SOMERVILLE SALMAGUNDI
The word salmagundi, which often refers to a mixture of food, is a colorful term used to describe any heterogeneous mixture— a medley, montage, hodgepodge, smorgasbord, jambalaya—you get the idea. This gallery is like that—it contains a selection of my favorite street photos whose only commonality is having been taken on the streets of my home city of Somerville, MA. I selected them because they are visually interesting, or because they tell a story, or just because they reveal fun facets of this city’s streetscapes. Somerville residents will likely recognize some of these images, but even if you don’t live in the ‘Ville like I do, I hope you too enjoy the variety of shapes, colors and textures in this Somerville salmagundi.
(Note: the photos are more fun to see full size, so click on them to enlarge them.)
Somerville is a densely packed city—in fact, it is the most densely populated city in New England, which means that space—whether living space, green space or parking space—is at a premium (hence Somerville’s rapidly rising real estate prices). Unlike less populated suburban or rural areas, Somerville is not the kind of city where one would expect to see old or abandoned cars taking up space in a yard or driveway. And yet…
Somerville has an active community of bikers, and the city has supported them by finding space for Bikeshares and bike lanes, making the city a notably bike-friendly community. I sometimes find visual interest in the everyday sight of bikes at rest in yards or on the street.
Other totally ordinary things—windows and doors and chairs—also make the city’s streets fun to walk.
Some of the photos above, but especially those below, are scenes and places once familiar to long-time Somerville residents, but are now gone, or going soon, casualties of gentrification. Remnants of the city’s characteristic industrial landscapes are still visible, but not for long, as they are replaced by businesses more attractive to younger, more affluent residents and visitors.
The two photos directly above were taken in 2006, when some long time residents foresaw, and (rightly) feared the coming impacts of the city’s changing demographics. They were right: the one to the right was taken in 2017, as gentrification was moving into full gear. The city is trying to mitigate the worst impacts of gentrification, but it is likely too late, as the over-development genies are already out of the bottle..