Streetcars through the lens of a street photographer

Local photographers are capturing a historic moment as El Paso’s streetcars return to the downtown and uptown areas.

“I love the people and culture of El Paso and Juarez, thus, my interest in the streetcars. There’s a lot of history with the streetcars between both El Paso and Juarez,” said Patrick Craig, who considers himself a “street photographer.”

Craig’s fellow photographer, Justin Hamel, told ABC-7 he is enjoying seeing he streetcars in their downtown environment. “A lot of the downtown area hasn’t necessarily changed. There’s not a lot of new buildings, but the streetcars seem to fit right back in,” Hamel said.

Both men have captured great moments while the streetcars prepped for their big debut Friday.

“They’re absolutely beautiful. It’s amazing they are the original streetcars and that they have been preserved and restored and are able to return to the community,” Hamel said.

“It will bring back a lot of tradition to the city. Having the streecars run is just going to add to the great culture we have here,” Craig said.

Craig and Hamel both told ABC-7 a lot of El Pasoans have been out and about, capturing the rebirth of the streetcars. “Smartphone are becoming very good photographic tools nowadays, so I would greatly encourage somebody to use their smartphone for taking photos,” Craig said.

You can see Craig’s streetcar pictures and more by clicking HERE. You can see Hamel’s pictures by clicking HERE.