Let's head to a big city for one of our day-brightening surveys of an old vibrant commercial strip beaten to death by time and neglect, shall we?
B 4 You Go:
“While You Wait.” I love the bars on the doors - don’t want anyone breaking in and carting off your tombstones.
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
The only possible explanation is “brick sample showroom”
It was a nice little building, once. Not fancy. But tight.
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
In this case, Google Earth provides a chronology.
A few years ago:
Tires?
In-between view: you can see the houses in the back have been demolished.
The entire block, I suspect, had substantial commercial life.
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
The view from space proves there was once much more:
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
I think Mrs. O’Leary lived here.
Palimpsest on the building next door - storage, warehouse.
There’s something in there now, and wouldn’t you be curious what it is?
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
Another in an inexhaustible series of unoccupied two-story commercial buildings whose sad state still contains hints of the district’s previous existence as a thriving district:
Brick over the old windows on the ground floor often leads to wood in the old windows on the second floor.
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
From the Flintstone era of Gothic church architecture:
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
Ladies and gentlemen, lay your bets on who’ll be the last man standing
Thank you for playing
This was the block that went down. Because reasons, as they say.
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
Minecraft Snorlax:
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
The bricking-up of the alcoves seems to have taken several decades; it’s as if each new tenant demanded less light.
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
Reverting to nature. For good for just for a while? We’ll see.
Or perhaps our children will.
![](../../../bleats/archive/19/bleatart/main/divmain.jpg)
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