There is an intersection at I-66 at Markham which is one of my favorite places in Virginia. It is an old rail stop which is partly abandoned and partly re-developed. The track, which is still active, goes through this place and freight trains clatter through every hour or so. There is a cluster of old houses which were originally either commercial buildings or residences. There's also a historic, tiny post office which I depicted in this posting. Some of the edifices, I am told, were resort hotels or, uh, places of pleasure. These two-story buildings have been renovated and are now occupied by people. This one depicted here is one of them. It has stucco walls and some nice Deco-style window surrounds.
It must be a noisy place to live in, as the train goes by no more than a few yards from the house's front steps. There are children living in the house as I noted some toys and a wagon on the porch. It must be difficult keeping the kids off the tracks. I don't know how I could stand living in a house where a freight train complete with majestic horn blows through your front yard. I am told by someone who lived in such a situation that you get used to it after a while. During the restoration I did manage to get the owner to let me in one of the houses to see what it was like inside. I was tempted to live at the railside but it was economically (and probably sonically) impossible to settle there.
Black gel pen on sketchbook page, about 4" x 6", September 7, 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment