The chairs remain the same*
Evidently, this place has been out of business since around 2003, when the long-time owner Byron Crider passed away.
But the chairs are still here, carefully arranged along the porch.
That’s the kind of place Johnson City is, I guess.
Johnson City, Texas
photographed 3.9.2013
*Sorry for the lame Led Zeppelin reference. I couldn’t help it.
Posted on March 18, 2013, in architecture, Photography and tagged 365 photo project, abandoned buildings, architecture, black and white photography, crider's motel, johnson city, johnson city texas, melinda green harvey, one day one image, photo a day, photography, texas. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
These chairs are non-biodegradable so they should last at least another 100 years. I’m surprised no one has taken them after all these years.
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I figure those chairs ought to last, approximately, forever! It’s mysterious that they are still there, lined up neatly on the porch of the motel, but I guess maybe everyone in Johnson City already has all the non-biodegradable chairs they need?
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Love your tilted horizon, Melinda, what a great touch of tension it brings in! This is such a weird scene, as you and Ken have mentioned it’s really so very strange to see these chairs still here, even though they might not be the top-of-the-line from La-Z-Boy.
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I almost never use anything but a straight horizon, but this photograph just WANTED to be tilted. I’ve learned enough to listen to the scene, at least sometimes.
And I think those chairs probably came from a place with a name like Uncle Sal’s House of Chairs – Serving Central Texas Since 1960.
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Cool perspective and I like the framing of the closet chair too.
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Thanks – glad you liked it.
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I am sure that Sal sold these chairs the motel. Must have.
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Sal WAS the go-to guy for chairs! Everyone bought chairs from him. He had TV commercials that featured his grandkids, and billboards, and did a lot of direct-mail advertising. Also – and not many people know this – but on Saturdays, the guy in the Uncle Sal’s sandwich board sign on the corner of Congress and Oltorf, in Austin, was Uncle Sal himself. Unfortunately, he lost the business in what came to be known as ChairGate, a scandal that involved Sal, two prostitutes, the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, and the mayor of – get this! – Johnson City, Texas! And an extra-wide armchair.*
*None of this is true. But I had fun making it up.
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So, there is a similarly named dining establishment in AZ – I wonder if that Uncle Sal got his chairs from your Uncle Sal.
Isn’t Sal short for Sally?
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The chair store was actually operated by Salvatore Gambizio. His grandfather started a chair business in the Midwest; he and Sal had a falling out over Sal’s interest in mass-marketed fiberglass chairs (like the ones in the photo, actually) and Sal fled Chicago only two steps ahead of a gang of goons sent by Grandpa Gambizio to “discuss” a few things. Fortunately for Sal, the goons became distracted and didn’t follow Sal out of town. After that, Grandpa G lost interest; he always said, “If it ain’t a fight, it ain’t worth it.”
(I made all this up, too. Someday, maybe I will tell you the story of Gladys Pleathershard, a creation of my friend Jeff and myself. It’s possible that the Gambizio and Pleathershard families crossed paths on the plains of Texas…..)
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