Railroad Street
Railroad Street is a common street name; especially in old rural towns. As the name implies it parallels the main railroad line. Sometimes the railroad is gone; but the street remains. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries railroads were the lifeblood of the community. This was all before UPS, FedEx, commercial airlines, and interstate highways came into their own. If you wanted something shipped it went by rail. Traveling long distances? The train was the primary option. These little towns interacted with the rest of the world via the railroad.
Because of all this, all the activity in town was centered on the railroad station. As all the other options became more significant in the latter part of the 20th century the importance of a central hub of activity became less significant and areas around the rail lines became less important. Commercial activity no longer needed to be confined to a specific area and things simply spread out.
The Photo Tip
While the above historical discussion may be interesting you might be wandering what does it have to do with photography? If you like photographing old, “distressed” buildings like I do, it turns out it has quite a lot to do with photography. Finding such properties to shoot involves a great deal of luck, research and just plain driving around looking for them So, here’s the photo tip. If you want to find these kinds of buildings start by looking on Railroad Street. If it turns out that the town you’re in doesn’t have a Railroad Street look at the map and try to identify the main rail line going through the town and look there.
The logic of this is simple. Bank robber Willie Sutton expressed it best when asked why he robbed banks. He replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” Why go to Railroad Street to find old buildings? Because that’s where the old buildings are. They’ve been there since the heyday of the railroads. Their heyday was the same as the railroad’s.
The Photos
While looking through my photo archive I came across two photos from 2015 of old, distressed buildings that I hadn’t done much with. What really caught my eye was the “character” they displayed. So, I jumped in to post-process one that I hadn’t completed and reviewed the second as I had taken a number of tries at it over the years.
The Hotel
The first photo was of the old P. A. Smith Hotel at 111 Railroad Street. It has clearly seen better days but its beauty is visible. It’s a grand old lady from 1876! I love the architectural detail and stone work. The Second-Floor door makes me think there was once a balcony there.
Since the time I took the photo, the building has been restored. It is once again the P. A. Smith Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel. I have mixed feelings about the restoration. I’m certainly very happy that the building has been saved and given a new life. However, at the same time I can’t help but feel that all the fresh paint and other updates hide some of the inherent beauty of the building that time revealed to us.
The Boarding House
The second photo is of the entry to what I presume is an old boarding house just a few doors down from the hotel. It’s just a sign and a set of doors leading to the second floor. The sign is the key item in this photo. It simply reads, “ROOMS”. The scene has a very film noir look to it. It seems to be much newer than the hotel but perhaps that’s just the sign. My imagination immediately goes to Humphrey Bogart in a trench coat and a fedora and of course, a cigarette with the smoke rising around his face. I imagine him there, cracking wise with the detectives about the dead body in room 203. Imagination is a wonderful thing!
Like the hotel, this building is now “restored”. Both the sign and that actual entryway are no longer there. They’ve been lost to all except for my imagination and now perhaps, yours too.
Leave A Comment And Share
What do you like about photographing old and abandoned buildings? I’d love to hear your comments and feedback. Please leave a comment in the comment box below.
