Though I love old buildings pretty much unequivocally, there is some part of me that feels a thrill when I see them being demolished. Demolition work is probably pretty satisfying–especially if you can’t hear the clarion call of history whispering to you as you wield your heavy machinery. You come to work in the morning, you pull down a roof or a wall and at the end of the day, there is less building. This continues until there is no building and you move on to the next soon-to-be-gone building.
Progress continues on the tearing down of the Dental Arts Building and block. I took a “before” picture and posted it here.
One of my favorite things in cities is to read the old, painted advertisements on the sides of buildings. On the east side of the Dental Arts building is a very large ad for Zell Brothers, the store that was on the other end of the block.
Amazing Internet discovery! Someone else in Portland loves building ads too. They have a whole blog devoted to it.
A view uninterrupted by trees.
It was a windy day and the strips of detritus hanging from the ceiling were blowing in the wind.
And the wind rustled through the blinds in this window.
That part of me that loves destruction thrills at the Mercantile awning crumpled on the sidewalk in this picture.
See wind invade the building:
And watch it blowing the blinds:
It is kind of a melancholy moment…building down – exhilarating – but then again sad. I liked the videos, too. I am about to check out that blog! -S
I even left a comment on his blog…it is pretty cool! I may put it in my reader just for fun…that is…if it is actually working. -S