Revisiting ruined architecture

Ruined, before & after
St. Thomas, Ontario, June 2007 [Click all images to enlarge]

Air shows are notorious for the parking nightmares they create. I have none-too-fond memories of sitting for hours while waiting for volunteers to guide my car to a large field far, far away from the actual event site. Cars and airports are a lousy combination on a good day. On an air show day, it gets even worse.

So when organizers of this year's show offered free shuttle bus service from the community center, I thought it might help me avoid spending a couple of hours in gridlock. As we parked in the near-empty parking lot, our daughter looked across the field and saw an ancient-looking building that had clearly seen its better days. "Ruined" was the first word that came to mind when I followed her pointed finger. I smiled as I thought about how observant she has become, how much like me she is. Poor kid.

She then insisted that I take a picture of it before we got on the shuttle bus. So I did.

When we got back to the centre at the end of the day, the sun had now shifted behind the building. Dahlia stared at it again and put into words exactly what I was thinking: "That looks neat, Dad. Want to take another picture of it?"

Wise daughters should always be listened to. So I took my camera out and once again explored the decrepit facade.

Your turn: What stories do you think this building would tell?

One more thing: This sequence continues my different-time-of-day thinking that I introduced here. I hope you'll take a moment to look at both images more closely. I wonder what you'll find when you do...