So long, Corona Shacks?

What was it about Streeteries—those outdoor dining structures variously known as Corona Shacks, COVID Shanties, or Pandemitecture—that gave rise to dozens of Instagram accounts and Twitter threads documenting them?

@nyc_food_shanty’s bio describes this social media trend well; it’s an “account dedicated to the appreciation of COVID outdoor dining structures in NYC and preserving their history when they’re gone.” That same appreciation is seen in the photos of @coronashaxx. Generally well composed according to typical architectural photography conventions, the images are shot from frontal or corner, one-point perspectives, absent of people, focusing on the presentation of the built object. Other accounts take the approach of a street photographer, quickly capturing spontaneous compositions of varying quality.

But in that representative bio, appreciation is followed by preservation, and a premonition that these structures in time will disappear from our streetscapes. This instinct to preserve our contemporary moment is what American literary critic Fredric Jameson cal…