Silent Monoliths

ENDORSEMENTS

“This book is a sure-fire winner. The photographs are superb; the writing is stark, straightforward, and graceful, befitting not only the importance of the subject but the form and often beauty of the towers themselves. This is a rare work of art first and an equally powerful record of an important and ignored technological achievement.”
—John Stilgoe, author of What is Landscape?

“Jeff Brouws captures the eerie grandeur of monolithic structures that resemble relics from an alien world—but are, in fact, vital remnants of America’s industrial past. Through richly tonal black-and-white photographs, these towering forms emerge as silent witnesses to a bygone era, evoking the scale, labor, and ambition that once powered a nation—an immensely important visual project.”
—Michael Ernest Sweet, F-Stop Magazine

“Jeff Brouws has a singular gift as a photographer. In forgotten corners and crevices of the North American industrial landscape, he sees things no one else sees.”
— Kevin P. Keefe, former editor and publisher, Trains Magazine

“In these deadpan photographs, the towers have become both obsolete and futuristic, standing stubbornly trackside like robots and rockets, or collapsing post-apocalyptically into the vines. A wonderful book for all who love the landscape of trains.”
—Sandy Sorlien, author of Inland: The Abandoned Canals of the Schuylkill Navigation

“With a clarity of vision reminiscent of a William Carlos Williams poem, Jeff Brouws unleashes his talents upon the unused, but still standing, coaling towers of the early 20th century. Beyond the quality of seeing here, the scope of the project is simply staggering—making this volume critical for any railroad historian.”
—Richard Koenig, Genevieve U. Gilmore Professor of Art, Kalamazoo College

REVIEWS

“A bleak but beautiful observance of past progress.” – Kirkus

Jeff Brouws is a photographer, writer, and graphic designer. His publications include Various Small Books (MIT Press), Approaching Nowhere, Readymades, and Highway. His photographs are held in major museum collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Fogg Museum, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, and the Getty Museum.

Marcella Hackbardt is a writer, curator, visual artist, and professor of art and photography at Kenyon College.

John P. Hankey served the B&O Railroad in a variety of capacities, including as company historian, locomotive engineer, and Curator of the B&O Railroad Museum. He has published over 100 articles.

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