notinalbumalbum

Vacation, 2008, Pensacola, Florida

Best friends

(Mobile, Alabama) I'm not sure the story is true, but I've been told that this hotel was built by a local hotel owner who wanted to expand to a bigger facility. The operator was affiliated with one of the national chains, and business was thriving. The owner awarded the contract to build to the lowest bidder, but the company giving the lowest bid had underestimated their cost to build the structure. Meanwhile, the economy is hard hit by multiple disasters hurting local tourism (oil spills, hurricanes) and the national economy collapses at about the same time. Business is no longer booming. The contractor comes back to the builder a few times hitting him for more money to complete the project, but eventually goes bankrupt. Meanwhile, the hotel operator has spent everything he had available to erect the new structure and goes under as well. The half-completed building now sits waiting for someone to pay back taxes and purchase the plot "as is" from the city. (Again, not sure the story is true, but it makes for an interesting tale.) Traffic is very heavy in this area, and the best shots can be obtained from the highway. I'll try to pick a lighter-traffic day so that I can get some better shots.

Believe it or not, this old building is scheduled for a major overhaul. Developers have announced that this building will be turned into upscale apartments/lofts. (I admire their vision, but they certainly have their work cut out for them.) Pittston, PA

I recently learned that a few of our photos made it into Explore at some point in time. This is a set featuring, in no particular order, our photos to make the Explore Top 500

An old abandoned house near my home. Because of heavy traffic, I've never had an opportunity to get a shot I'm happy with. (I'll keep trying.)

An old house near my home that has been abandoned over the last decade. It's along a busy highway, and I've never had more than a moment to slow down or stop the car to try to grab a quick shot. (And, of course, today was no exception.)