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George Stewart Photo Locations

George Stewart U.S. 40 Photographs - California

In 1949 and again the following year, George R. Stewart made two cross-country treks on U.S. Route 40. All told, he spent almost four months on the road photographing and documenting the landscape and everyday life along the road. His purpose was to record what he saw as he passed. His record captured the grand and the mundane. The resulting book, U.S. 40, was published in 1953. Accompanying his 114 photographs were 92 interpretive essays written in an accessible and enlightening manner. It provides readers with an armchair view of a roadtrip across the continent.

For the past 40+ years I've been revisiting all of the scenes in the book and documenting changes that have occurred since the mid-twentieth century. (In 1983 Thomas and Geraldine Vale published an update titled U.S. 40 Today that showed 72 of the 114 scenes (63%). For the past few years I have been revisiting each scene and shooting a variety of media including:

  • High resolution digital images.
  • Medium format B&W negatives and color transparencies using a camera that is an exact clone to the one Stewart used.
  • 35mm B&W negatives and color transparencies.
  • 360-degree virtual reality images of each scene.

My goal is to have these images published in the first complete update to Stewart's original book. Here are links to many of my U.S. 40 photographs. If you are a publisher and are interested in my work, please contact me.

Truckee CanyonGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 83 - Truckee Canyon (Floriston, CA)
"Every time I've been to this location it has rained making it suicidal to climb the hillside where Stewart shot his photo. The next time I drive thro......"

Highway and RiverGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 84 - Highway and River (Boca, CA)
"I plan to hire a plane in Reno to do some aerial photography in the near future......."

Donner PassGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 85 - Donner Pass (CA)
"The two times I've been at Donner Pass to shoot this scene I have encountered unusually heavy snow packs from the previous winters - making the relati......"

Snow SceneGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 86 - Snow Scene (Soda Springs, CA)
"I plan to return to this scene in the near future to get a better and more up-to-date shot......."

Forest PrimevalGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 87 - Forest Primeval (Nevada City, CA)
"This view is from a location a little to the southwest of the original. I am planning to return to this scene to get a more accurate shot in the near......"

Emigrant GapGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 88 - Emigrant Gap (Nevada City, CA)
"The construction of I-80 dramatically changed this scene. The highway and railroad have been relocated. The old Nyack Lodge (which formerly stood be......"

The DiggingsGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 89 - The Diggings (Gold Run, CA)
"This is another one of those placeholder shots until I can return and get a better shot. Stewart's original vantage point is now smack dab in the mid......"

Coast RangeGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 90 - Coast Range (American Canyon, CA)

San Francisco Bay BridgeGeorge Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 91 - San Francisco Bay Bridge (San Francisco, CA)
"This scene requires lots of trial and error. The 1999 shot below was one of about 50 shot one afternoon. I would drive west from Yerba Buena Island,......"

End 40George Stewart U.S. 40 Photograph No. 92 - End 40 (San Francisco, CA)
"Traffic is much less busier at the corner of Harrison and 10th where Route 40 officially ended prior to 1964. I plan to return to this scene and get ......"

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Feedback: Do you have corrections or contributions for this page? Want to make a suggestion? Click here to send me an e-mail. I am espcially interested in memories, stories, postcards and photographs. Thanks!

Frank

Last updated: 2011-04-01 19:37:06

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