R Street Corridor

Sacramento, California

With the incredible amount of development activity happening along the R Street corridor, I made the decision to document the refreshed district with an architectural lens. By sharing these photos with the world, I hope to bring attention to the City of Sacramento’s push for a revived urban core.

The R Street Corridor is an incredible area to focus on due to the great mix of history, modern energy-saving construction, and community design.  Covering 27-blocks with a dense mix of offices, restaurants, apartments, artist galleries, and shops, the R Street Corridor is quickly becoming an anchor for all of Sacramento to enjoy.

The image above is a combination of 117 images blended together in Photoshop. Notice the level of detail found in the buildings of the Ice Blocks, and how this perspective enables a view of Downtown Sacramento in the near distance.

The process and timing required to create this style

of photograph results in creating only one image per day.

The images displayed in this set were taken between sunset and twilight. This process captures when the natural light from the sunset mixes with the light from the street lamps and up-lighting for the trees. At this specific time, there is an amazing ‘glow’ that can only be captured over a span of about 5 minutes each day. The process and timing required to create this style of photograph results in creating only one image per day.

This is a multi-part project and I will add images as the corridor continues to grow and evolve.

Each image was captured to use a specific element for the final image…

Thousands of people drive by the Ice Blocks at 16th and R Street daily. To create this image of Block 1 named ‘Ice Shops’, I was on the 3rd floor of the parking structure across the street. Photographing the building from this height enables views into the various levels and office spaces. There is no better view of the front and west elevations.

Using Photoshop, I blended seven images to create this photo. Each image was captured to use a specific element for the final image; one for the sky, two for the light trails from the cars, one for the ‘ICE’ sign, one for the trees, one for the interior lighting of West Elm, and one for the signage behind the power pole. With the Ice Blocks signage and interior glow from the retail and office spaces, Block 1 is the most iconic of the R Street Corridor and a beautiful sight to be seen.

Here we get to see the entire front elevation of Block 1 with the retail and office spaces activated. This was an image that took 6 months to produce. Because I wanted as much of the front illuminated as possible, it required waiting for the tenant space on the left to be renovated and furnished. The space was finished about 2 weeks prior to the daylight savings time change for spring. This is imperative because after the time change, the tenants would be out of the office well before twilight and the lights would all be off making the shot impossible. With a tom of preparation, planning, luck, and some help from a couple of the tenants - Spaces and EA Sports (has them walk thru their space to turn on as many lights as possible) - I was able to capture this image 3 days before the time change. Had I missed this window for any reason, it would have been at least 8 months until I could attempt this shot again.

You can really see how the light from the sunset reflects off the buildings and casts a warm glow. In some of the images, people are included to emphasize a sense of scale, as well as to illustrate how people utilize or move through the space.

The front elevation of Block 3 named ‘Ice Yard’ took multiple attempts to get right because of where I needed to place the camera to get the best perspective. One day I was lucky and there was ample parking available so I was able to take this shot while set up in an empty parking spot. In addition, the car in the spot next to me was small enough to shoot over it without being in the frame. Hours of preparation mixed with a touch of luck is needed when photographing architecture. There are countless variables that must all converge perfectly to create a great final image.

There are countless variables that must all converge perfectly to create a great final image.

This image with two men outside of Beast and Bounty restaurant is another image where luck was a factor. While setting up this image, these two gentleman walked into my composition and decided to play boccie ball at just the perfect time. They were happy to be in the photo and add a human element, showing how the space is used. The light trails from the cars and the waiter going thru the door add additional interest and life to the scene.

Beast and Bounty is a restaurant on the west side of Block 3. This image was a combination of planning and a lot of luck. There are parking meters in front of the building making it difficult to create this image with no parked vehicles. One day I noticed, some signs in front that said ‘no parking’ for the following day from 4-6 pm which was perfect timing for my needs. When I arrived the next day there was a video crew shooting a commercial. Luckily for me, my interest was in an area outside of their set and I was able to create this image. I especially like the light on the trees and the reflection of the ICE shops sign in the window. Did you notice it?

This image (above) is a crop of the previous image to show a little more detail.

In order to achieve this perspective I used a 24mm tilt-shift lens. After positioning my camera inline with the wood doorway, I shifted up and left to include the rest of the building and walkway on the left. This shifting, helps create a focal point for the viewer - the entrance - while also showing the signage and walkway to the shops located on the interior of the Block 3 community.

The addition of person moving through the entrance with the hostess adds some life, helping to show that this restaurant is always activated and welcoming.

Between the three buildings that make up the Ice Yard is a row of retail spaces that house various shops including a coffee shop, donut-shop, clothing store, barber shop, and occasional pop-up stores. With a lot of luck, this image came together pretty easily. Just after setting up and taking my initial images for the architecture, this young couple walked into my composition and happened to be in just the right place at just the right time.

The latest restoration on R Street to be completed is The Carlaw located at R and 11th streets. With original construction beginning in 1918, this building has recently been beautifully restored. The restoration kept some of the original walls while also improving the foundation and adding multiple new levels to allow for 26 apartments above 3 commercial spaces. I’m looking forward to see who joins the block.

R12, located at 1200 R St. is another stand out building on R Street. Home of two creative firms, HGA and Market One Builders, the brick building has been beautifully redone inside and out. While they maintained the original brick walls there were new windows punched thru to open up the spaces and allow more natural light. While on a break, employees can be seen on the old raised loading dock that now serve as elevated seating that allows views up and down R street.

I really hope you enjoyed the images I’ve created. As the R Street Corridor continues to develop and grow, I plan to continue to document it’s growth. Be sure to check back periodically for new images.

For usage requests or project inquiries, please contact me directly.

All copyrights owned by Jason Crider Photos.