Category Archives: architecture
But it doesn’t really matter, after all
Another commercial casualty in a town that’s got plenty of them. This was a place called Chinese Restaurant, so at least they had clarity of title working in their favor.
But it’s out of business, so that informative title doesn’t matter. And neither does the stern warning of NO FREE DELIVER.
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
photographed 5.5.2013
Here are some earlier posts from the same town:
Howdy to you, too
Deserts and color
Quarters only
Dilemma
Tall signs can’t save commerce. Or themselves.
Less than it was
“Business route” is optimistic
November 11
September 6
September 5
(I rather enjoy Santa Rosa.)
Another reason to stop in Sudan
In the same town where I spotted a yard sale sign and a rundown storefront, and on the front of this building was this magnificent scene.
The front of this building is only a few feet from a busy highway (US 84, heading northwest to Muleshoe, Texas) so taking pictures required some degree of faith in the ability of drivers to stay on the road. But it was worth it to see the pile of plaster that fell from the ceiling, the oval water stains on the far wall, and the narrow slabs of light shining through the holes in the roof.
Sudan, Texas
photographed 5.25.2013
Two chairs
It’s this sort of scene that makes an after-work drive to Snyder completely worth it: seeing two chairs, lined up exactly with the lines on the wall directly under a sign with the word “precision” on it.
It very nearly took my breath away. Although that could have been from the heat – it was approximately one thousand degrees* outside that day. But, no, I really think it was the chairs’ placement that made me breathless. I am weird that way.**
Snyder, Texas
photographed 7.10.2013
* Or: 105 degrees.
** I am also weird in some other ways. Which you probably at least suspected.
Plywood, weeds, and peeling paint
Here’s another shot of the endangered train depot in Snyder.
Had this been an old book, rather than an old building, that peeled part would be called foxing*. I don’t know what it’s properly called on a building.
Snyder, Texas
photographed 7.10.2013
*A condition issue affecting old books, prints and ephemera consisting of brown spotting caused by exposure to excessive humidity, extreme temperatures and/or the aging of inks originally used in processing
The depot was boarded up, and the train didn’t stop
A couple of years ago, Preservation Texas named this train depot as one of the 100 most endangered buildings in the state. There was a flurry of interest which appears to have died down.
As I took this photo, the north-bound train hurried past.
Snyder, Texas
photographed 7.29.2013
One Day | One Image 