Thought for Food

doree:

Cannot stop looking at this collection of photos from the NYC subway from the ’80s. This one is by Bruce Davidson. I love how it’s perfectly Bright Lights, Big City.

[via] 

A handful of Davidson’s photos hang in Painkiller, including this one. I, too, couldn’t stop staring at them, imagining the city my boyfriend and my boss/good friend knew (both are native New Yorkers). The stories they tell…!

I think arrivistes tend to glorify those days. I know I have. But the city as it was then was unsustainable. It barely functioned. We all groan at gentrification but I believe that better (though unfortunately not great) infrastructure and dramatically less crime and crack use is a foundation for a strong and innovative population. In our hands, the city will remain the best on earth for decades to come. And that’s what I call “awesome.”

(via buzzfeed & peterfeld)