SPOKANE, Wash. — A Washington photographer took advantage of the statewide lockdown in 2020 by capturing images of unusually empty streets in Seattle and Spokane. Photographer Jaymz Kennedy returned to Spokane on the anniversary of the lockdown, three years later, happy to see things back to normal.
On March 23, 2020, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ordered a statewide lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic.
That's when the busy streets of Spokane fell silent.
“It’s not normal to go into a busy place, park your car somewhere in the middle of the street and just walk around like it’s yours," Kennedy said. "It was like my own sort of playground. I got these places all to myself.”
The last time Kennedy stood at the corner of First and Lincoln, Spokane looked like a ghost town, which is why he was able to set his camera on a timer to photograph himself standing in the middle of the intersection.
“This was like six in the evening when it should have been full of traffic and people," Kennedy said. "There was something about it where I had to drive that point home that I am the only one here.”
He wandered over to Riverfront Park to find it also empty. Then, Kennedy pointed his lens down the Monroe Street bridge, while standing in the middle of the road.
“Why wouldn’t you go out into the middle of a bridge that was completely empty?" Kennedy said. "As a photographer, that’s like gold. I know I'm not supposed to, but no one is around."
But the streets aren’t empty anymore.
Kennedy returned to his once-empty playground three years later, relieved to hear commotion n Spokane's streets again.
“The place is vibrant," Kennedy said. "I mean people are walking around and doesn't look like there was a nuclear blast or anything like that."
It’s a different playground now, but it’s one this photographer is happy to see.
“Seeing Spokane alive and kicking again, it feels really good," Kennedy said. "It tells me that we made it, we got through.”
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