Looking Up

So, for this installment, I am interested in commercial areas that are made for pedestrians.  I chose the village of Kenmore for two reasons.  One, I live close to the area so there was a bit of convenience, and two, I thought it would be a good area with lots to look at for this assignment.

I will admit right off the bat, I now think there are many other areas that could have been a lot better.  Walking about, I did notice many older buildings.  Some were store fronts, others churches and some public buildings.  I would have to say that the Town of Tonawanda Municipal building was one of the best.

I'm not sure exactly when it was built, I couldn't find the cornerstone, but I'm pretty sure it's close in age to City Hall, which was built in 1929.  Around the top of the building is some very nice scroll work as well as the words "Municipal Building".

I felt most of the buildings, unfortunately over the years, have lost a bit of their original grandeur.  Many of the buildings of the area have been "rehabbed" so original detail work has been lost.

This building above is a good example.  On the first floor where there are two commercial spaces, it appears that the outer facade has been covered with siding, while the upper two floors, probably unused residential living space, has been left with a brick facade as well as a shingled roof.  This roof was most likely slate originally.  Why someone would pay to get rid of an original slate roof is just beyond me.  My own house does have a slate roof and if it didn't, I may have not bought it.  The slate was really part of the charm that hooked me on the house.  It's because of my own love for the stuff that it does really bother me when someone rips it off.  Anyway, there were also a couple of other buildings and things that did catch my eye.  For example, two of the storefronts' signs were attached to the building with a wood picket board.

I thought this was pretty cool and reminded me of an old west town for some reason.  The wood itself was nicely painted but it did have a bit of an aged look to it leading me to believe that it had ben there for some time.

A couple of other buildings caught my eye  as well.  Two of them were single story buildings so not much of a second story to look at but but looked to have original roofs that are terra cotta tiles.

I liked both of these buildings for different reasons. Although they both have a similar roof, they both accentuate the building differently.  For example, on the building above, the roof is on top of the building with the neat concrete urns on top.  Meanwhile, on the building to the right, the roof tiles are actually on the front and side of the building.  On this one as well the owner has taken the time to accent the wood work on the building with a different color, even under the tiled roof line.

I would have to say, that I now like looking up at my surroundings, you never know what your going to see.  Some things could be very cool and interesting while others could be either boring or down right wrong.  Either way, it's all a learning experience as well as one less thing to be taken for granted.