March 09, 2009

"typical" Vallejo, California


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Probably ( ? ? ? ) the very first thing you're going to want to do after arriving in Vallejo, California is to stop by the U-Know for whatever might be your smoking pleasure, and then shuffle-on-over to the TAT2 for a bit of trippy body art or a piercing or two.



Oh, there are nicer sections of Vallejo, California, but this is kind of typical...

Vallejo was in the news a year or so ago with the distinction of a city that had run out of money -- and was, pretty much, going to have to shut down most all government services.   Well, I saw a cop car while I was in town, so I guess they still have money to run their police department.


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Vallejo used to home to the United States Navy, and in it's hay-day the town was prosperous, with a lot of employment at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard.   The shipyard is now closed and unemployment and human-suffering in Vallejo is probably considerably higher than the rest of the nation.


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7 comments:

Tomate Farcie said...

If I remember correctly, the number of foreclosures is very high, over there, right now, no? I've driven through the area a few of times in the past over the years, but have never wanted to stop.

Tomate Farcie said...

... not even to get a Tatoo, however tempting ! ;)

photowannabe said...

Your photos are a sad comment on whats happening in some cities. Sorry to say that Vallejo was never on my places to visit list. Though my Dad worked at mare Island shipyard during the war.

Anonymous said...

I rarely get as far as Vallejo, unfortunately. And missed the period from when you could get into the shipyard and sneak some pix. A few of my photo-buddies have; one saying he was caught, and as a result, enjoyed the hospitality of a limousine ride; in the back of a police car...

Louise said...

I doubt either of those would be the first things I would do! But the pictures are great anyway.

Civic Center said...

I took a ferry from San Francisco to Vallejo for my birthday last year, and had a great lunch at a Guamanian restaurant on the main drag. It's a strange, spooky, empty, and beautiful place. Its original bankrupcy filing, by the way, was because of the greedy police department who were being paid outrageous amounts while not doing much of anything and they refused to renegotiate their contracts so the city government said, "then we're going bankrupt." Not a shining moment for either side.

AphotoAday said...

THANKS SF MIKE FOR THE INFO --
Much appreciated...
I thought I remembered some big internal hub-bub in the Vallejo city government...

 
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