Schuylkill Lights

I generally avoid blipping the super-familiar scenes in Philadelphia that a new visitor would be interested in, but this one is, to me, both familiar and lovely to see and walk in.

The Schuylkill River is seen here flowing South (toward the camera) past the heart of the city. The Market Street Bridge crosses it, and the lights underneath form a carnival mask when reflected in the water. At lower right is a glimpse of our much-loved pedestrian & cycling pathway called Schuylkill Banks, which was an overgrown, garbage-strewn wasteland when I first saw it. The white building at left is 30th Street Station where one catches the suburban trains and those of our embarassing national railroad AMTRAK. Behind the station is a somewhat recent tower owned by some big insurance firm. I often forget its name, and that's the way it should be. I despise insurance companies but I find the tower pleasing to see: none of its lines are square, its windows reflect the nearby scenery well, and it has a simple but graceful set of small lights on its surface that does things day and night (It seems to be off just now; this shot does the tower no justice).

The lights under the bridge, the tower, and the friendly space along the bank did not exist when I first saw this scene in 1983. Aside from the eyeless mask staring up from the water, I especially like how the bridges are connected to the ground by ramps and stairwells (one ramp is seen at the extreme right). This is just a sliver of the riverfront improvements I've been watching for many years and which are not finished but nicely woven into the fabric of the town.

The river's name is locally pronounced "SKOO-kul."