Book + child = Love

 'The lonely book' by Kate Bernheimer and illustrated by Chris Sheban.

Once there was a brand-new book that arrived at the library. The book loved to be read and it was popular with many children who would check it out (and it hardly ever slept at the library), then it time it becomes old and worn and the increasingly shabby library book grows lonely until, that is, Alice a young girl rediscovers it and doesn't mind that its old and missing the last page ("This is the most beautiful book I've ever read", so she put back 3 new books so she was able to take the lonely book home instead). It is the enchanting story she loves and she always imagined a happy ending on the missing last page. Alice reads the book every night and takes it to show-and-tell - the book had never felt so beloved. But disaster strikes when a library volunteer thinks the book is meant for the Book Sale, and the book enters its loneliest period in the basement. At the Book Sale Alice re-discovers the book and it goes back to her bedroom,where the book knows its always-and-forever home.
This is one of those cross-over books  - the size and dimensions of a picture book with the text and complexity of junior fiction, and beautifully illustrated by Chris Sheban.
The moral of the story -

its not just the new books which need to be borrowed

be very careful when weeding - don't judge the book by its cover

children can still have a meaningful and loving relationship with a real book

Ghost architecture

It's a post from WebUrbanist - "Ghost architecture: building demolition photo composites"

More than “now & then”, this is now, then and in-between.

Andrew Evans from Philadelphia, creates pictures that give a new perspective on the processes of urban deconstruction, showing before, during and after images of once-proud civic structures.

What really brings these haunting black-and-white images to life is that ‘three-step aspect’ – not just the building being there and gone, with its surrounding context, but with the demolition equipment, semi-demolished rooms and falling rubble part of the shot.

Prominent Philadelphia captures include: The National Building, destroyed to expand the Odd Fellows Temple, Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Pennsylvania Railroad power plant and the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center.
 

Adam's Mark Hotel, 2006

 Adam’s Mark Hotel built in 1965, had more than 500 guest rooms and functions spaces over 23 floors, it was purchased by Target Corporation as the site for a new store. The hotel closed in January 2005, and was demolished in 2006.
 

The Spectrum, 2011

The Spectrum, a sports and entertainment arena opened in 1967 and was demolished 2010-11, its last event was a Pearl Jam concert. It is now a parking lot, but there are plans for a 300 room hotel on the site.

Convention Hall, 2005

 The Convention Hall or Civic Center, the art deco building was built in 1930. The Beatles and The Stones both played there. After The Spectrum was built, the Hall became obsolete, and finally pulled down in 2005.
 

Mt Olive Church, 2012

The Greater Mt Olives Church, over 100 years old, on the corner of 19^th and Fitzwater Streets was demolished in 2012, to erect 5 new single-family apartments with rear parking.
 

Gilbert Building

The Gilbert Building was a 8 storey Neo-classic commercial office building built in 1910 and demolished in 2007 to allow expansion of the Convention Center.
 

Pennsylvania Railroad Power Station, 2009

The Pennsylvania railroad power plant was built in 1909, and is now a condominium. The smoke stacks toppling into a cloud of dust is a marvellous image, and I love the transient nature of the cranes in some of the other photos.

“Andrew Evans is an architect by training who is fascinated by construction and destruction alike. He is a lifelong Philadelphian and resides in southwest center city.” You can see more of his Flickr photos. 
 

Deserted Double Decker

Permanently parked in the inhospitable Strzelecki desert, just off the road near Cameron Corner stands one of the most incongruous objects you’ll ever see: a cheery though weary yellow 1952 Leyland double-decker bus – or to be precise, the abandoned remnants thereof.

About 2,000 mechanically powered double deck buses have operated in Australia since 1905. The last one was withdrawn from service in May 1986 as new, more-reliable, articulated “bendy” buses were introduced.

Other abandoned double-decker buses are mouldering away - behind the Betoota Hotel between Windorah and Birdsville, and near the road from Karratha to Port Hedland. And I believe I saw another one in White Cliffs.

You have to admire the people who managed to drive the huge unwieldy creatures so far into the desert (they weighed about 12 tons, imagine digging that out a soft sand bog). Must be some cosmic connection with the Outback.

More pictures and further detail at the WebUrbanist post - Deserted Double Decker : Oz Outback’s busted bus

Murtoa's Big Buildings

When I told someone I wanted to go and see the Stick Shed, she said "but you've already seen it".
However you can't have too many photos of the Stick Shed.
The Marmalake shed was open on Saturday and Sunday as part of Murtoa's annual "Big Weekend", and while there were Heritage Vic people inside to answer questions and explain its workings, you were free to wander at your leisure.

Crowds walking the central corridor

Again there was a constant stream of people taking the opportunity to view the interior. I was followed in by a father and his young son who had been thrilled to be stopped at the level crossing  by a long goods train but was wanting to see the 'sticks'. Then coming out was stopped by an elderly couple who wanted their photo taken with the shed as a backdrop. They all wanted to experience that 'cathedral' sensation.

The skylights spotlighting the central corridor

Leaving the Stick Shed, I ventured across the road to the Wimmera Inland Freezing Works. The works were established in 1908 as a farmers' share co-operative. Building began in 1911.

The facade of the freezer works now the domain of pigeons

No. 14 Store door

 The aim of the venture was to freeze and transport fat lamb meat  to distant local or export markets. Unfortunately the scheme failed and the works closed in 1924. Since then the buildings have been abandoned, except for the section utilised by Schier Cabinet Makers as their furniture factory. Recently the Dunmunkle Sumpoilers  have taken over the engine shed and restored the engines. They also open the engine shed for The Big Weekend and have a number of engines operating.

 The works were powered by massive engines to generate electricity and drive the compressors. Amazingly the drive belts were made from 2" diameter rope.

Spare drive belts originally wrapped in canvas, now rotting on the landing

The huge single cylinder engines required between 6-8 of these belts to provide their drive power.
The masonry walls of the freezer buildings are 18" thick.

Doorway on the first floor level

Drawing to a close

I came across this atmospheric post by Shawn Glover -

Welcome to Drawbridge, California
Population: 0
Elevation: 7 ft and sinking

Over a hundred years ago it was a bustling town and weekend getaway destination. Today Drawbridge is a  wetland sanctuary with the remains of the town structures slowly collapsing and sinking into the bay.
It all started in 1876. A tiny cabin was built on Station Island for an operator of the South Coast Pacific Railroad’s two drawbridges that crossed the marshlands that connected rails between Newark and San Jose. Before long, the drawbridge operator’s friends began to join him, and soon it became a regular train stop. By the 1880s, the tiny town would see 1,000 visitors flocking to it on weekends for hunting and fishing.
By 1926, the town had reached its heyday, having grown to 90 buildings, many with wells and electricity. The residents split into two communities: The “stuck-up” Protestants lived in North Drawbridge, and the wilder Catholics resided in South Drawbridge.

Then began the decline. Booming construction in nearby San Jose pumped millions of gallons of water and raw sewage into the wetlands. Drawbridge began to sink and stink. The nearby salt industry also grew and the waterfowl fled for a less salty environment, leaving the hunters with nothing to hunt. In 1955 the trains no longer stopped in Drawbridge, and everyone moved away…all but two last residents, that is. Luce and Nellie “Shotgun” Dollin refused to leave and fired upon anyone who dared approach them. They were gone by 1979 when Drawbridge became a ghost town.

 Now, the old drawbridges for which the town was named have been replaced by modern rail bridges and 20 or so dilapidated ruins of old gun clubs, a hotel, and houses remain in the rustling wetland vegetation with the honking of waterfowl filled the empty air.
Drawbridge is now part of the US National Wildlife Refuge and off limits to the public.

The story and more photos are at:

http://shawnclover.com/2012/01/31/welcome-to-drawbridge/