Friday, February 5, 2010

Lomo adventures, pt. 4 - The Main Street

When I was little my mom's dad owned a building on the Main Street of our town. For years and years he ran an insurance business there - from what I remember it was filled with antique office supplies and beautiful wooden chairs. Alongside it was an old timey "Smoke Shop" that had a nice little candy selection and whenever I'd go to spend the afternoon with him after elementary school I'd always get a $1 candy allowance.... My mom is a dental hygienist - so, you know.. It was awesome.





The building is now my mum's and it wasn't until last year that I finally explored the upstairs floors of the building. My mom was pulling out Art Deco milk glass ceiling fixtures and it dawned on me that I should probably take a look for myself. And holy heck. I wish I hadn't waited so long!





It's two floors of beautiful wallpaper. Perfectly peeling paint. Tin walls and ceilings. Wooden floor boards. And a few stoves and a claw foot tub too! The only problem is that there's no electricity up there and many of the rooms are dark.








I talked to my Great Uncle about what used to be up there, and I guess it started off as a Masonic Lodge and then it was a Put 'n Chip - you know, like indoor golf! After the fella who owned the Put 'n Chip passed away it just fell into a sleepy state of decay and it's been empty for the past 50 years.





. . .

There's no heat, no running water, no electricity. The roof leaks... It needs so much work. But, I think about this place practically every day and daydream about how amazing it could be.









. . .


There's a handful of more photos to share... Mostly me running around the place in one of my lace dresses, too lazy to try and put a real outfit together because it was sooo cold that day! Tomorrow I'll share!

26 comments:

Sally Jane Vintage said...

I want to go shoot photos there... RIGHT NOW!

Rosie said...

Wow. So amazing!

"hi, i'm ginnybranch stelling and i love love." said...

can i move in?

PixieBelle said...

Wow! What a beautiful space, so much potential there. The radiator at the end is amazng. You can't get anything as beautiful as that for heating nowadays without spending a fortune.

Ms. B @ Millie Deel said...

Wow, that place is so dream like! I'd love to visit it!!

Unknown said...

it's got a beautiful eerieness to it. how great to be able to visit that place practically whenever you like! thank you for sharing, i can't wait to see the others.
also, that photo of the radiator is just wow. i love the details.

Amanda said...

Lovely photos.

Jessica said...

Umm, let's move in together and stick a big ol' gramophone in the middle of one of the floors? xx

hannah, heart city said...

its gorgeous!! and so very you. can't wait to see you in it!

the spectator said...

This place SCREAMS potential.

Jen Hsieh said...

oh my god, this place has so much potential to be the most stunning home ever. let the day dreaming begin! :)

Vicci said...

Wow!awesome photos!

Kassondra DeBoer said...

wow, that place is magical..

Iulia Romana said...

Greaaaaaaaaaaaat spot for a fashion photoshoot !

Ollie Otson said...

Those photos are absolutely stunning. I'd love to find a little place like that to explore and love in all its decaying glory.

Mama said...

The place is amazing. I can't imagine the life those walls have seen through the years.

Bree said...

what a beautiful place! i can't wait to see the other pictures. when my husband was a boy he lived in an old house in New Orleans. His room was an attic room where the previous owners use to hold secret freemason meetings.

Love_Again said...

wow what an amazing space! such beautiful delapidation.

Unknown said...

Hello!!
There is encando your blog!!, the form that you have of expressing .. undoubtedly here you have an admiradora..

Kisses
Here I leave my URL you for if you want to visit me:

http://sgroyaparadise.blogspot.com/

Marcheline said...

Ohhhhh... that's wicked cool. I love the wallpaper and the heat register, and the old tin ceilings and the floors...

Is there any chance that you can really have it renovated?

anabela / fieldguided said...

So amazing. This has haunted me all weekend. The pictures are beautiful!

SwanDiamondRose said...

oh. this is incredible. i love exploring abandoned buildings. you have to do more things with this place!

Retasroses Vintage said...

WOW... Incredibly lovely shots!!
(One of your WR pics is featured in today's post :)

Jacqueline said...

oh my god! I want that house! I'm out of words, what a beautiful place :) ps. you're beautiful!

Anonymous said...

These are absolutely great!

bigBANG studio said...

Just wandered over here via fieldguided, and I'm so delighted to find this spectacular post! I also have a borderline obsession with old, abandoned buildings, but desert-style; there are THOUSANDS of abandoned homestead shacks where I live in the Mojave Desert, and I've gotten so into researching them and the lives of the people who used to live in them in the '40s and '50s that I've spent the past year creating a series of paintings documenting their various states of decay in the lunar landscape around Joshua Tree. But your grandpa's old place is much more regal than my desert shacks;)

You truly conveyed your sense of curious exhilaration in these photos- I can feel it as I scroll through each one! Just GORGEOUS! Oh I do hope you keep the building in your family and can fix it up one day! xolily

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