{"product_id":"william-howell-william-howell-9798985170443","title":"William Howell: West Side Highway","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMore than 70 photographs documenting the \"end of an era\" for queer cruising culture on Manhattan's West Side piers \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout the 1970s and '80s, the abandoned piers running along New York's West Side Highway served as a hotbed of gay cruising activity as well as a haven for the broader LGBT community. By the mid-1990s, abutting neighborhoods were undergoing intense transformation through gentrification, with many dilapidated buildings and structures being demolished. The remaining piers were a gathering spot beyond the boundaries of daily life, where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people found a place to be openly themselves. For some, the piers were a place for hustlers and sex workers to meet with their patrons. For others, the piers were a place to simply \"be\" in the sunshine, relaxing, free of scorn, fear or judgment, in ways not possible elsewhere at that time. The series likewise documents a New York that doesn't exist anymore: the World Trade Center stands proud in the background of many of these photos. The surrounding habitat of the piers themselves have since been replaced with luxury apartments and a family-friendly city park. The West Side Highway Pier series depicts that, even in New York City, people had to go to extremes--to the end of a pier, at the edge of a continent, treading on unsafe structures--to be free to be their authentic selves. This series documents the final days of this once-infamous gay playground, with reverence to the historical context in which it once existed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam Howell\u003c\/b\u003e is a Brooklyn-based photographer and artist who earned his BFA in photography from Pratt Institute and currently resides in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e William Howell\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798985170443\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Dark Entries Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/29\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 96\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"William Howell","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48874621075711,"sku":"9798985170443","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/william-howell-william-howell-9798985170443","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}