Westing
by admin
From a trip to a recently vacated career academy on Chicago’s west side that is in the early stages of being demolished or rehabbed or…something:
The weather was unusually warm for a January, so much so that all of the moisture inside the building turned into a thick fog. This gave the former candy factory a wonderfully eerie feel, but the condensation that collected on my camera lens made shooting photos all but impossible.
Eventually I gave up on my camera and amused myself by wandering the halls and marveling at how much school equipment was still sitting in the classrooms, while two friends rescued books from an enormous pile of reading material left behind by the school system.
(Insert snarky comment about wasteful government bureaucracy here)
I’ve been meaning to go back for another look, but I haven’t felt the urgency that I usually do with buildings that are being demolished. The school has attracted more than a few local photographers and ‘explorers’, and images of the interior have been appearing on popular photo blogs–including, now, this one. I am not complaining–at least there will be a thorough record of what was there. Too often when buildings get destroyed, that isn’t the case.
Yeah, some of the longtime explorers aren’t as “urgent” about this place, so it’s like a playground for new ones. I feel so weird/bummed out about WCA for many reasons–but it’s definitely cool it’s so well-documented (even if I’m slightly jealous that guy’s set got twice as many views as mine).
But I still want to be the first/only one to scan the wacky old science books I’ve found in there. I haven’t felt compelled to write about this place on my blog much; maybe when it’s farther gone.