Blog Archives
Where chairs go to die
This shot required the usual two u-turns on the highway. By the time I’d realized I was seeing a building that was falling down AND was full of old chairs, we’d already driven by. U-turn #1 got us back so I could get some shots of the place.
What a sight – all those chairs getting a bit of sun on a winter afternoon.
There was also a ginger cat having a bit of a rest on one of the softer chairs. He just blinked at me, yawned, and closed his eyes. I guess photographers stop so frequently that they are of little interest to a cat who needs his rest.
Later, I leaned against the car to pull stickers out of my shoes, then with u-turn #2 safely executed, we were back on the road.
Dickens, Texas
photographed 12.25.2013
A sort of guillotine
Another shot of the abandoned gas station that was featured here and here.
Those last pieces of broken glass hanging, in defiance of gravity, at the top of the window frame look like they could do some damage if they were to let go. I stayed away, just in case.
Seymour, Texas
photographed 12.25.2013
A once-grand structure
Here’s a daytime view of of this building. I really don’t know what it used to be, but whatever it was must have been important…
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
photographed 5.4.2013
The old power plant
A couple of careers back, when I worked at an architectural firm, we were contacted by a man who had Grand Ideas. That happened a lot; in almost all cases the ideas were much, much grander than the budget.
So, this particular Grand Idea was going to be using this old power plant building as a gym. Nice concept, to renovate a building and give it a new use. Nice concept, too, to have a gym in downtown Lubbock. But that’s about as far as it went. Of course the money wasn’t there. Neither, for that matter, were potential members of the gym, since there really aren’t that many people downtown.
And now, many years later, the place is still there, still empty, still waiting on a Grand Idea that might actually work out.
But at least it’s got some interesting materials and shadows to photograph. (You can see the building’s previous appearance here on the blog.)
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 3.2.2013
Mystery. Or not.
There’s a mystery at every one of these old gas stations along Route 66, where it snakes through Santa Rosa. Well, some of it’s not mysterious: the Interstate made the old highway, which went through town instead of around it, redundant. And then the huge truck stops appeared out on the interstate, which made the little gas stations redundant.
So the mystery is what to make of what’s been left behind. Some places are full of junk, and others – like this place – seem to have been swept up when the last human left.
You’ve seen this place before, from the other side. Maybe you recognized it?
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
photographed 5.4.2013
