Copyrighted image by raphaelmazor; used with permission from the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool. All rights reserved.

As this month and its theme, Summer of Rail, wind down, MetroFlickrLA returns to downtown Long Beach with this portrait of the Blue Line at First Street station. It was taken by Long Beach resident Raphael Mazor.

The photo, set in late 2006, won’t look very much like this much longer. That parking lot to the left of the station has become too valuable to leave as a flat patch of asphalt. Plans call for a new hotel at that site. Already, just a few hundred feet away at the Promenade, new high-end apartments have been completed. What will remain for the forseeable future is the U-shaped tower standing proudly at Broadway.

The Pacific Tower, originally the Andrus Building, was built in 1923 by W. Horace Austin. He was one of Long Beach’s most prominent architects of his time. Many of his projects have since been demolished, yet this is one that has lasted for almost 90 years. According to BeachCalifornia.com, some of Austin’s other projects still standing include Horace Mann Elementary School, Wilson High School, the Long Beach Airport Terminal, the Press-Telegram Building, Santa Ana City Hall, the Bowers, Museum, Seal Beach City Hall and the San Pedro Post Office.

Did MetroRiderLA founder Fred Camino find this image that has been aging in a trunk for generations? That can’t be — the oldest parts of the Red Line are merely 17 years old, and Fred hadn’t been in L.A. during that time.

This shows the wonders of Photoshopping. This image, taken just this past June, according to the Flickr date stamp, shows a Red or Purple Line train arriving at 7th Street Metro Center. The collection of blemishes help this month-old photo seem like an heirloom. Note the jagged photo edges, the graininess of the train and the sepia tone near the top corners. Very artistic, very nice.

Copyrighted image by rjmcconnell; used with permission from the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool. All rights reserved.

Here’s another winning image by rjmcconnell, who also shot the Blue Line’s Long Beach prairie near the Los Angeles River. He cast his camera to the Blue Line portal in Downtown Los Angeles and captured the transformation occurring in the area.

This is about a block north of the Pico Station platform, yet drab office buildings and warehouses were transformed into the upscale dwellings of South Park. These residents pay thousands per month and get to see the Blue Line, Staples Center, the Convention Center, L.A. Live … well, all of what makes downtown, downtown, through teal-colored glass.

The teals, the white of the train, and the blue of the sky pop out in this high-contrast gem.

Copyrighted image by Salaam Allah West Coast Transitphotography KING!; used with permission from the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool. All rights reserved.

MetroRiderLA wraps up its birthday celebrations this month with this Salaam Allah image of the Gold Line that’s a hit on Flickr. A highly regarded photo is just what this occasion needs. It was on July 26, 2003, when the light rail line opened between Union Station and Pasadena.

More than a hundred times a day, Gold Line trains race through this section of South Pasadena. Our intrepid photographer was able to capture this train, perfectly centered between the signals, barreling toward the lens. Very dramatic. Even the arrangement of poles helps reinforce a three-dimensional appearance of depth and motion.

• Next month’s passes are now on sale.
• Tomorrow (July 26) is the deadline to submit public comments for the Wilshire bus lane proposals.
• Next month’s MetroFlickrLA theme: Metro buses. Also, the Green Line celebrates its 15th anniversary this year in August, so look for some photos of that in the mix. Better yet, contribute your own photos to the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool.
• Next month’s Transit Oriented Dining: Beat the heat with sweet treats. August is still summer, so count on a few sweat-drenched days. So, two ways to have it made in the shade — and that’s the last rhyme, I promise — is to get on an air conditioned bus or train, and take said vehicle and buy yourself a refreshing frozen dessert. Might want to bookmark this list for those surprise October and November heat waves.

On with the show.

Sure, this may be a screen grab, judging by the buttons on the bottom, but it’s a novel artistic promotion for the Gold Line and a nod to Southern California history. This poster promoted the Gold Line, with credit given to the Los Angeles to Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority (!), with labels found on old-style orange crates.

Southern California had a rich citrus-growing history, with orange groves as far as the eye can see. Alongside that history was Los Angeles’ rich urban rail network. For many years, both existed side-by-side. Then the oranges disappeared. Later, so did the rail.

This new light rail project paid tribute to the old with this promo. That’s a sleek new Siemens-built train shuttling away from downtown Los Angeles. The bridge through the urban forest represents the Arroyo on the way to Pasadena. If money and political will hold up, then the modern-day rail cars can go back to where the oranges once were.

Oranges inspired this promo, but the Gold Line inspired another promo … with apples. To commemorate the 2003 opening, Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Highland Park custom-ordered Belfast Sparkling Cider with a vintage Gold Line label.

Monday is the seventh anniversary of the Gold Line between Pasadena and Union Station, so this weekend is given over to some more Gold Line love from the Metro Library collection. Metro has almost 7,000 — and growing — Creative Commons licensed public transportation photos, providing a digital window into history.

The Gold Line has a brief history, and this hyar photo only dates to January 2007. But what a photo!

The blurs, the vivid colors, the sharpness of the Gold Line car … this image crosses the line between photograph and illustration. If this were on the cover of a brochure, you’d immediately pull it.

The Breda car, a vehicle that has been savaged by Metro employees and riders alike for unreliability, discomfort and noise, looks like the star of a music video in this nighttime shot at the Chinatown station. The station, and the downtown skyline, stretch out in a motion blur. Note the violet-blue light that emerges on the train’s front and near the rear car and the light bouncing off the horizontal stripes for the illuminative effect.

Good barbecue and Union Station? Los Angeles, it no longer means an Amtrak ticket and a multiday journey on the Sunset Limited to Texas or the Southwest Chief to Kansas City.

Hey, you’ve got to be pretty obsessive if you’re riding a train to go for some barbecue. Then again, there are certain readers of this here fine blog that would fit that description. You know who you are.

Anyway, head outside Alameda Street to Cesar Chavez Avenue. Go toward the overpriced Chevron gas station. Walk past the fleabag hotel and when you see the seedy liquor store, swing right.

Here you’ll find an outpost of smoky, meaty goodness. You’ll find a few tables and a busy bar, and on many a summer day, throngs of Dodgers fans matching their blue-and-white clothing with sticky reddish-brown sauce.

Find a seat and open the cellophane bag of white bread. You’re in flavor country now. You’re at the Spring Street Smokehouse.

It’s been around for a few years, and it helped fill the void when the BBQ King was shooed from Figueroa Street and Sunset Boulevard, although it, too has returned to a location on Seventh Street. Spring Street, though, has been the superior alternative.

Spring Street’s strongest suit is ribs. Its menu says ribs are smoked for four hours, taking with it a savory packet of fire. All are winners. Spring Street has pork spare ribs and rib tips, beef ribs, and for a real treat, bison ribs. The bones are loaded with tender meat, gently burned on the surface, with no unpleasant splintering from overcooking.

There’s both a sweet and a spicy barbecue sauce, but neither of these are needed for the ribs.

The next best choices from the smoked stack are the brisket and its tasty byproduct, burnt ends. The brisket lacks the smokiness of the ribs, but it retains its natural beefy taste, and the spicy sauce especially complements it well. If it’s the smoke you are after, order the burnt ends. Despite the unsavory name, burnt ends are the bad-for-you trimmings of the brisket that taste divine. It’s a barbecue sauce-soaked fireball of smoke, charred fat and chewy meat. A half-pound order may look small, but about 4 small nuggets  will fill you up. Good luck with a pound.

Honorable mentions go to the tri-tip and barbecued chicken. They add diversity to the meat lineup, and are satisfactory, but they aren’t at the level of the brisket and ribs. The Louisiana hot links, though, are more caramel-sweet than spicy, and it’s peculiar for a sausage.

The best way to discover a favorite dish is to start with he $14.50 sampler plate, which has pork spare ribs, pulled chicken, brisket and that sickly sweet hot link as well as a side of fries, cole slaw or baked beans.

There are also nine other side orders available a la carte in 8-ounce, 12-ounce and pint portions. They are a broad selection of Texas and Southern comfort-food favorites  such as collard greens, hushpuppies, corn bread and red beans & rice.

Desserts are just three selections: bread pudding, peach cobbler and a giant smore. They’re all $4 and ice cream on each will set you back another $1.50.

Spring Street is an all-American beer-and-barbecue joint, yet not all-American to the point in which you have to settle for macro beer. Some of California’s finest breweries are on tap or in bottles here, including Stone, North Coast and Lost Coast, and the new-to-Downtown L.A. Angel City Brewery. A few imports are available, too.

Spring Street has a loyal following of foodies, downtown drinkers and Dodger fans, and it’s quickly outgrowing its ground-floor space. It’s easy to feel claustrophobic in the dining area, even when empty. Going to the restroom entails walking through the kitchen storage area. Also, I know it’s supposed to be a barbecue place, but the roadhouse chic is played out. You’ve seen one barbecue joint with old license plates and rusty vintage signs of beers and/or brands of gasoline, you’ve seen them all. This is authenticity that tries too hard, and the decor can be forgiven — somewhat — since the food is the star.

Service has a touch of Southern hospitality, and the regular waitresses there are sweethearts. They can get overworked a little, and they’ll leave you be when you’re eating. They don’t hover, which is nice, but sometimes they’re gone a little too long. It’s not too hard to find the right balance of service.

Spring Street has been another winner discovered for Transit Oriented Dining. It’s so nice to see that the great food has now migrated to the easiest place in Southern California to access without a car. See the list below for all the bus and train options to this Union Station-adjacent location.

Grab a slab of ribs and don’t forget to bring a bottle of moistened wipes. The aroma will linger for days.

Report card

Food: A-. Spring Street’s strongest hand is its rib selection. The chicken and brisket are more dependent on sauces to enhance flavor, yet both are still tender and flavorful. Selection of side dishes is broad.

Service: B. Waitresses are friendly but are often overworked.

Atmosphere: C. Spring Street is a relative newcomer on the downtown scene, and owners didn’t expect for the restaurant to become so popular. The small dining area often feels cramped, even when there are few diners. Also, to barbecue restaurants everywhere, not just Spring Street, the whole roadside junkyard motif … it’s unoriginal. The barbecue is great and won’t taste any more authentic with the chintzy decor.

Price: B+. The sampler plate is a terrific value. Spring Street’s entrees are in the mid-price range and come with adequate servings of meat, though side dishes seem comparatively skimpy. Go in during happy hour for the best deals on sandwiches and suds.

Transit access: A+. It’s Union Station adjacent, baby!

Final grade: A-.

Spring Street Smokehouse

640 N. Spring Street, Downtown Los Angeles
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays; noon-9 p.m. weekends
(213) 626-0535; also on Twitter
Alcohol: Beer and wine

Transit access

Bus (commuter lines omitted)

Metro local lines 33, 40, 42, 45, 68/84, 70/71, 76, 78/79, 81, 83, 90/91, 94, 96
Metro Express lines 439, 445, 485, 487 and Silver Line
Metro Rapid lines 704, 728, 733, 745, 770 and 794
Foothill Transit Silver Streak
LADOT DASH lines B and D
Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus Line 10
Torrance Transit Line 2

Rail

Metro Gold and Red/Purple lines
Metrolink (all lines except Inland Empire-Orange County)
Amtrak Coast Starlight, Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief and Sunset Limited

The Gold Line platform at Union Station is seen in a new light, namely in sharp black and white. Flickr user astrangegirl submitted this to the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool at Fred Camino’s request, and it’s a welcome addition for its artistry.

The simplicity of the platform canopy as seen from one of the railroad platforms is sharp in its bright highlights and dark shadows, as well as the smooth straight and diagonal edges of the canopies.

The photo isn’t fully black-and-white. Examine a larger version of it close up and you’ll see soft hues in the background (green light fixtures, blue garbage bin and silver SUV).

It’s a good looking shot for the train that’s celebrating the seventh anniversary of its grand opening between here in Union Station and Pasadena. That’s right, in three days, the Gold Line has completed seven years of service. July 26 is a date important for another reason as well: It’s the last day to submit public comment for the Wilshire bus lanes. Get them in by e-mail, by leaving a message to (213) 922-2500, or use the comment form.

The history of imagery is the dog wagged by the tail of technology. The earliest photographs captured true-to-life images in monochromatic form. Then came along the color process, making it technologically possible to make images as true-to-life as possible, while including the color spectrum. This meant that a technological barrier was overcome, and the old black-and-white imagery had no place in the world. Fortunately, the art world was able to reclaim non-color photography and helped to preserve the technique.

So what does all of this have to do with “Caron & CHloE”, the photograph by bredgur? Well, this is one of a few choice black-and-white images this photographer contributed to the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool. This one in particular, is striking because of its extreme contrasts.

If this were oriented vertically, “Caron & CHloE” would make for a great film noir poster. The eponymous subjects are the second and third silhouetted figures from the left. Both Caron and CHloE have Flickr accounts as well.

They are standing in the East Portal of Union Station, basking in the natural light emitted through the semicircular skylight ceiling. Perhaps unintentionally, their shadows are the largest and most clear reflecting off the floor. They are also the ones conveying action in the still photo. Note the raised finger and Caron seemingly turning to listen.

Note the inclusion of the rail lines’ directing signs and the background figures providing contrast in the dark and bright scenes, respectively.

In color, the East Portal is beautiful with the sand-colored masonry and the multicolored tilework. Canceling those out in favor of chiaroscuro proves to be hauntingly beautiful.

Copyrighted image by rjmcconnell; used with permission from the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool. All rights reserved.

In this Flickr image, the photographer asks, “Who would have thought that the gritty Blue Line passes through such a setting as this?” So true. The Blue Line is highly functional. It connects the two largest cities of Los Angeles County in less than an hour, and it is a workhorse of a line with more than 70,000 riding each weekday.

Formwise, the Blue Line leaves much to be desired. To go between Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Blue Line must pass through very poor, crime-plagued communities that often have residential bungalows, toxic industries and junkyards as next-door neighbors. The right of way is a visual collage of graffiti, concrete, chain-link and steel fences, dust and rubbish.

That image is usually what riders take away, since it is most jarring. Yet beauty has the power to emerge from unexpected places. Even on the Blue Line.

This prairie wilderness is on the long, fast stretch between the Del Amo and Wardlow stations, which is probably why many wouldn’t know this urban prairie even exists. This would be on the Long Beach bank of the Los Angeles River, a misnomer in itself. During the “Age of Progress,” the river was used as a conduit for urban waste and runoff. The river is literally an inch deep at most times, not more than a fraction of a mile wide, and contains water that’s a clear and present danger.

Yet slowly, nature is reasserting itself along the river, and now progress is marked by turning back the clock.

If only all sections of the Los Angeles River can look like this. Much like the previous day’s Gold Line photo, it is yet again a composition of the layers of natural and human civilization. Nature is not only in the front, but the reddish-green hues of the flora draw the eye immediately. Transit is again a bridge. The Blue Line crosses a bridge to get here, and it’s a clean horizontal divider between the foreground and the background. The visual appeal does not extend to the sound wall, but if you are one of the residents of the houses in the background, it’s a way of coping with technology and nature.

Helping to hold all the pieces in place is the sky, with cirrostratus clouds helping to make the top half of the photo look sponge-painted.