Beach Boulevard is a section
of California State Route 39 that is self-contained within Orange County. It is
a road that I frequently drive through and have familiarized with since my
early childhood. Beach Boulevard connects communities from the conservative
enclave of Huntington Beach to the edge of La Habra while passing through many
culturally diverse locations in-between.
As discussions of development and gentrification are more prevalent than ever, it is clear that certain stretches of Beach Boulevard are not exempt. A plethora of aging motels and small business from bygone eras, some dilapidated, exist and run along these stretches. These antiquated relics, symbolic of impermanence, fade into a backdrop of economic change. Many of these business survive while others shutter their doors only to be replaced by endless fencing that is indicative of new development. Titled in homage to the panoramic work of Ed Ruscha’s Sunset Blvd while also employing sunset as a visual motif to weave a linear progression of time, the photographing of these locations intends to examine and create a snapshot of the melancholy of survival, decay, and subsequent change that is happening now along Beach Boulevard.
As discussions of development and gentrification are more prevalent than ever, it is clear that certain stretches of Beach Boulevard are not exempt. A plethora of aging motels and small business from bygone eras, some dilapidated, exist and run along these stretches. These antiquated relics, symbolic of impermanence, fade into a backdrop of economic change. Many of these business survive while others shutter their doors only to be replaced by endless fencing that is indicative of new development. Titled in homage to the panoramic work of Ed Ruscha’s Sunset Blvd while also employing sunset as a visual motif to weave a linear progression of time, the photographing of these locations intends to examine and create a snapshot of the melancholy of survival, decay, and subsequent change that is happening now along Beach Boulevard.
