Dead store in a dead mall

King of what?
Strathroy, ON
August 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not all architecture is celebrated. Or memorable. Some of it just is. Like this nearly abandoned strip mall that sits, baking in the sun beside a scruffed-at-the-edges downtown street, waiting for visitors who will likely never arrive.

As the afternoon settles into early evening in this quiet town nestled among the bucolic farmlands west of London, a single car detours through the otherwise empty parking lot facing the Bargain King. I'm guessing the sight of a camera-slinging stranger (that would be me) peering through the darkened glass doorway is arousing suspicion among the locals.

Never mind, though, as the old Dodge with the primer-painted front end and homemade exhaust just as quickly drives off, leaving silence once more behind.

I'd like to imagine that this mall was once a bustling place, where people came to not only buy the things they needed, but also connect to their neighbors. Because shopping isn't - and never was - just about buying stuff.

Yet the faded sign betrays a sadder reality of a store that was likely bleached of its energy long before the sun did its thing. As I stand there, I wish I could will this place back to life, but I don't think it had much life to begin with.

Still, there's a resonance to this spot, a reminder that everything, however plain and forgettable, has its role, its place. While most of us might ignore it on our way to the nearby grocery store, or in the rush to get to or from the office, it still anchors life in a place where things seem to happen a little more slowly.

And that's a good thing. Because not everything has to be immediate. Not everything has to be gleaming perfection. And whoever the Bargain King is, or was, he would doubtless agree.

#ldnont #london #strathroy #ontario #canada #urban #front #street #photography #kenwick #mall #retail #buildings #architecture #architectureporn #ruinporn #architecturephotography #google #pixel2 #teampixel #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded #lifeinthemargins #family #everything