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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Wednesday Vignette - Fading

A House in the 'hood. 


When I was a child, I played in buildings in what was then considered a ghost town but is now a national historic park.  The buildings at home were restored 40 years ago but I still feel drawn to mysterious old buildings and wonder about the lives they've sheltered, the events to which they've been silent witness. 

Buildings  are little pieces of history that, like the people who built and used them, will, in time, be  gone and forgotten.  


Fading to nothing.

Wednesday Vignette is hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum.  Click here to see her WV and find links to those of other participants in this fun meme.

23 comments:

  1. Makes me want to explore them. Beautiful in their own right!

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  2. Beautiful post, Peter. So nice to see the older buildings revered. I would want to live in the one with the screened in porch.

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    1. I've actually been in that house (it's all the same property from different angles) and it's pretty cool.

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    1. Sort of my hood. Over by the hospital which owns the several houses flanking these two, owned by a friend. They'll most likely raze them all to make space for some sort of office space.

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  4. May they find new owners willing to restore them to their former glory (rather than replace them with monstrosities as would usually be the case there).

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    1. Since the hospital, which has already swallowed up many homes and at least one huge historic church to make space for parking lots and expansion, owns the lovely old homes on either side of these, chances don't look good. They're maintaining the exterior of the buildings but a peek into the windows shows that the interiors are falling apart as they're unused. Progress dontcha know.

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  5. It used to be my job to measure and document (as in draw) old, dilapidated buildings for the National Park Service, when I was an architectural intern back in the day. I can completely relate to your feelings. Sometimes, there were signs of the times that used to be, beyond the house itself. One house even had shredded curtains... I just learned that in Sweden, there is now paint available that will turn your unpainted clap boards that faded gray color. I'm really intrigued by that - I love that silvery texture. One of these years, we might see something similar over here.

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    1. Hey, I had a job measuring and documenting (drawing) large (HUGE) machines at the brewery when I was in college! :)

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    2. How cool is it that both you and Alan both had documenting jobs!

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  6. I like observing the gardens at houses like this, and watch plants take over the houses as they fade away. It makes me think about both their history and imagine how human places would be reclaimed by nature if we disappeared.

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  7. Upon seeing such homes I get the urge to gather a work party and spend a day doing emergency gardening!

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  8. I fear that sometime in my future my own house will be written about in this way. Yeah, old man Lorence and his crazy garden. Back in the 2010's you could still see the house! ;)

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  9. Derelict buildings with the patina of age are attractive in so many ways. Maybe not so much as neighbors?

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    1. Actually, not bad at all as a neighbor. The houses are a short walk away. The owner is a friend with whom I've worked (musically) for years. A bit eccentric in a wonderful way.

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  10. Kinda sad. Someone's life story is in those buildings.

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    1. I agree. Most stories, like most gardens, end and are forgotten in time.

      “And some there be, which have no memorial; who are perished, as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them.”

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  11. I like old buildings too. These are some nice photos, but especially that very first one. Faded paint on old wood is lovely.

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    1. It really speaks to the strength and durability of wood.

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  12. Very cool photos, I love watching where these things go. Sometimes it's a shame to see a beautiful building fade away but other times the crumbling is a fascinating thing to watch. Of course I'm biased towards watching the gardens change ;)

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    1. There is a sort of beauty in the gradual crumbling of an old building. "Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; 5
      Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
      Change and decay in all around I see:"

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  13. What a beautiful house this must have been in the past, but there is still beauty in decay. Sad though to see lovely old houses pulled down to make way for the modern world.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.