vestibule of hell

 

In the Inferno, before entering the Nine Gates of Hell, Dante and Virgil pass through an anteroom referred to as the "vestibule of hell" where they read on the portal "abandon hope all ye who enter here."  This sad building in Swisher Country (March 15, 2014) has a screened anteroom before the single large room.  The door has been reinforced with bathroom tile board, the curtains are tattered and the floor littered with broken glass and droppings.  Those who left here must have abandoned all hope as well.  (You probably didn't realize my background included a degree in English!)

 

FM 1424 north of Road G

Swisher County, Texas

3.14.2014

 

 

off the beaten path

 

Abandoned buildings with lost hopes are found throughout the plains.  Generally you can determine their function -- house, barn, school or church.  This structure has me puzzled because it doesn't seem to fit those categories.  I am guessing it was a store -- out in the middle of nowhere.  It's one-room, with double door and large front windows.  There is a kitchen in the rear with a counter separating it from the rest of the space.  Beside the building are two large areas, curbed with concrete.  No sign, no clue -- just a building hiding behind a hedge of evergreens.  Shotgun shells and empty casings show hunters have wandered by.  And the mattress?  Not a clue but it appears to be recently deposited and I wasn't touching it with a ten-foot pole!

 

FM 1424 north of Road G

Swisher County, Texas

3.14.2014

 

 

 





one stop

 

It's a long stretch along highway 350 between Trinidad and Fort Bend.  At one time, travelers could stop at the Delhi Store to buy a soda and use the facilities-- uh, the outhouse.  Now the place is dilapidated and abandoned; only intrepid photographers make the stop.

 

Delhi, Colorado

5.23.2009