The school my mother went to.
Flat Rock’s Public School! Actually, I believe this building is just administration now. There is a larger building for school. You’ll notice that the building says A.D. 1911 on it. That’s not a ‘good old days’ thing, Flat Rock gets so excited when they build something new they stamp the date on it. The Rite Aid that was built in 1999 has the date it was built on it. I didn’t get a picture, but it’s true.
Now you might notice something, about the building. Look close, something about the windows.
This is the other side of the building. They put that A.D. 1911 arch on two sides of the building. The brickwork is very nice, but things are falling apart.
More crumbling masonry. Sad, my grandfather was a Mason, would he have stood for this when he lived there? Probably, the Free Masons didn’t really muck around with brickwork much when he was a member.
I only point it out because as I said before, this defines the place for me more than anything else does. The place is defined by the word “crumbling” in my mind. Even the stone can’t keep the forces away.
Again with the windows! You’ll notice there used to be much bigger windows here. And then they bricked them up and put in glass blocks.
Once upon a time, someone cared about building a place. They put a little style and pizzazz into the place.
And then they left it for a hundred years and let it crack away.
See the windows were all boarded up and covered over. I have no idea why, but they decided that windows sucked the big cannoli.
I just like the way this shot turned out.
This one too.
I heightened the color here so you can make out all the places where bricks have been replaced and things have been torn out and changed. Also you can clearly see all the windows that have been covered.
If you know your trends in building materials, you can even tell when they replaced the big windows with these little portals. Mid 80s to very early 90s. You can tell because you could conceivably open these. After the mid 90s they’d have been completely sealed, no question.
Again, I have to ask, why? Did the wide-open windows let in too much light? Could they be opened and allow fresh air to come in? Did they just make the place feel more like a place where a young soul could learn and grow and less like a prison? WHY?
Again, someone gave a shit once. But not much of one, as you can see (I didn’t, but
Note how they aren’t cracked and shattered like the masonry near them.
Also note how someone just decided to screw a light to the outside of the building. Ad hoc and neglect, as I said before.
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