suns along the Mohawk

 The weather was perfect for the 2019 version of Schenectady County Summer Night (July 12). And, I continued my custom of taking an early stroll-and-shoot on the Jay Street Pedestrian Mall and the Proctors block of State Street. Like last year, the blue skies and soft sun created beautiful colors, and the growing crowd held many smiles. Read about the attractions and sponsors at the Summer Night Facebook Page.

. . lots of fun at a very popular bubble machine . .

Toy Story sand sculpture by Phil Singer

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•  There are over 170 photos at the Times Union gallery, “Were you Seen at Schenectady County SummerNight in downtown Schenectady on July 12, 2019?“, with photography by Gary McPherson, such as the sky view to the right of this blurb. Also, see the Gazette coverage at “Thousands fill downtown for Schenectady County Summer Night” (by Brenton Blanchet, July 13, 2019).

Click on any of the square images in the columns below to see a full, larger version of the photograph. Many have captions you can see by scrolling over the image.

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Jay Street stage audience

Whistling Tea Kettle is open

new patio – Slidin’ Dirty

looking west

Main Stage

annual PBA dunk

Midnight Revival Band on the EQX stage

Woody [L] and Buzz Lightyear

a long face-painting line

face-painting was popular

looking east

Phil Singer sand sculptor

a very popular bubble machine

Betty Boop & the Ambitions gang

more Jay Street

I‘ve been curious to see how the Schenectady Pride Art Project at Gateway-Liberty Plaza would turn out, ever since I first learned about it last November. (spoiler alert: I like it a lot more than I had anticipated). At the time, frankly, I was concerned that “rushing it through with no chance for meaningful public input on its basic design, size, materials, or location within the Plaza, undermines the public consensus for celebrating the important civil rights victories.” And, I opined that “Schenectady PRIDE and the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising deserve a much better design.”

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. . above: Work in Progress: May 29, 2019 [R]; May 31, 2019 [L] . .

almost ready

So, I’ve been watching the proposal’s “doorway/arches” being erected and painted this past week (see images immediately above; and collage to left), and saw the finished Project for the first time this morning (June 2, 2019), camera in hand. [And, as you will see below, I brought my “friend” Silhouette Lady Liberty to see the display of equality and Enlightenment at the place long known as Liberty Park, and the home of a replica Statue of Liberty since 1950.]

Below are a handful of additional photos of the Rainbow Pride Art Project taken several hours before the exhibit would be “revealed” and dedication this afternoon (June 2, 2019). Each arch has a Milestone title in wooden letters on its crossbeam, as well as a placard that describes the Milestone and its history. Two of the Milestones are stated as acronyms for legislation protecting LGBT rights. Scroll down this post to find thumbnail images of each placard; click on the image for a larger, readable version. After the placards, I’ve included several images of Silhouette Lady, who feels very much at home at the Pride installation, and hopes Schenectady Pride will reciprocate and help Lady Liberty back to her Liberty Park home.

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  . . buses often block the view from State St..

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INFORMATIVE PLACARDS: The PRIDE ART Display includes informative statements explaining the Six “Doorway” Topics. To read the text of each placard, click on its thumbnail below, and then click again on the jpg. file for an image large enough to read.

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WANTED: MORE LIBERTY at the PLAZA. Some vital liberties have taken far too long to be achieved, protected, and accepted in the United State of America. When created, the original Statue of Liberty was titled “Liberty Enlightens the World” and specifically celebrated the emancipation of America’s slaves. While She holds high her light, Lady Liberty is also shown breaking shackles and stepping forward. The rights that were fought for at and since Stonewall make us all more free.

In her Implementation Plan for Gateway Plaza, designer Mary Wallinger stated that the Plaza was meant to “celebrate our past, present, and future.” There is no single symbol in Schenectady that fills that role better than our Replica Statue of Liberty. Nonetheless Lady Liberty has been “exiled” by Mayor McCarthy and Ms. Wallinger for failing to be “contemporary” enough. Silhouette Lady disagrees strongly, and made the point this morning while visiting the Schenectady Rainbow Pride Art installation. As you can see in this collage:

. . for more information about the Liberty Exile Controversy, see tinyurl.com/TimelessLady . .

 p.s. First Afterthoughts. The Rainbow Pride Project turned out better than I had expected, and is a plus for our City. Congratulations to Schenectady Pride and designer Mary Wallinger, with special thanks to The Schenectady Foundation and its Thriving Neighborhood Challenge for funding the project. However, public input and more brainstorming within the Pride organization about locating the project in the Plaza would have been beneficial.  If the public had been able to make recommendations last autumn about the design and location within the Plaza, there might have been many suggestions worth consideration.

 We were told at the Council meeting last November that alternative spots within the Park for the project would be considered. An alternative spot could have avoided the traffic issues caused by passing vehicles slowing down to see and photograph the Installation at the busy traffic location, especially when CDTA buses are actually blocking the view.

An internal spot within the Plaza would have made it more likely that visitors wanting to enjoy the Pride Art would park and walk to it. A better location inside the Park, farther from State Street traffic, would also have avoided the glare that sunlight can cause for drivers’ eyes, reflected off the glossy finish of the Pride Art arches. The collage immediately below, with photos taken in the hour before sunset on June 11, 2019, gives an idea that — although pretty — shiny art projects are better placed away from traffic.