Coal Pier River View
Uploaded: March 20, 2012 03:13:17
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Was taken to this incredible place last week, between two news shoots in the Port Richmond Area of Philadelphia.
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Extending 875 feet into the river, Pier 18 was used for loading of coal and ore from river barges to railroad cars. As recently as 1968, the pier sprouted a six-story steel tower called a McMyler side car dumper, which has been demolished.
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It was once the primary terminal for Pennsylvania’s vast coal output.
In 1981, a Historic Resource Protection Plan by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission described elements of the Richmond Coal Wharves site as candidates for historic status, including piers like Pier 18.
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This was a scary place and I would not recommend going there alone--but what a haven for graffiti artists and photographers!
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In this shot you can see part of the graffiti-encrusted former elevated railway where coal from river barges would be loaded onto railroad cars.
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Exif: F Number: 5.6, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/400 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 400, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 32.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Michelle Alton March 20, 2012
Jack Gaskin March 20, 2012
Great Inner City shootingJack #10045920
Jeff Robinson March 20, 2012
Excellent set of images Michelle! #10045939Gord MacEachern March 20, 2012
Love these urban decay images Michelle, and the info is great also. Not a place for night pictures. #10045951Danny B. Head March 20, 2012
If I ever come back to Philly, you will have to take me to this place. I love old railroading structures. Great shots! #10045972Ken Smith March 20, 2012
Those places are gems...I'm glad you found it, and returned safely! :-) #10046008Gary Enloe March 20, 2012
Interesting info and a cool capture Michelle. Would not go alone because it does look a little unsafe #10046048Michelle Alton March 20, 2012
Definitely not somewhere to go alone. Even in broad daylight, there were some shadowy-looking men (dressed all in black with woolen caps and grungy beards) building a noxious-smelling fire in a pit under the "EL." No idea about the purpose, but there was TONS of smoke. #10046057Karen E. Michaels March 20, 2012
Wow, no fear, good for you, Michelle.MELODIE C. ROBERTS March 20, 2012
I have met and befriended several people who once lived by railroad tracks as part of the homeless populationAmazing people with some incredible stories as to how they got there
Wonderful finds and captures Mickey
They definately tell a story #10046117
Monnie Ryan March 20, 2012
Wonderful job capturing this amazing graffiti! #10046123Carol Quina March 20, 2012
This is awesome! What a find! #10046365David Phalen March 20, 2012
A great series of urban images that you'll never see in a chamber of commerce brochure!!There is a similar area in Columbus under a hidden section of a freeway where I visited alone a couple of years ago. I recognized some gang symbols and was VERY nervous. Got some interesting shots. I've never been back.:) #10046492
Jyri Vissak March 20, 2012
Well seen and presented! #10046565Ann Coates March 20, 2012
A terrific shot here of the graffiti Michelle. I would not go there alone either. #10046694Barbara Waldoch March 20, 2012
You make derelict look beautiful, Michelle! #10046751R. J. Laudenbacher March 20, 2012
Wonderful set of shots, Michelle. It looks like a wonderful place to go and shoot. #10046949Thomas E. Hinds March 20, 2012
Wonderful perspective, Michelle. The graffiti has given us color, and the composition that includes that graffiti, renders a story of the now, and the what- once-was in a terrific blending. Love it! #10047033Rona L. Schwarz March 20, 2012
A marvelous find and fantastic urban masterpiece, Michelle! Love this one and your previous capture as well. Glad to see you were not alone - but what a cool place! Great info as well! #10047101Graham Robards March 21, 2012
Wow what a find Michelle, I can;t say I have seen anything like that over here, not even long piers like this.I love graffiti, plenty of that though!
Interesting story too, thanks for that
Pat #10047311
Robert K. Bemus March 21, 2012
Great urban capture and comp, Michelle!! #10047330Neal D. Hatcher March 21, 2012
Beautiful urban capture #10047512JO ANN CLEVELAND March 21, 2012
Fannnnn....tastic Michele!jo ann c. #10047830
Lindley Johnson March 23, 2012
A terrific image of this colorful graffiti, Michelle - excellent composition and an interesting story, too. #10050480Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.
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