photodocumenting aging architecture in milwaukee

my eye gravitates toward crazed paint, cracked windows, timeworn stonework, and "ghost signs" as i walk the streets with camera in hand. those are only a few of the numerous attributes that i look for in aging buildings that have avoided substantial alteration. even when the face of a building has not been willingly changed by residents it will have survived decades of environmental damage - which in the 19th century was no small feat. the coal-infested air from factories and gargantuan boilers buried deep in the bowels of city buildings produced pollutants that have sullied many a building. through time that soot effectively masks the ornament, invites squalor, and ultimately appears as neglect. in the minds of renewalists, these structures are simply unattractive and thus become easy targets for demolition - overlooking any historical significance. buildings that have survived urban renewal, remuddlings and/or restoration are becoming increasingly rare. for this reason, i find it important to photograph these houses and buildings with urgency, before a quick and unexpected turn of events leads to demolition or alteration. when a building is destroyed without proper documentation, the opportunity to gain insight is buried and little can be gleaned of the building's life cycle. without photos and salvage work, clues to the past are obliterated and we close off the opportunity to study unique and timeworn ornament in a tactile and meaningful way.

original window configuration, with elaborate wood muntin profiles, crazed paint and turned columns.

detail of the window molding and/or casing covered in a worn and weathered paint. the plate glass appears to be original.

exceptional bracketed cornice with ornament consistent with design trends of italianate commercial blocks built during the 1860's-1870's