Oh we saw the most amazing place today. Amazing in that beautiful decay way but not amazing in that I-could-live-there-way.

It was HUGE. It was so HUGE we both thought it was more than one place when we first walked in.

It was old. It was so old the wiring was original. Pretty but not very practical. I could just imagine all our equipment frying to a crisp. [I have a fear of electrocution that would not be mere paranoia in this case.] The outlets were not grounded and the light switches were of the neat little push button sort. In one room the wallpaper looked to be original. A green floral print that had seen better days. I took a quick pic with my lomo in an attempt to capture it. The bathroom had what looked to be the original toilet and clawfoot tub. There was an actual pantry but the kitchen itself was tiny with a miniature gas stove. There was a fireplace in one of the front rooms with an old wrought iron front and in all the rooms the vents were fronted with original, decorative ironwork.

Oh the decay was so gorgeous and the potential so great I hesitated several times. But really there was just no way. Even if we were to cosmetically restore it the wiring is screwed for the entire building. We'd always be open to disaster. My problem is I love charming old spaces. New doesn't do much for me. Finding a charming old space that isn't a disaster isn't easy.

I suppose in this case I felt priviledged just to have seen the place. It was beautiful.

Of course there was also a creepy element. There always is in a place so old, where so many people have lived... and probably not under the best of circumstances. The feeling can exactly be described as the kind of feeling I get when I look at old evidence photos from the turn of the century. That feeling of looking at something I shouldn't. Many of the horrible scenes shown in those images could easily be staged in such a place. I don't really have much belief in bad vibes and whatnot but some places just have an inexplicable feeling about them. The inexplicable feeling I got in this place was eerie. There was a door in the hallway that led down a very dark, very creepy flight of stairs to the outside. It made me feel freaky when I looked through the door.

Nope not planning on moving in anytime soon but it was neat to see.