Covington,LA

[NCB]

Well, I got my new wide angle lens for my camera yesterday, and decided today would be a good day to test it out. I realized that even though I am currently living here, I had never walked around Covington to take pictures. What was supposed to be a short trip around downtown Covington turned into a pretty long outing, due to me adjusting and editing settings on my camera before every shot. I experimented more with my camera today than I have ever done before, and I am pretty happy with the results in some of the pictures.

For some brief info on where I took pictures today:

Downtown Covington is the oldest portion of the city, and even while literally every part of the area around Covington, which now has a population of at least 50,000, is booming, downtown has not slowed at all. Covington has lots of trees and foliage, new buildings, old buildings, different architecture, and offers anything for anyone. While many cities around the same age as Covington have downtowns that have slowed in development and activity, that is not the case here. I honestly don't think there is one vacant building downtown. A revitalization of older buildings has been taking place, and there are now restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, bars, clubs, art galleries, museums, and now, condos and townhouses lining the streets. Development downtown is increasing every day, and so is activity and nightlife. If you guys have any questions about Covington, please ask. It's a very interesting city with alot to offer.

And now, some of the pictures. Most of the photos with alot of foliage in them are way overexposed and generally messed up. I messed around with my exposure and ISO speed settings alot today to see what I would come out with, and most of the foliage shots came out way too exposed. Oh well, practice makes perfect I guess.

I wanted to start off the thread by showing you guys what I roll around in

The back of the massive Saint Tammany Parish Courthouse

Part of "The Market" which is obviously closed on the weekends

The old train station and a caboose downtown. All that remains of the old railroad lines that used to run through downtown Covington are a few tracks still visible here and there

The old water tower. I wonder how many decades its been since this was used

Lockwood Street. This part of the street hasn't seen much action as of late

Water tower and a new German micro-brewery downtown. Great beer, BTW.

Along the Saint Tammany Trace

New Hampshire Street

An overexposed picture of one of my favorite parts of the entire Saint Tammany Trace

Same thing here

Shade...

A newly constructed building on Gibson Street as we near the central part of downtown

Looking up the sidewalk on Columbia Street, the heart of the city's art galleries and high end retai stores

This building, which was falling apart a couple years ago, looks as good as new after a recently completed overhaul. It's now a beautiful two story showroom for art and sculptures. This is a great expample of what's been going on in downtown Covington in the last few years.

Saint Tammany Art Association

This store is really cool. It's quite an old building, and offers tours through its rear facility filled with pictures and pieces of Covington's very interesting past.

I really don't know the purpose of this open area, but I'd much rather have it than a parking lot

One of the oldest large buildings in downtown. This has also been converted into a high-end clothing store. Just a side note, most of the original buildings in Covington burned down in a massive fire in the 1800's.

Looking down the sidewalk on Boston Street. If you continue further down Boston in this direction, you'll come up to HW 190.

Another shot of Boston Street, the central street downtown

Looking up the sidewalk on Boston Street in the opposite direction

Alley

[NCB]

A Live Oak in front of the old Saint Tammany Parish Courthouse.(now the STP EOS Center) You can see the massive difference in size between the old one and the new one.

I sure have alot of these sidewalk pictures!

The world famous New Orleans restaurant has four locations across the South, two of them in, you guessed it, Covington

Two older buildings now house small businesses

Further up on Columbia street. Most of the buildings here are new and house restaurants, art galleries, office buildings, clothing stores, and other retail stores.

This brand new building is the home of a financing company.

Looking up the newly re-designed sidewalk on Columbia Street

This is another brand new building on Columbia Street. I'm not sure what businesses occupy it.

Another new building just off of Columbia on Rutland Street

I really want to find out what this building used to be. I believe it is vacant right now. (Ok, so there is one vacant building downtown! Geez, get off my back!)

Looking down Rutland Street

House on Rutland

Looking down Rutland again

I really wasn't sure if I should go down this dead end road, but I am very glad I did...

Man would I love to live here

I had seriously forgoten how close I was to the Bogue Falaya River. I found a small trail at the end of that dead end road, and decided to walk in a bit, and this is where it took me. Definately one of my favorite photography moments

Lots of greenery

Gotta love the Live Oak's

I've always wondered who lives back there

A great restaurant on Lee Lane

Looking up the Sidewalk along Lee Lane

I saw this and had to take a picture. Hey Richy, there's that building!

Another great restaurant further up on Lee Lane

Townhouses are going up like crazy

[NCB]

Hey, what do you know, we're on the Trace again!

That pesky apartment building is everywhere!

The side of the Trace bridge crossing the Bogue Falaya River

Some views of the Bogue Falaya from the bridge

And I'll end this very long thread with this picture

That's it guys! Hoped you liked my pictures, all 100,000,000 of them.

Again, if you have any questions about Covington and the surrounding area, please ask!

[dimebag1980]

Thanks for sharing, Nate. You sure did stay out a while... lots of photos! There was one building in particular, in your first post I believe, that reminded me of a French Quarter building. Obviously being a suburb of New Orleans, people would want that kind of atmosphere.

And in one photo, I saw what I thought said "ACME Oyster House," but I couldn't make it out for sure. Then, you clarified. I wasn't too surprised to learn they had a location there, but I was very surprised to hear they have two there. Wow.

[richyb83]

Great job Nate ! You got your exercise for the day . Nice Hummer, how do you get around those tight corners like Boston St. at Central ?

I like the blend of old and new. I like all the balconies too.The new(old-style) brick bldg. on Gibson St. looks smooth. The bike-trail St. Tammany trace is really cool. We need trails like that. Cool bridge pic on the trace. That was a great idea you walked down the trail to the Bogue Falaya to get that pic. That's one of my favorites. Thanks for the 6-story apt. pic. I knew you wouldn't let me down.ha. Is there a height restriction in Covington ? The ole Live Oaks are nice. I appreciate them more and more. Covington is a nice looking place that's really growing-up in a hurry ! Thanks for sharing.

[NCB]

^Thanks guys!

Richy, man I wish I owned that Hummer! And I'm not sure if there is a height restriction downtown. I would imagine so, as the surrounding area is mostly quiet and residential, and most people wouldn't want anything taller than what's already there going up. But I'll have to find out for sure. And you're right about Covington growing up in a hurry. It's growing much faster than the infrastructure. There weren't enough roads here in the first place, and roads designed to handle 15,000 people or so in the area had to handle upwards of 25,000. And now, that number is above 50,000. And as you can imagine, traffic is horrible.

[UptownNewOrleans]

If my computer wasn't so slow........Nice shots buddy.

[tombarnes]

Great shots Nate! I haven't been to Covington, so it was interesting to see its thriving downtown. I might guess that the one vacant building you showed us might have once been a Masonic or social hall of some kind. In any event, it looks like a bustling city.

[Mith242]

Nate, those are some great looking pics. I think you're starting to take more after me. Some of those shots reminded me of some that I've taken. I think you're really getting better with your camera. Good work.

[dimebag1980]

If my computer wasn't so slow

I feel your pain. Oh believe me.... I feel your pain.

Sucky old, slow computers.

I wish I could bring my work computer home with me.

[dimebag1980]

I might guess that the one vacant building you showed us might have once been a Masonic or social hall of some kind.

I hadn't even thought about that. Now that you've mentioned it, though, it does have that Masonic Lodge type of look to it.

[NCB]

If my computer wasn't so slow........Nice shots buddy.

Thanks! I'm sorry that there were so many pictures, but I got a little carried away, and I did want to show you guys as many angles of downtown Covington as possible. I actually have another 50 or so pictures that I didn't post.

[Mith242]

I didn't think it was too bad. But I also probably post more pics in my topics. I'm probably scaring everyone away with so many of my pics in some of my topics.

[NCB]

Great shots Nate! I haven't been to Covington, so it was interesting to see its thriving downtown. I might guess that the one vacant building you showed us might have once been a Masonic or social hall of some kind. In any event, it looks like a bustling city.

Thanks Tom! I think your right about that building once being a social hall of some kind. It stands all by itself on a lonesome gravel road off of Rutland Street, and I belive there is a sign around the building that I've seen somewhere before, with the title "_______ Lodge."

I think you're starting to take more after me. Some of those shots reminded me of some that I've taken. I think you're really getting better with your camera. Good work.

You know, I thought so too. Some of the pictures I took reminded me of some of yours. Especially this picture:

I think I've seen a picture of your's that looks something like that.

[Mith242]

Some of your sidewalk shots look very similar to some I've taken. I'm not sure if I've posted some of the ones I'm thinking of. I know it might surprise some people but I do actually cut out a lot of pics when I'm posting.

[alon504]

Awesome, Nate! I was in Covington on Saturday for live music at Pontchartrain Vineyards, just North of Covington. City looks good, although, there is alot of tree damage on Lee Road. I really like Covington, alot.

[NCB]

Awesome, Nate! I was in Covington on Saturday for live music at Pontchartrain Vineyards, just North of Covington. City looks good, although, there is alot of tree damage on Lee Road. I really like Covington, alot.

Thanks Sean! You're right about Lee Road, the tree damage is major, and the scars left there by Katrina are easily visible. Though it looks much better now than it did 6 or 7 months ago, and the development starting to take place there is crazy. I don't know how far up Lee Road you went, but if you went all the way up to Barkers Corner, you may have spotted a massive cleared lot of land on the side of the road, I believe a pretty large subdivision will be built there. Also, there are multiple other subdivisions being built just off of the road, down some of the smaller acces roads. IMO, the Lee Road and Barkers Corner area won't just be a quiet rural area anymore in 5-10 years. And the infrastructure will need to be greatly improved out there. Traffic is backed up for over a mile at Barkers Corner on most evenings now as people are coming home from work.

[alon504]

I didn't go quite that far up Lee Road. I turned off on Hwy. 1082, and ended here... http://www.pontchartrainvineyards.com/ We go to Jazz in the Vines every now and then and decided to go last Saturday. Had alot of fun.

[NCB]

I didn't go quite that far up Lee Road. I turned off on Hwy. 1082, and ended here... http://www.pontchartrainvineyards.com/ We go to Jazz in the Vines every now and then and decided to go last Saturday. Had alot of fun.

Gotcha. I've never been up to the Ponchartrain Vineyards, but I've heard it's pretty cool from many different people. What exactly goes on at Jazz in the Vines? From what I've heard, it sounds like alot of fun.

[convulso]

you should get out with your camera more often. those are beautiful pictures - almost a little photo essay there. those are definitely some of the most tastefully-photoshopped pics i've seen posted (or if not photoshopped, just damn good familiarity with a camera)

i've always heard about covington. now it's on the to-visit list.

thank you for taking the trouble to frame the pics - they deserved it.

[Mith242]

Yeah I have to say I never really thought much about framing any of the pics I have taken and posted here on UP. But what Nate did does look pretty good. Maybe I need to reconsider.

[UptownNewOrleans]

Covington reminds me so much of N.O. In the Lockwood Street photo, is it always deserted?

[NCB]

Rod, making actual borders for the pictures takes no time at all, though adding border lines to the frame takes a little while. I've always thought they add a nice quality to some photos.