Old Enough For You?

What is it about old buildings that makes them so darned interesting? No, I’m not talking about anything the Romans or Greeks built, just run-of-the-mill old houses, barns, and sheds. Is it curiosity about what went on in there long before we were born? Some of them are pretty spooky looking! Did anyone die there, or perhaps, was murdered? Were pitchforks involved? With Halloween coming up, I thought we’d take a look at some buildings that have seen better days.

A great place to find old buildings is out in the country, and The Palouse, a farming region of eastern Washington and western Idaho, is no exception. As small family farms are abandoned and their occupants move to the towns and cities, old houses and barns without any maintenance quickly start to decay. Lack of paint, falling tree limbs, termites, weather, and vandals, both human and wild, quickly take their toll on these wooden structures.

So how’s this for a spooky old house? Would you go in there at night? On Halloween? I didn’t think so!

The house from an old farming homestead sits vacant in The Palouse, Washington.

Here’s the siding on the barn of the same property. Has a nice curve to it, doesn’t it?

The siding on an old barn sags with age, near Uniontown, Washington.

Here’s a house that won’t be standing much longer. A nearby tree has dumped a few limbs on it, and the roof is sagging nearly to the ground.

An old house crumbles around a dark and mysterious window, near Potlatch, Idaho.

And here’s an old barn with some pieces missing. One good kick and it would probably go.

This old barn has a few pieces missing, near Viola, Idaho.

So by this time you’re probably wondering if there’s some kind of photography rule that all old buildings have to be shown in Black & White. Yeah, pretty much. OK, not really. In fact, here’s our token color photo for this week – an old favorite of mine of an old shed by the side of the road.

A dilapidated shed stands by an old country road in The Palouse, Washington.

So until next week, happy trick-or-treating, and remember, if an old building looks haunted, it probably is!