide many buildings from the camera’s eye.
So what about my comment regarding the book being immediately out of date? As my deadline neared, I kept waiting for Brooks Robinson Plaza at Sovereign Bank Stadium to be finished. I thought a shot of the statue with the stadium in the background would be a perfect addition to the book. And so the day before I sent my book to the publisher, my lunchtime break involved running down to the stadium to capture the image. But the plaza was still under construction.
By the time the book comes out next year, the stadium will look different. The brickwork will be finished, and the statue will rise above the plaza. My book will be out of date!