Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)'s photos

Binghamton 3604

Binghamton 3604

07 Aug 2007 145
A decaying (but delightful) factory town, many of the older row houses in Binghamton have been leveled (note the concrete pads), but many have been maintained or even updated. (The car was my rental car)
Binghamton Railroad undercrossing 3603

Binghamton Railroad undercrossing 3603

07 Aug 2007 135
Dating back to when the area was an industrial town and people walked to work, there were concrete walkways under the railroad tracks.
Not just a Greyhound station, Binghamton 3589

Not just a Greyhound station, Binghamton 3589

07 Aug 2007 176
The Binghamton Greyhound station, a good example of streamline-modern architecture. Also, though, an important site in Binghamton gay history -- the blocks around the station were a key cruising area, mainly for older men who were uncomfortable with the 'Gay Liberation' perspective (see next photo in set).
Binghamton cruising area, 3588

Binghamton cruising area, 3588

01 Aug 2007 2 174
Apparently the area around the bus station (see previous photo in set) is still a popular cruising area.
Merlin's, Binghamton 3577

Merlin's, Binghamton 3577

07 Aug 2007 2 358
In the late 70's, a second (see first photo in set) gay bar opened in Binghamton at this location. Apparently there's been a gay bar in the location ever since, though it has changed names.
Binghamton, 3585

Binghamton, 3585

07 Aug 2007 170
One of the great things about Binghamton, and many of the older industrial cities of upstate New York, is that fairly sparsely populated countryside is very close. The bridge in the distance crosses the Susquehanna River
Hudson River lighthouse

Hudson River lighthouse

06 Aug 2007 139
(Cropped version of the adjacent picture (n the 'Coming out' album, to show the detail on the lighthouse)
Medford, 1978

Medford, 1978

01 Jan 1978 1 158
I lived in various parts of the Boston area from 1976 to about 1982 -- I was in Medford for the heaviest snow storm I ever saw (in 1978).
From the fens (Boston) 3563

From the fens (Boston) 3563

05 Aug 2007 140
Most of the time I lived in Boston, I lived in the Fenway area. The fens were then, and still were in 2007, a popular gay cruising area. It was always slightly disconcerting to cruise the fens, with the Prudential tower seemingly watching overhead. Makes most sense if viewed as part of Coming Out/Northeast set
Red Line MBTA

Red Line MBTA

01 Aug 2007 116
When I lived in Boston I typically worked in Cambridge and often used the Red Line for transportation.This is at the Charles River/MGH Station.
Harvard/Cambridge 3539

Harvard/Cambridge 3539

05 Aug 2007 136
Well, not the usual scene of Harvard, but the tower in the background is at Harvard and the Harvard boat house is just to the right. The river is the Charles.
Harvard 3518

Harvard 3518

04 Aug 2007 126
Harvard yard on a summer afternoon.
Revere Beach 3502

Revere Beach 3502

04 Aug 2007 130
Like much of urban America, we seem to have lost something in the gentrifying of everything. In the 70's Revere Beach was a fairly rundown area that felt somewhat unsafe, but also erotic. While its much safer now, it seems to have lost its uniqueness.
Staten Island Ferry

Staten Island Ferry

01 Aug 2007 1 4 228
Though I never lived there, NYC became an integral part of my years in the Northeast. And, an integral part of NYC, was riding the Staten Island ferry -- riding the ferry and seeing the port traffic seemed to be a key part of my regaining the sense of the city as a center of international commerce.
New York Harbor

New York Harbor

01 Aug 2007 1 190
From Staten Island Ferry. Makes most sense if viewed as part of Coming Out/Northeast set
Statue of Liberty: Is the flame still lit?

Statue of Liberty: Is the flame still lit?

01 Aug 2007 1 108
We seem to have forgotten the inscription on the Statue.... "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Makes most sense if viewed as part of Coming Out/Northeast set
Tys Christopher Street

Tys Christopher Street

01 Aug 2007 214
In the 70's Christopher Street was a center of gay life (both in NYC and universally) and Tys bar was a key location in that. Gay life has largely moved elsewhere, but Tys still stands (see the sign past the pet shop).
Washington Square

Washington Square

01 Aug 2007 130
Urban life in NYC seems to have become almost too safe. When I was regularly in NYC in the 70's and early 80's, Washington Square was a thriving mix of political protest, NYU students, street people, upscale residents of the area walking their dogs, and the homeless. Not terribly safe feeling, but very alive. While very much safer feeling now, it doesn't seem to have that old energy
11593 items in total