The Commonspace > September 2005

I am perpetually late, or at least in a hurry to get somewhere. As usual, there was heavy traffic on I-70 heading into the city and I needed to get to work...in a hurry. I was caught in traffic due to an accident some unknown distance ahead. All I knew was that as far as I could see, no one was progressing. I decided I might be better off taking a detour through a neighborhood I'd never thought I would see.

You know the area. It's just east of Kingshighway right along 70. It's about as bad as it looks from the interstate at eighty miles per hour. But this day I was forced to slow down. Immediately, I noticed something. Among the burned-out buildings and abandoned storefronts, there was art.

The architecture in this part of the city, while in need of serious attention, is just amazing. I don't claim to know anything about architecture, but many of the houses in north city are among the most ornately decorated exteriors I've seen. So many of these structures are boarded up, which, of course, detracts from the architectural beauty of the neighborhood. However, what I noticed on my detour was that people have made an attempt to re-beautify their surroundings by painting the boards that seal these forgotten homes.

Take a look at these few photos, then perhaps take a trip to an unknown area nearby. I'm not going to say you should stop and smell the roses, but you might discover something if you just slow down a little and take a real look at the things you pass by every day.