Slow decay
March 22, 2007
Imagine the bright hope and energy that went into making this sturdy and attractive building. Businesses thrived, people came to work there every day, customers came in and accounts receivable were generated. But there’s a last time for everything. It puts me in mind of that scene from The Time Machine when HG Wells saw buildings rising and decaying in a few moments. By the way, if you liked either movie adaptation, you really might enjoy the book.
Categories: Nature, observations
I’m fascinated (and horribly depressed) by decrepit buildings.
I enjoyed TM the novel, though it struck me like so much speculative fiction of its era—long on “here’s what the world is going to be like, and the philosophy behind that” and short on character.
I also dearly love the George Pal movie.
Where is this building? It reminds me of the old ice house, but I “know” it isn’t. As you know, I love those places.
It was right alongside the railroad (which is now the Constitution Trail) in Bloomington, IL. The large 2nd floor opening, third from right, has a port in the brick arch above it for a winch beam for lifting heavy objects to the 2nd floor.
Too many windows to be an ice house, and the 1st floor openings seem more like a storefront. I could imagine Wells’ time machine inside, flashing into visibility for an instant as it careens into the future.
Coincidentally:
http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/finnish_ruins/
Photo collection of decaying buildings in Finland.
One of the fascinations I have with visiting England, especially around London, is just the combination of decay and restoration and reuse of stuff. Riding the rail lines in from Heathrow or Gatwick, one passes by endless brick *stuff*, some repurposed, others rotting away. Endlessly fascinating.
Have you ever seen Koyaanisqatsi ? Godfrey Reggio really captures the beauty and sadness of watching a city build up and then fall apart. I highly recommend it.
And I love taking photos of decaying buildings – they can be so much more interesting than the life around them.
That was one of the things I loved about Europe as well. A lot of the buildings there are older, and the architecture is amazing. Here in America when we see something old we strip it of everything it had, and make way for the new…