JOHNSTOWN IN BLACK AND WHITE is an ongoing photoessay that I began in 2006, and one that - I hope! - will continue for many years. This project is restricted to images that are unique to Johnstown, particularly those that highlight “disappearing Johnstown.” I hope you enjoy the photographs. Please check back from time to time for new additions, and thanks for visiting. Click HERE to see the slideshow.
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JOHNSTOWN: THEN AND NOW
Two well-known photographers have taken photographs in the Johnstown area.
Luke Swank was born in Johnstown and took many photos here. Swank’s 1930 photo of Spruce Street in Franklin Borough is published in Howard Bossen’s book Luke Swank: Modernist Photographer. In 2006, I attempted to capture a similar photo as a way of showing the changes that have taken place over the years. Here are Swank’s photo and my photo, side by side:
What a difference! For better or for worse, the open hearth and blast furnaces are gone.
Lee Friedlander also took a photograph in Johnstown for his book Factory Valleys: Ohio and Pennsylvania.
At the end of the street in the Swank photo is a blast furnace. It also can be seen in the Friedlander photograph, but appears much smaller because Friedlander used a wider angle lens than Swank.
The row of chimneys, clearly shown in the Friedlander shot, are the open hearth furnaces. These also appear in the Swank photo, but are in a straight line and mostly hidden behind each other.
My intent is not to compete with Swank or Friedlander, but to use their excellent photos as the “then” picture for a “then and now” comparison. As I took my photos, it gave me a warm feeling know that I was walking where Luke Swank and Lee Friedlander had walked; I took a deep breath at each location, hoping a few molecules of their talent remained for me to inhale.
Click here for more information on the history of steelmaking in Johnstown. Click here for vintage photos taken inside the Franklin Borough steel mills.