Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Sepia Saturday 110 - Saturday 28 January 2012

THIS IS A SEPIA SATURDAY POST

Have you ever driven by a lost and forlorn abandoned house, and wondered why everyone moved away?  Was there absolutely not a soul any where who would live there?

I wonder if Marion Post Wolcott the photographer of this humble old farmhouse knew the owners, or their story?
So often we build things that often are used in other ways, or later changed for other more suited purposes.  There are reasons for everything, or so they say.

              Alan, from Sepia Saturday blog, begins this week with an act from



The Majestic Theatre and he's calling for "Tickets please," so follow everyone to The Majestic, where it was only ever used as a cinema.

                   Or instead, follow along with me to places where someone, somewhere should have shown a bit more interest.....


    To places that were used for other things, or worse, left to rot away.


Once you were a star, for all the world to see.....what once was important one day can be worthless the next....the life of a any building.


                                         
It's so hard to believe, in 1940 the wrecking crew took this all away.......


The photo was taken in September 1939, and this empty abandoned Minneapolis Mail Order House, once housed a lively staff, to later be left all alone ....as it stands tall enough to be a castle along the Mississippi River waiting.....  Courtesy of Library of Congress Washington D.C.

So many questions we ask, never to understand the reason why.... like the photo below.....



                                 Courtesy of Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Photographs.

Can you imagine this once enchanting plantation as a house buzzing with excitement and laughter from all who entered?  There she sat nestled in a lovely location in Monticello, Georgia, until they all picked up and left her empty and abandoned.  Did any one shed a tear as they carried out their belongings, and loaded them in a truck to drive away?  I can imagine this house in it's glory days, with those amazing fireplaces!  Just what were they thinking?

Then even those lost sailors that were guided by a special light....

What causes a lighthouse to close?
Light house and keeper's house and the ever wonderful light tower, abandoned at Matinicus Rock Light Station, Matinicus Island, on Matinicus Rock, Matinicus, Knox County, Maine.  There is so much more of a story here to be told.  Courtesy of Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

Matinicus Light House, where the Coast Guard Keepers were removed from a place they often called "Alcatraz" in 1983 when the south light became automated.


 
Then out of the blue, randomly unexpected things can occur, like the story below.


    On a quiet street in a secluded spot in the far back of what had been an empty lot, except of course for an enormous amount of trees and thick brush, something very unusual came to be.


        Sometimes, the most unlikely things occur, like the strangest situation on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, in 1946.  During a severe housing shortage, one man stood up and allowed a family do the unthinkable, on his very own property.  It also involved a unique rebirth for all airplane enthusiasts and an idle B-29 Bomber airplane, that had been sent to the scrap-yard.

          To be continued next week.  I hope you'll return to see what unusual change in venue happened along Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis during 1946.

                     It's possible some of you may have heard about this unlikely tale which involved a B-29 Bomber Airplane...... in the center of Minneapolis.

So, stayed tuned for our next Sepia Saturday adventures.

       




             

13 comments:

Wendy said...

I like how you think. Those are the same thoughts I have when I see abandoned houses in a field or buildings along a city street.

Bob Scotney said...

Those unused chimney stacks add a special feeling to that house. There are a lot of lighthouses in many contries that have been handed over to automation and a bit of their magic has been lost.

FilipBlog said...

Some disserted building show character, history and always give you a special feeling. Sometimes it is admiring the beauty, the stories behind it or a creepy feeling.

Greetings,
Filip

sage said...

Great photos and good thoughts... I think I've told the story about the time someone was moving a house and a train that I was riding in hit it?

Max Sartin said...

I've spent some time ghost town hunting around this area and those same thoughts come to mind when I see abandoned buildings and whole abandoned towns.
Who used to live here, or what business was run in it? Why did they leave and where did they go?
Great set of pictures and thoughts.

Unknown said...

The abandoned plantation house in Monticello, Georgia looks like a challenge if you like DIY. I wonder what happened with it, did somebody restore it? I certainly hope so.

Postcardy said...

I am interested in reading the Minneapolis story.

Christine H. said...

You ask good questions. I am always drawn to these abandoned buildings and want to explore them. I can hardly stop myself. I am looking forward to your posts next week. Sounds intriguing.

Little Nell said...

Oh goody a cliffhanger! I always find something sad about these abandoned buildings, but lighthouses and windmills seem to have a special ghostly quality. I expect it’s the march of progress and technology - but still sad all the same.

21 Wits said...

Sage, I don't believe you ever told me the story about the house being moved and the train or even about being hit...do share! Now you have me curious!

Teresa Wilson Rogers said...

Very thought provoking! The older I get the more obsessed I am with what came before and what we are giving up and forgetting. The past isn't always better but most of the time it deserves to be preserved and remembered.

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

i love old buildings...ruins...walking around them...and listening to the stories they tell...

Bruno Laliberté said...

I'll be back next week, but I do have an inkling at what you're hinting at...

Well done here!
Much enjoyed reading what I consider monumental mistakes...
Sadly!!

Some folks are a little too prone on the wrecking ball...
:(~
HUGZ