Napa Through New Eyes
Vinyl Banner featuring 84 photos of Napa in the 1990’s, 6’ x 234’
Historic Napa Post Office (permanently closed due to earthquake damage), 1351 Second Street, Napa
City of Napa Public Art Program Temporary Fence Artwork, installed 2024
Photographs Map Locations1. First Street River Peninsula
Infrared photograph, 1996
As I was leaving class at Napa Valley College, I spotted these vapor trails and raced downtown to capture the reflection on the Napa River from a dirt peninsula that is now Oxbow Commons. The Third Street Bridge and Hatt Building (now the home of Napa River Inn) are in the background.
2. Riverside Drive at Oak Street
black and white photograph, circa 1993
One morning, the driver of a restored C1 Corvette was out on a joyride and crashed into my neighbor’s parked Buick. This is my neighbor on the right (a vineyard worker) removing his work tools from the trunk.
3. Fifth Street at Napa Mill
black and white photograph, 1993
The Hatt, Napa Mill building. If you look carefully on the right side of the brick wall, you can spot the outline of the area now serving as the entryway to Celadon sestaurant and the back patio of the Napa River Inn.
4. Riverside Drive near Brown Street
Infrared photograph, 1996
As I was leaving class at Napa Valley College, I spotted these vapor trails and raced downtown to capture the reflection on the Napa River from a dirt peninsula that is now Oxbow Commons. The Third Street Bridge and Hatt Building (now the home of Napa River Inn) are in the background.
5. Noyes Lumber Company
black and white photograph, circa 1993
This image was taken from across the river off of Main Street, I captured this reflection of the Noyes Lumber Company main building, which burned in the late 90’s.
6. Veteran’s Park
black and white photograph, 1994
After school I used to stop at the park to hang out with friends and play hacky sack before heading home. On this spring afternoon, they noticed I was taking pictures and decided to get silly!
7. Alley Bridge
black and white photograph, 1994
One evening, while looking for a spot downtown to take photos, I ran in to the acquaintance in this image. He saw my camera and asked me to be ready to take a photo. Then he walked into the alley and started “urban climbing” while still carrying his baby on his back! This alley is now the entrance to the Archer Hotel Napa on First Street.
8. Riverside Drive
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I took this photo from our apartment balcony, where I spent multiple summers reading books, doing homework, and listening to music on my boombox. The pick up truck is parked next to what was a very popular fishing spot.
9. Mysterious Structure - Image #1
black and white photograph, circa 1995
This structure stood next to the Napa River in the empty lot across from the Napa Mill on Fifth street. I never knew what it was for but, it was the coolest medieval looking thing I had ever seen!
The south corner of the Napa Riverfront building occupies the spot where this “gothic box” once stood.
10. West Street and The Opera House Bridge
black and white photograph, circa 1994
I took this photo from the bridge between the parking lot on West Street and the patio behind the Opera House (now Blue Note/ Jam Cellars). Across the way is the Main Street bridge where I captured image #32.
11. Jim Big Bear King Speaks
black and white photograph, 1993
The second annual Suscol Intertribal Council Powwow took place on April 24, 1993 at the Napa Valley College football field. This was the first powwow I attended. Jim Big Bear King and Ronald W. Lincoln Sr. along with other native people, awoken my interest and support of Indigenous peoples’ rights.
Jim Big Bear King was a well respected Maidu-Pomo Elder. He worked at Mare Island Naval Shipyard as an engineer in the fields of nuclear power and aerospace. Later he became an activist in the American Indian Movement, fighting for Indian rights and freedoms. Big Bear passed away at his home in Napa on Nov. 13, 2007.
“In the summer of 1975, Big Bear set out on a journey to the State Capitol, walking from Napa with an Indian protest symbol: a cross to symbolize his people’s burden. He walked 58 miles carrying his cross with a copy of “Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties” bound to it. Big Bear reached the Capitol, where he met then Governor Jerry Brown Jr. on July 5.”
- Richard Bammer
12. Coomsbville Chimney
black and white photograph, circa 1995
I took this photograph off Coombsville Road at First Avenue. At the time, this property was privately owned and I asked the owner, whose newer house stood at the foot of the hill, for permission to access the property to take a few photos. This property now seems to be part of Rocca Vineyards.
13. Cloud Wall on Fifth
black and white photograph, circa 1994
Often on my way home from school, I would spend a little time walking around the Napa Mill property. The rainy season had begun and earlier in the day it had stopped raining long enough for the skies to clear. I turned to look west on 5th street and saw this amazing cloud wall, meaning more rain was on the way. I remember staring at this cloud wall for a long time.
14. Sit Down Golden Son
black and white photograph, circa 1998
This room is on the second floor of the Native Sons of the Golden West building in downtown Napa at 937 Coombs Street.
15. Cloud Watch
black and white photograph, circa 1999
I captured this photograph from the old Third Street bridge during a time in my life when I seemed to always be looking for clouds and reflections.
16. Calling Elvis
black and white photograph, circa 1993
After a long day at Vintage High School, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture this image. It made my day.
17. Lampost
black and white photograph, circa 1993
This image was one of my first “happy accidents” and among the earliest photographs I really liked. It shows the last lamppost on the southeast side of the old Third Street bridge—close to the riverbank, where in spring, tree branches would leaf out and hide it from view.
18. Powwow #1
black and white photograph, circa 1993
The second annual Suscol Intertribal Council Powwow took place on April 24, 1993 at the Napa Valley College football field. This was the first powwow I attended.
Suscol Intertribal Council Elder Norma Knight (seen in the back left) of the Round Valley Indian Tribes (Maidu/ Pomo), stands proudly with two of her grandsons. There are grass dancers behind with Aztec & Pomo dancers in a Intertribal round at the Powwow.
Norma Knight and Jim Big Bear King (see image #11) established the Suscol Intertribal Council in 1972 to address native archaeological concerns in the Napa Valley.
19. Noyes Lumber Company
black and white photograph, circa 1993
Image #5 is the reflection of this building. I captured this image from across the river off of Main Street, about two blocks from where I lived during my early teenage years
20. Fishing & Reflecting
black and white photograph, circa 1995
This dock had just been built and one day before heading home from school, I went to check it out. I don’t remember talking to this person, probably because I was still too shy to ask because of my limited English at that time. I had yet to be introduced to the concept of street photography.
21. TV Antenna
black and white photograph, circa 1995
One of my first long-exposure photographs, I made this image looking at the back of this stone building located on Main Street. This building now houses Cole’s Chop House and Torc, two of Napa’s staple restaurants.
22. First Street at Coombs Street
black and white photograph, circa 1995
I took this image early in the morning before school while walking to the old bus station on Pearl Street. I stood in the middle of the street for a long time, I remember thinking how strange it was to be the only one on the street that morning. Once I walked away, there were still no other people or cars coming from any direction.
23. Cueva Numero 8
I made this image by printing photo #32 twice, one of each side of the negative on individual pieces of paper, and created the composite image I called “Cueva Numero 8”.
Benjamin Falk of Benjamin Falk Gallery on Main Street gave me a spot in my first group art exhibit where I sold this piece, my very first photo sold. Eight is my lucky number ever since I was 8 years old and played baseball wearing a uniform with, yes, the number 8.
24. By the river(side)
black and white photograph, circa 1993
One of the nicer boats I had seen on the Napa River, which caught my attention. I captured this image during the summer of 1993 or 1994.
25. Noyes to Hatt
black and white photograph, circa 1994
This is one of my favorite images I’ve ever taken - and it was the last frame on that roll of film that almost didn’t make it! I printed this image numerous times in the darkroom of my photo class at Vintage High School. I cropped out the overexposed area at the top of the frame caused by a light leak common at the end of a film canister.
This site is on Soscol Avenue near Third Street is now the site of Riverfront Green, a sliver of a park along Soscol Avenue, just south of Third Street. It is now the home of “Moonrise”, a metal sculpture by Sacramento Delta sculptor Roger Berry. Once the site for Noyes Lumber Company, the image was taken just a few feet from where the “Moonrise” sculpture now stands.
26. River Dock
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I know this as the first dock built on the Napa River after a long time, and before the 1995 flood. The current dock is located in almost in the same location as the one in this picture, now in front of the Napa Riverfront.
27. Bridge to Bridge
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I took this image from the Main Street bridge, between First Street and Pearl Street, facing East. Directly below is where image #23, “Cueva Numero 8”, was taken.
8. Riverside Drive
black and white photograph, circa 1993
I took this photo from our apartment balcony, where I spent multiple summers reading books, doing homework, and listening to music on my boombox. The pick up truck is parked next to what was a very popular fishing spot.