Old new buildings and new old ruins

Posted by Tasha (Chicago, United States) on 12 April 2008 in Cityscape & Urban.

I found this odd, crumbling foundation on a dog walk awhile back, and took some photos of it then. My roommate saw some of the photos and told me that it's probably the foundation of what used to be public art outside of the public housing that used to be in the area. She says they are discussing putting some of the pieces back. However, when she saw the "ruins" in person, she seemed less sure that's what they are. Who knows?

I took this photo awhile back, again around mid-March. The same day I took the gummy bear photo. I had an urge to take my camera and take photos. I'm pleased with how this one turned out.

I'm pretty sure the buildings in the background are new construction, despite the very weathered look of the bricks. We had a very harsh winter, and my understanding (from the same roommate, who knows a lot about this stuff) is that the moisture can draw out the salts in the bricks (and there's probably salt deposition from the roads, though she did not tell me this - it's my conjecture), causing and aged and weathered look.

Hence the title. I love how the new buildings look so old and the ruins look so new, despite being broken.