Blog Archives
Chair
Anyone who’s read this blog for very long knows that I always try to look around behind these old buildings. Sometimes that’s where the good stuff is.
So, this chair. I found it behind that drive in from yesterday. The first thing I noticed was how the woven stripes in the upholstery weathered differently – half of the fabric was in relatively good condition, while the other half was just threads. The second thing I noticed was that hole in the wall to the right of the chair. For some reason, that hole seems…ominous.
Midland, Texas
photographed 8.23.2014
Drive In
Look! A deserted drive-in.
From the state of the paving in the parking lot (it was completely gone) and those trees growing from what would have been paved at some point, I guess the place has been out of business for a while.
Midland, Texas
photographed 8.23.2014
Lighthouse Church
Midland, Texas, is all shiny and new and flooded with oil money, both old and new.
But there’s also this. Which is none of those things.
Midland, Texas
photographed 8.23.2014
Drive safely
It wasn’t all that long ago that the only way to purchase a six-pack was to drive out into the county, where there were a lot of small beer stores scattered around, most of them featuring covered, drive-through lanes. In May 2009, voters approved package alcohol sales within the city limits, and these beer stores weren’t able to compete. After all, who’d drive all the way out in the country to get beer when it was readily available right here in town?
This place was one of those old beer stores; it had the requisite drive-through lane and looks to have featured Budweiser quite prominently. I can’t explain the mattress wedged into the building, but the “Drive Safely” sign is a thoughtful reminder.
(True Story: the first round of permits for in-town alcohol sales kicked off in September 2009. My spouse and I were on vacation when the fateful day arrived. When we got back to Lubbock, we stopped at the grocery store on the way home just to gaze at the booze for sale RIGHT THERE. We felt, finally, like grownups.)
Lubbock County, Texas
photographed 8.17.2014
A worn windowsill
This building in downtown Lubbock has surely seen better days. It’s been a few things in the past – a hospital, a college – but most what it is now is vacant. I’ve shot it before (here and here) but this was the first time I followed my own advice and walked around back.
It was worth the trip, I think: most of the first-floor windows were broken, giving me views of cabinets with open doors, a random grocery cart, and a fabulous worn windowsill.
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 8.16.2014
One Day | One Image 