In celebration of EB's announcement of an official EB Downtown Revitalization Project--noted last week by the mayor in the town daily--- we here at The Propane Gas Tank would like to announce the EB Ugly Building Contest! Although we agree that downtown is long overdue for a facelift, we fear that some of the...true character of downtown may be lost in the process of trying to give it character.
Having been an official resident of EB for 2 summers now; just long enough for some of the homeliness of downtown to become ALMOST endearing; we'd like to award these special structures before the EB Historical Society gets out their sledgehammers.
Soon, we fear, the 50's-70's stucco and lava rock fascades shall be ripped down--exposing ornate, geometric brick patterns, with shiny brass "historically accurate" number plates smothering their entryways, and French style flower boxes will magically appear, with garish, water-hogging annuals, and those Englishy fake antique glass lamposts will be erected every two feet. Sidewalks will widen. Next thing you know, there will be open- air cafes with couples sucking down carmel lattes, and dining on regional cuisines...And God forbid, shoe repair shops will close and become restaurants with wine lists! Shoot, next thing you know--we'll have an airport! And don't get us started on the choice of font for the municpal signage. Oy...
Perhaps we here at The PGT are guilty of being overly sentimental for an architectural time period that should be erased from the books. Change is inevitable.
Tune in every week for a new posting, or until we run out of buildings. We will do our best to bring you the ugliest of the ugly, and then let you, our beloved audience, decide their fate.
So which is it? Mid century madness, or Office park berm filler?
As ever,
Ms. Jane D'oh and The PGT Team
See is Believing
Our first entry, "Mauve Steel" Photo taken by an overtaken Que.
Click image to see breath-taking mottled brick facade.
The team agrees, this building is damned ugly.
