poopei

AURORA AVENUE NORTH - SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Virtually every major American city has a version of Seattle’s Aurora Avenue North. This isn’t the suburbs, though this old road will take you there eventually. This is where our city begins, or at least once did. A lifetime ago, this road welcomed weary motorists with opportunity to eat and rest. That was before freeways divided us into east-and-west and north-and-south sides. Remnants of roadside nostalgia remain among fringe businesses: motels, used car lots, pawn shops, strip clubs, and the inherent cast of supporting characters. Here you can fix your car, have your lawn mower blades sharpened, or buy a gun. There is plenty of gas too, and prepackaged food. Tourists don’t see this stuff. They know it exists—it must, right? But we drive this old road every day. After all, it’s still the fastest way to get from here to there.  

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Steven Brooks is a photographer based in Seattle, Washington. His work focuses primarily on landscapes of the American roadside. In an effort to have the road all to himself as much as possible, he does much of his shooting during the pre-dawn hours, armed with a tripod, old boots, and gas station coffee.