Beloved by Frank Sinatra, Hermes, and the Cincinnati Bengals, orange says “Look at me!” but not in the obvious, “I’m ready to Party” way that red does. Orange, the original pop-of-color color, alludes to confidence, sophistication and intense personal style. If you’re into color watching, come down to 17th and Webster Streets in Oakland and and look at all the great examples of orange in the neighborhood.
For the past year I’ve been watching the guys from Suffolk Construction build 1700 Webster Street in Oakland, a 23-story apartment building that will offer every amenity conceivable. After the demolition in January, 2017, the site was pretty much sealed off but I still liked to walk by to see how things were going and take pictures of the incredible feats of teamwork that were happening daily. During one of my visits I met the wonderful, outgoing Kevin Nash, whose job title should be chief greeter. Through Kevin I met project managers Spencer and Jack, Zach, the safety officer and Lalo, who seems to be the one who knows what’s going on everywhere. They all really care about their work and their fellow employees. They have created a good relationship with the neighborhood and, as far as I can tell, everyone up the chain of command at the city hall. With Suffolk Construction headquartered in Boston I’m tempted to compare them to the New England Patriots, but that wouldn’t be fair to the folks at Suffolk. They’re clearly the better team.