Hibernation Nation

As America lurches toward reopening, Forbes sent some of our best photographers to chronicle what the world’s strongest economy looks like when it’s fast asleep. We’ve never seen anything like this—and with luck we’ll never see it again.

As America lurches toward reopening from the coronavirus pandemic, Forbes sent some of our best photographers to chronicle what the world’s strongest economy looks like when it’s fast asleep. We’ve never seen anything like this—and we hope we’ll never see it again.

“It was hard to see huge businesses like Target and McDonald’s appear to be thriving while small mom-and-pop shops are clearly struggling or failing. The contrast was striking. I found myself thinking about how spending money and consumerism are such a big part of our lives, and hitting the pause button makes that more apparent. We’re all thinking more about what you need versus what you thought you needed, or just wanted. I hope we come out the other end with a different perspective.”

—JAMIE KRIPKE

“I was here for 9/11, but that was completely different. There was still life in other parts of the city. Now there’s no activity anywhere. Nothing. I never felt so isolated before. I was all alone. Walking in the Financial District, it was like the Everest of business was frozen. I know I’ll never see anything like this again. I had no business being down there.”

“I went to the places where I typically would be doing shoots of startups and big tech companies like Google. I wanted to walk those streets again and see what it feels like now. It was a much more grim experience than I thought it would be. There was a feeling that I shouldn’t be out here. I’m used to being in San Francisco and finding a spot to duck in to check email, grab a cup of coffee. Nothing was open, so there was no place to take a break or collect your thoughts. Palo Alto had a different uneasiness.”

—TIMOTHY ARCHIBALD

Powered Down Empty Tesla charging stations on the 29th Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado, April 9. “And we have a lot of Teslas in Boulder,” photographer Jamie Kripke says.

Lovin’ It Business is great at a McDonald’s drive-through in Boulder, however.

Road to Nowhere Boulder’s East Pearl Street, usually a packed thoroughfare

No Transportation, No Trade (Left) A look down Fulton Street in lower Manhattan past the Oculus transit station to the World Trade Center, April 7

Easy Riders (From top) A lone cyclist rolls through Manhattan’s Financial District; the normally bustling Wall Street subway station

Unsold and unneeded vehicles crowd the lot at Kelly Nissan in the Boston suburb of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, April 8. Traffic Jammed Photograph by Michael Prince

DETROIT The Only Game in Town Two girls play catch in the empty parking lot outside Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, April 8. Photograph by Ryan Garza

Pick Your Spot Not hard to find a place to park outside Macy’s in Peabody, Massachusetts, March 31 Photograph by Michael Prince

SALT LAKE CITY Come Fly With Me Terminal 2 at Salt Lake City International Airport, April 8. Photograph by Tim Pannell

Sorry, We’re Closed

(From top) A shuttered Walgreens on Drumm Street in San Francisco, April 8; a parking lot at the Palo Alto offices of Google the same day TIMOTHY ARCHIBALD Skeleton Crew (Right) A promotional Corona beer sign reflected on the window of a bar across from Oracle Park, where the San Francisco Giants play, April 8