This photograph was taken at the intersection of Monroe Center Street and Ottawa Avenue in Grand Rapids, Michigan, facing northwest. It was taken on the first day of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Executive Order 2020-21, known as the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" Order. This order directed all Michigan businesses to suspend in-person operations that were not necessary to sustain or protect life. The photograph is notable because it shows no traffic on a popular street in downtown Grand Rapids during what normally would have been a busy weekday.
This photograph was taken during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic, also known as COVID-19 which began in Wuhan, China on December 31st, 2019. Spreading to over 200 countries, it quickly became a dangerous and deadly disease, taking the lives of thousands.
Brett Farmer (creator) Brett Farmer is a Grand Rapids area photographer whose work features landscapes, cityscapes, and astrophotography. During the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Spring of 2020, Farmer visited several West Michigan locations to photograph empty highways and streets, closed businesses, and other scenes related to the pandemic.Brett Farmer (donor) Brett Farmer is a Grand Rapids area photographer whose work features landscapes, cityscapes, and astrophotography. During the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Spring of 2020, Farmer visited several West Michigan locations to photograph empty highways and streets, closed businesses, and other scenes related to the pandemic.