I am Barry Cassidy, a Planning and Development consultant located in Philadelphia. When the virus struck the United States, everything went into lockdown as the government shifted its focus to contain and combat it.
My wife and I were isolated during the lockdown, watching the televised reporting of people in the City of Philadelphia rioting and looting. We both thought it best to stay in our suburban house and not visit our condo in Center City, Philadelphia. Her center city job went remote.
My15 I left Philadelphia to tour in the last days of lockdown. I bought a case of Pellegrino, some Utz Potato Chips put some ice in the cooler, and started across the country
Last Days Of Lockdown Cities Listing
I created a website Lastdaysoflockdown2021.com . You can view over 80 videos of the cities. There is a lot to see, and some of the videos are longer than others.
There are two types of videos:
- City condition videos which are set to music. These videos are a compilation of still photographs that will establish the basic inventory sample.
- Analysis videos where I compare and contrast what I saw and make some predictions. A significant amount of public art was inventoried along with the vacant storefronts.
Here is a list of the towns in the order I visited during the lockdown:
1. Clarksburg WV
2. Salem WV
3. Charleston WV
4. Memphis TN
5. Sulphur Springs TX
6. Austin TX
7. San Antonio TX
8. Del Rio TX
9. Route 90 TX
10. Sanderson TX
11. Marathon TX
12. Alpine TX
13. Marfa TX
14. El Paso TX
15. Las Cruces NM
16. Demings MN
17. Tuscon AZ
18. Sedona AZ
19. Indio CA
20. Salton Sea CA
21. Cambria CA
22. Rt. 101 CA
23. Mt View CA
24. Palo Alto CA
25. Fisherman’s Warf CA
26. Millbrae CA
27. Haight Asbury CA
28. The Castro CA
29. San Mateo CA
30. Redding CA
31. Mt Shasta CA
32. Dunsmuir CA
33. Portland OR
34. Centralia WA
35. Seattle WA
36. Winslow WA
37. Snoqualmie WA
38. Spokane WA
39. Coeur d’Alene ID
40. Wallace ID
41. Lookout Pass ID
42. Missoula MT
43. Butte MT
44. Bozeman MT
45. Billings MT
46. Sheridan WY
47. Gillette WY
48. Mt Rushmore SD
49. Rapid City SD
50. Mitchel SD
51. Sioux Falls SD
52. Albert Lea MN
53. Eau Claire WI
54. Minneapolis MN
55. Milwaukee WI
56. Racine WI
57. Kenosha WI
58. Chicago IL
59. Gary ID
60. Indianapolis ID
61. Louisville KY
62. Cincinnati OH
63. Columbus OH
64. Bookville PA
65. DuBois PA
66. Lock Haven PA
67. Downingtown PA
68. Phoenixville PA
69. Kensington Ave PA
70. South Street PA
Choosing the Lockdown Cities
I needed to figure out how I would select the cities. When I initially started the project. I was going to go north and photograph some of the Pittsburgh neighborhood districts and go through Ohio and Montana, but I heard the mountain pass in Montana was blocked by snow. I directed my attention south and went through West Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas.
I selected cities if they had a nice name, if I had been there before, or if they had a historic district. I documented the riot-impacted towns as well as protest art installations.