Category Archives: abandoned buildings
Not built to last
The town’s original name was Ledwig, but the post office rejected that name. So it somehow became Pep.
There’s almost nothing left.
But once upon a time, there was a roadside business in Pep. In current lingo, its business model was not sustainable. Neither was that travel trailer….
Pep, Texas
photographed 2.16.2014
It all blends together, eventually
This was a nice find as we drove through Seymour. At least I thought so; the nearby dog took exception to my being there and barked non-stop.
This is the back wall of a long-abandoned gas station, the old-time kind with a service bay. What caught my eye here was the way that all the different things – stucco wall, electric meter, weeds – have started to take on the same sort of texture, blending their colors together in a shade we could call Decline.
Seymour, Texas
photographed 12.25.2013
“It was never as photogenic as it is now.”
“It was never as photogenic as it is now.”
That’s what one of my regular commentors said about one of my blog posts recently. I took to that phrase right away: it seems to sum up a great deal of my work, and my own ideas about what is or isn’t photogenic. There are few things that I like to photograph more than old places like this, once grand, maybe, but now forgotten and giving in to gravity.
I don’t know for sure what this place used to be, but my guess is that it was once a hotel. (If my research department wants to look into this a little bit, I will offer this: it is on the corner of West 13th Street and North Nelson Street.)
Fort Stockton, Texas
photographed 3.19.12
Duplex
Meanwhile, back in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, this place slowly falls apart.
It’s got a lot of company: there are many buildings in town that have seen better days. But you know me: I love places like this. I like the way they fall apart, the way someone tries – without success – to stop the decay, the way even the patched parts start to fall apart, too. I love the textures of the different building materials. And the way the weeds grow up, seeming to guard whatever’s still inside.
And, I love the mystery of the two front doors.
(My weekend was a WordPress weekend. I met up with blogger Donna Catterick in Santa Rosa and we spent Saturday and part of Sunday taking pictures. And, also had a couple of great phone conversations with Ehpem and Brett Erickson. What a weird thing, blogging!)
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
photographed 9.21.2013
With many toppings
This potato restaurant has been out of business for at least fifteen years, which gives you some indication of how fast vacant properties move in downtown Lubbock. I can remember eating here; it was so long ago that I was still wearing suits (with shoulder pads!) to work.
Odd that it couldn’t make a go of it, since they offered many toppings…and more.
along Broadway
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.6.2013
One Day | One Image 