From California: Ghost Malls

Sometime ago I did a little article on Zombie Stores, stores that seemed to be in buisness, but in reality hadn't been open in years.
Now Jim The Realitor from California gives us this scary tour of Ghost Malls. To watch it, go here.

Ink Blotted

American Inks And Coatings once was one of the many ink producers in the Delaware Valley. They even had plants in two other states. Around 2002 the company was sold. Sometime last year the local plant was acquired by Delaware Valley Properties out of Valley Forge, PA. And that is all I have been able to find out. There is a notice out in front of the plant about a public hearing which was to be held last April to re-zone the property.
It amazes me there is virtually no information on the demise of this plant. I suppose the death of American manufacturing is'nt that big of a story any longer.

Zombie Stores

The SpringFord area has become home to a new an interesting species of retail: The Zombie Store. Theses are stores which on the outside seem to be fully functioning businesses. In reality, they haven't been opened in years. The CD shop pictured above was open for a few months in 2000, then closed, never to reopen again. The Sprint store at least has a "This Sprint Store Closed" sign on the door, but otherwise looks to be open. Note that the display posters in each store' s window are faded to the point of blue.

Rules For The Maze

(Pictures of my hedge maze taken every year from 2003 when it was first planted to this year, 2009).

1) Please be respectful. Deposit all trash at the can near the entrance.
2) Do not cut through the hedge line.
3) Do not play with the statuary.
4) Please avoid moving the sundial or moon dial.
5) No running. There are too many trip hazards.
6) If an area in yellow-tapped due to construction, don't cross the line.
7) Mr. Humphreys protects the maze. Mr. Humphreys is active at night, so
it is not advisable to be in the maze after dark.

Signs and Portents

Seen at the Route 422 exit to Royersford

2009 Spring Ford High School Art Show

Some highlights.

Tree Fall Down

One of the great mysteries in Eastern PA is why people continue to plant pine trees in close proximity to buildings and roads. Pine trees, at least the Scotch variety, grow fast. In twenty years, hardly a tick of the clock, treewise, they can be towering over local houses. Then they fall down.
Why do they fall down? Shallow roots.
So I'm sure the owner of my house who planeted this tree below some utility lines never considered another resident would have to pay to have the #$#$#!!! tree removed. Here are our very own ax men, Lindsay Tree Removal, at work.

2008 Royersford Homecoming Parade

One of the annual celebrations we still cling to.

The Garden At Night

The moon was so bright this evening I had to get a picture from my garden.

Street Festival

This is starting to be an annual event in Spring City, PA. The proceeds go to the revitalization effort.

Halloween 2000

Here's some pictures I took of Halloween decorations in Spring City eight years ago.

Fright Fall

There is a small thrift store located at the intersection of Fourth and Main in Royersford, PA. I do not know very much about it, other than it has to be the greatest junk store on the planet. Filled with the cultural residue of fifty years, you can find every thing from vintage lava lamps to wax impressions to swinger instant cameras. It has odd hours; the only real bet that it's even open is the vintage Lincoln parked out on the street which the owner drives. I do hope the place stays around, although I noted a "Closed Indefinately" sign on the door this week.
I don't even know what the place is called. There is no sign out front.
These pictures are from the window display.

INTRODUCTION

Forty-five kicks up the Schuykill River from Philadelphia you will find a small bridge which joins the buroughs of Spring City and Royersford. Directly in the path of the BoBo migration from the City Where The Brothers All Love Each Other, this area is also home to some of the strangest places in the Commonwealth of Pennnsylvania: Pennhurst abandoned mental hospital, The Pump Town Inn, and a nuclear power plant.
It's where I call home.
Welcome to the 21st Century.