Main Street Americana ...

 “To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

             ~ Elliot Erwitt

           ~ French-born American photographer

                    ~ 1928 ~ 2023

A slice of Americana …

American flag bunting festoons storefronts on Main Street at Union Square in the historic town of Phillipsburg, New Jersey as a Chevy truck is stopped at the traffic light on a beautiful mid-September afternoon in the waning summer.

Signs advertise the Phillipsburg Farmers Market and 2025 Railroad Festival at the spot at the end of the historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called the Free Bridge, which spans the Delaware River and links Phillipsburg with Easton, Pennsylvania.

Phillipsburg, a Delaware River Town, was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area.

Christmas Peace In Centre Square ...

“It’s better to light just one little candle than to stumble in the dark, better far that you light just one little candle, all you need’s a tiny spark. If we’d all say a prayer that the world would be free, the wonderful dawn on the new day we’ll see, and if everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be.”

 ~“One Little Candle”

 ~ recorded by Perry Como, 1952 and the theme song of “The Christophers,” whose motto is, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

Let the Christmas season begin! The Easton Peace Candle towers above the festive Easton Winter Village in Centre Square November 30, 2024 in historic Easton, Pennsylvania. A charming horse-drawn carriage circles through Centre Square, which is festooned with cozy wooden huts that beckon shoppers to stop by as Old Glory waves in the wind.

The Easton Peace Candle is a tower-like structure erected every Christmas season in Easton. The approximately 106-foot tall structure, which resembles a giant candle, is assembled every year over the Soldier’s & Sailor’s Monument, a Civil War memorial in Centre Square. It is typically assembled in mid-November and lighted over Thanksgiving weekend and disassembled in early February each year.

The Peace Candle was first erected in 1951, and has been erected almost every year since then, having been replaced a few times due to damage or disrepair. It is dedicated to the Easton area men and women who have served or are serving in the United States armed forces.

The first candle lasted until 1968, the second candle from 1969 to 1989, and the current candle was built in 1990.

It has been said to be the largest non-wax Christmas candle in the country. Although conceived with the hopes of restoring Easton’s pre-20^th century reputation for elaborate Christmas decorations, city officials also believed a candle would serve as a symbol of peace for all religions and denominations.

Just across the Delaware River from historic Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Easton, a Delaware River Town, was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers.

 

The Light Fantastic Trips the Delaware ...

“To trip the light fantastic is to dance nimbly or lightly to music.”

   ~ the origin of the phrase is attributed to

        John Milton

       ~ 1608 ~ 1674

Reflections from lights on the historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called the Free Bridge, trip the light fantastic as they dance in harmony on the Delaware River facing Phillipsburg, New Jersey during an autumn twilight in late November.

New programmable LED lights illuminate the iconic bridge which spans the Delaware River to link Phillipsburg with Easton, Pennsylvania.

The lights were installed as part of a bridge rehabilitation/improvement project that spanned from late 2021 until spring 2023. The bridge is colloquially referred as the “Free Bridge” to distinguish it from the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (previously the Bushkill Street Bridge), a short distance upstream.

I shot this on Thanksgiving Eve, the night prior to the 116^th meeting of the Phillipsburg High School Stateliners and Easton Red Rovers on the football field on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023. The colors were illuminated in a salute to the annual game, which Phillipsburg won the next day 47-12 at Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium, Easton.

The bridge that spans the two states was completed in 1896 and survived massive flooding from Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990 and is one of my very favorite places to photograph.

Historic Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. The historic town of Easton was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and Lehigh River, known as the Forks-Of-The-Delaware. Both are Delaware River Towns.

The Free Bridge can also be seen from across the Delaware River at Delaware Canal State Park, Easton, near the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.

 

Hazy Evening On The Delaware ...

“The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed, & the first of that which is coming. Thus it is with time present. Life, if well spent, is long.”

       ~ Leonardo da Vinci

              ~ 1452 ~ 1519

            ~   “Leonardo’s Notebooks”

The historic Northampton Street Bridge, commonly called the Free Bridge, spans across the Delaware River linking Phillipsburg, New Jersey & Easton, Pennsylvania as sunset neared on June 30, 2023.

I shot this from the banks of the river on the Phillipsburg side facing Easton, as wildfire smoke from Canadian wildfires moving through the area caused hot milky skies and haze in the evening sky.

The bridge is colloquially referred as the “Free Bridge” to distinguish it from the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge (previously the Bushkill Street Bridge), a short distance upstream. It underwent a rehabilitation/improvement project that spanned from late 2021 until spring 2023.

The bridge that connects the two states was completed in 1896 and survived massive flooding from Hurricane Diane in 1955. It underwent a thorough restoration in 1990 and is one of my very favorite places to photograph.

 

Historic Phillipsburg was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area. The historic town of Easton was founded in 1752 and is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and Lehigh River, known as the Forks-Of-The-Delaware. Both are Delaware River Towns.

The Free Bridge can also be seen from across the Delaware River at Delaware Canal State Park, Easton, near the Forks of the Delaware Trailhead of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).

Running from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.