Many of the downtown buildings in Salisbury, NC, are multi-storied, with shops/stores on the ground floor and as far as I can tell the upper floors being used either for storage or empty. In the above photo of one of the corner stores you can clearly see there is nothing blocking aligning windows.
Part of the reason for this under utilization of the top floors might that in many of these buildings access to the upper floors is from inside the first floor making it hard or impossible to multipurpose each floor. However, I’m not sure how much access there is from behind these buildings — something for me to check out on my next morning walk about.
Earl, your images of your city have a peaceful feeling about them.
In our city, we have many similar buildings with the upper floors vacant. In the past, many of these empty offices were occupied by doctors and dentists. Now the majority of these professionals are cluster in a large complex adjacent to the hospital.
Hi Steve, Thanks! Part of that peaceful feeling is due to photographing in the mornings before traffic and people are out and about. A little later in the day it gets busier.
Yeah, I remember doctors and dentists having offices like that…don’t see that anymore do you.
I like “small town USA”. When I walk through, or view photos, I just think back to the early days and what it must have been like before Walmart and mega malls! I can understand why some small communities want to keep such giant corporations out and keep the small town feel.
Paul, yeah there was period where the small towns were where all the services and resources for a community were. I remember when “going to town” with my Mom or Dad was a big deal. Progress is certainly a doubled edged sword…you gain and you lose.
I also like the small town feel and its history. One of my first thoughts is finding one of the those upper rooms would make a great studio. Get some of Pauls backdrops and hang up your sign. It reminds me so much of Westerville, Ohio where I lived for a couple years
Hi Monte, They might make a good studio after all. I do know of a couple of local artist that have that setup. Making a living as a small town photography would be a challenge with everyone owning a camera these days.
Nice little town you live in Earl. Reminds me of my hometown of Fredericksburg, I live in the Old historic portion of Fredericksburg and most of places were built in the 17-1800s! If the shop has an apartment above, it has access through back of the building, generally speaking through a fire exit or something similar.
Thanks, NR. I’m going to check on the back access on my next walk-about in town. There’s certainly not any street access. Historical Fredericksburg sounds interesting to me. There must be some photographic opportunities with all that rich history.
In some of the small towns in our area buildings like this had housing on the upper floors and we can still see that on some. I could see how this would be a great convenience to people who relied on public transportation. These buildings look well cared for, a promise for another generation. The shot, by the way, are really nice.
Hi Ken, the problem with small towns is that public transportation means the bus and they don’t always run often or to every place. The downtown area is for the most part well cared for, it’s a bit of an illusion…just a few blocks aways things quickly change and you’ll find many rundown neighborhoods. Thanks!
It’s amazing how similar these photos feel to small-town Australia, even though the architectural style is quite different. I can’t believe all those upper storeys are empty… I second Monte and say they would make a great studio – and if they aren’t being used perhaps the rent will be cheap :)
Hi Journey, I guess people are people no matter where you go…and you’re probably a good judge of that with all your travels. There’s so many people with cameras these days, willing to take photos for little or nothing, I’m not sure there’s a living to be made for a small town photographer anymore. But it does linger in my mind.