On Thursday February 21, 2013 Temple professor Miles Orvell and photographer Sandy Sorlein discussed the American Main Street.\u00a0 The presentation began first with some of Ms. Sorlein\u2019s photographs of main streets from all across the country taken on road trips over a number of years.\u00a0 Professor Orvell followed with some commentary about main streets.\u00a0 Main Street as sacred space and as utopian space were two of his points, but then he spun these positive thoughts by speaking of the polar opposite of these as main streets\u00a0 dark at night filled with scary impressions: think Rod Serling and some of his episodes of the Twilight Zone television series!\u00a0 Additional remarks were made concerning the main street as (or in) history and as facsimile. Have the values of the small town main street translated into the city center? Who owns the city and the street \u2013 Wall Street or Main Street?\u00a0 Needless to say, lots of audience participation joined the conversation as we listened to questions and discussion on the larger picture of new urbanism, the meaning of place, \u00a0and the tighter focus on local places right here in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
If these comments piqued your interest you might be interested in reading\u00a0Death and life of Main Street: Small Towns in American Memory, Space and Community by Miles Orvell, or Sandy Sorlien\u2019s work entitled:Fifty Houses: Images from the American Road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Thursday February 21, 2013 Temple professor Miles Orvell and photographer Sandy Sorlein discussed the American Main Street.\u00a0 The presentation began first with some of Ms. Sorlein\u2019s photographs of main streets from all across the country taken on road trips … Continue reading