Saturday, September 3, 2011

Is it Art or is it Just Rundown?


Ever since I got my first digital camera I take pictures of everything! I was just looking through some photos I took a few years back and I came across this one. It's the back side of a turn of the century building in the tiny and historic downtown where we used to have our family's business.

It's just a simple spiral staircase leading up to the roof of the building next to ours. It got me wondering if that staircase had been there since the building was built in the late 1800's, or was added on at later time? Did it lead to something other than a roof? Why would you put such a fancy staircase that leads to a roof? Maybe there was a rooftop patio. And what was that building used for back then? Some said it was a rooming house, some say a hotel, and some say something else, questionable I might add . At Street level it is a bar. Upstairs there are lots of tiny little rooms. What was the upstairs of many rooms and who visited or lived there?

When I see something like that I like to imagine it back in it's day. My imagination goes wild! Does that happen to you when you go through old down towns, or drive past old farm houses in the country?

So, is it just a rundown old staircase attached to an old rundown building or is it at artistic photo op? One thing is for certain, there are probably many, many stories attached to that old spiral staircase.

9 comments:

  1. I do exactly the same thing when I see old buildings. I think that even though it's run down it's still a bit of art.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You made that dilapidated old staircase art when you took the photo!

    I just love historical downtown spaces and places. It's fun to tour my own hometown knowing these buildings have been here since before I was born. And some of them FAR longer lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh yes, I do the same thing!! I ALWAYS have my camera with me and find old buildings to be so interesting, and I see 'art' everywhere! Very inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You'll have to channel your inner Nancy Drew to solve the mystery of the spiral staircase!
    Interesting. The tiny little rooms might seem to support the brothel theory.

    LeAnn

    ReplyDelete
  5. Downtowns have such character, changed so much over our lifetime. The photo you took is art, definitely inspirational!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love abandoned buildings! In my town there's a biker's path that goes by the river where there are these fabulous run-down and boarded up houses and factories and I love to imagine what they were like and put stories into them :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love old buildings. I love the sense of character the imbue and imagining up the stories they can tell. But then, I have a thing for history. =)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks like art to me! Isn't it great how old buildings can have such character? It's a wonderful photo. And you are definitely right...Probably many, many stories go with that winding staircase! =)
    ~Kim

    ReplyDelete
  9. The photo is definitely art! Old things in general are so interesting. I really began to appreciate all old things when I started doing genealogy and found the stories that go with some of those old things and pictures.

    chatterfromtexas.blogspot.com
    and
    Note Cards and Photos by Theresa

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE to read your comments!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...