This is the Cuyahoga River which flows through Cleveland, Ohio. On June 22, 1969 the river caught fire. It was not a big fire. But it was large enough to ignite the environmental movement that led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

1970, printed 2020

This is the Cuyahoga River which flows through Cleveland, Ohio. On June 22, 1969 the river caught fire. It was not a big fire. But it was large enough to ignite the environmental movement that led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency., 1970, printed 2020. James Blair (American, 1931–2021). Inkjet print from original Kodachrome negative; image: 17.7 x 45.7 cm (6 15/16 x 18 in.); paper: 43.1 x 55.8 cm (16 15/16 x 21 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Emmie Stonehill Donadio 2020.342 This photograph was made less than a year after the Cuyahoga River came to national prominence for catching fire. James Blair, shooting a story on pollution for National Geographic, chose a panorama format and a low viewpoint so that ironwork structures loom overhead. The ruined pier occupying the center foreground suggests obsolescence and predicts the economic decline that turned the Great Lakes into the Rust Belt. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River became the poster child for water pollution.