Friday, August 8, 2014

Abandoned America's Vanishing Landscape



America is vanishing.  Or, at least, the America of the past is crumbling, deteriorating, falling apart and forgotten.
 
Let me elaborate.  When I say America is vanishing I'm not referring to its people, customs and existence.  No, I'm referring to its infrastructure and buildings.

In days past when America was the leading industrial, religious, educational, medical and entertainment center of the world each and every town and hamlet boasted at least one of each type of building associated with the previously mentioned genre.

In author Eric Holubow's new book: Abandoned America's Vanishing Landscape, published by Schiffer, the author offers a haunting and chilling look at Abandoned America using full color photos of business, churches and the like that have been abandoned, vandalized and crumbling.

As you look through each page, ponder the images and try to imagine places where people worked, worshiped and played.

You can almost hear and see the ghosts of decades past.

The book struck a cord with me because as a senior citizen I remember places very similar to the ones pictured.  It makes me sad and melancholy when I realize that the America of my youth no longer exists and that many of the grand buildings and institutions have vanished.

It's like visiting a graveyard of lost dreams and ambitions.