Sunday, June 20, 2010

Wandering near Beaubourg


I took this photo in the Beaubourg area, near the Pompidou center. I never realized until now how old and shabby this neighborhood has become. The buildings that once were restored (when I was 20!) need a real paint job (don't say I do too LOL!), the pavement is dirty and the trendy cafés are about to become much less trendy! I think it's time to plan some renovation... After all the town hall is doing it on the other side of the street (where the Forum des Halles is located), maybe they can get group prices! PS: sorry for the late posting. My mistake!

21 comments:

  1. Eric if even late posting, this photo is excellent. The guy looking at the nude woman, the boy on the wall staring straight at us, the b&w composition...I love it!

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  2. It was worth waiting, for such a great shot!
    At 1st sight, I thought the boy on the right was a real one ;-)

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  3. Although it's shabby and the pavement is dirty - it's somehow attractive too. Definitely a great shot!

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  4. There were less “spontaneous self expressions of urban graphic art” when Google Maps passed by in the past. Although that beige paint may have been a cover up then as well.

    They have the “Aubry” part of the street name close but a change from Boucher to Beardsley might be in order.

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  5. Wow, fantastic shot! The man walking past has the same shaped face & hairline as the little boy. I love it.

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  6. This is a marvelous capture, Eric. It should definitely be enlarged. There is such an interesting story going on here.

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  7. Very interesting! I can't imagine how much history is in Paris..here in the States we are impressed if it is from the 1700's!! (And are you saying that you've become old and shabby? NEVER!!) ;)

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  8. LOL Eric about your joke "(Don't say I do!)". No, I have to say you are aging much more beautifully than this building. You look like the boy in the graffiti to me ;) But don't tell me I look like the naked lady otherwise I won't be very happy LOL!

    @Tall Gary : your Google maps capture is funny. You are good at web finds, aren't you?!

    Marleen, I like your message about the Paris attractiveness even with the dirt... At least, Paris is unequal like all cities but hopefully has still resources to seduce. Hopefully...!

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  9. Yes, I have to agree with the general consensus: great capture! Too bad this artful graffiti has to share the wall with the inarticulate scribblings of no-talent "taggers." I'll bet there will be a reno of this neighborhood—and maybe we should look into real estate here before that happens. When I think of what I could have bought near the Canal St. Martin in 1967 . . . (if I'd had two sous to rub together, that is)!

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  10. What a shame the landlords can't afford a can of paint. It is a great photo Eric. xx

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  11. I love this! It's too bad French law requires you to blur the man's face, because I'd love to see his expression. C'est la vie.

    Even the dirt and grime of Paris is more romantic than that in any other city. I say that in all honesty. It's a patina of the ages.

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  12. Yes, I have noticed it is rather scruffy around there. It worries me that the whimsical pieces in the fountain in Place Igor Stravinsky rarely function. Down the street south (not north) on rue Saint Martin is a pretty pedestrian mall. Great changes in a block or two.

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  13. I thought the same about the fountain, too, Jeff.

    Eric, sometimes your pictures deserve cartoon captions, like the New Yorker magazine does with their cartoon on the last page. People send in a caption for the cartoon that purposfully has none. This photo is BEGGING for one!

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  14. Awesome photo!! Paris doesn't need half as much work as SF does!! I'm sure that they will eventually clean the area up and then of course the rents and real estate prices will go up, up, up..

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  15. I agree with the other commentors - THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST !

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  16. Taking a break from my birthday celebrations, I had to stop and see what Eric's camera captured today. Thumbs up on this one! Really has so much of interest. Merci. One cool photo op. Now off to rejoin Mr. Guinness! ;-)

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  17. I don't know...I'm not crazy about constant renovations. I mean, I understand that if we just let everything fall to shambles that would be unattractive, but a little age can be thing of great beauty.

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