Accession Number
2014/2.327

Title
A Flooded Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA

Artist(s)
Leonard Freed

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1972

Medium & Support
vintage gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
8 x 10 in. ( 20.32 x 25.4 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Thomas Wilson '79 and Jill Garling '80

Subject matter
This photograph depicts a view down a flooded street in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The photographer points his camera down at the lightly rippling water; the tops of houses, trees, and telephone poles can be glimpsed upside down in the reflection. Though it made landfall as a tropical storm, former Hurricane Agnes became one of the most devastating natural disasters in modern U.S. history due to the floods and tornadoes it caused across much of the eastern seaboard. Wilkes-Barre was particularly affected and had to be evacuated when the Susquehanna River crested its banks, resulting in 128 deaths and billions of dollars in damage. Freed, known for images of the Civil Rights Movement, here photographs residents who have returned to the city after the storm has subsided. Freed focuses on not only the flood's devastation but also its effects on the community and on individuals. 

Physical Description
A flooded street with water all around, houses on either side.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Primary Object Type
black and white print

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
automobiles
floods (natural events)
houses
neighborhoods
telephone poles
trees