Joel Meyerowitz (born 1938) is a pioneering American photographer who helped establish color photography as legitimate fine art during the 1960s-70s.

This 1978 image captures a multi-story parking garage structure in St. Louis, part of Meyerowitz's systematic documentation of American urban landscapes.

The photograph exemplifies his evolution from fast-paced street photography to more contemplative studies of natural light in urban environments. It belongs to his broader St. Louis series, which included his celebrated "St. Louis and the Arch" work from 1977.

By 1978, Meyerowitz had embraced what he called a "meditative, spacious and luminous" approach, often using large-format cameras to capture subtle light qualities that color film uniquely revealed. He believed color photography could show "the vibrations of the horizon line, the sunlight electrifying" everyday scenes in ways black and white could not.

The parking garage photograph demonstrates his sophisticated understanding of color as both aesthetic and documentary tool. As Meyerowitz recalled about his St. Louis experience: "I remember my very first feeling in St. Louis... downtown St. Louis is filled with spaces. You could stand on one edge of the city, and I swear that you could look right through the downtown section—not as the street goes, but in between the buildings you could see block after block of missing pieces. There was spaciousness."

His ability to transform ordinary urban structures into compelling visual narratives reflected his blend of "softness and serenity" that critics noted in his work from this period.

This image exists within 1970s American photography's evolution, when color was gaining artistic legitimacy. Meyerowitz's urban documentation contributed to chronicling America's changing landscape during significant social and economic transformation. His approach emphasized aesthetic and emotional qualities of everyday spaces rather than purely social commentary.