Doors as a subject matter doesn’t sound like much of an interesting subject matter but for me the old building doors around town fascinate me. Old as in the buildings of the 20’s and 30’s because the designer of the building incorporated the door to the design, unlike today. Today’s buildings seem to treat the door as an afterthought or something to hide. Today’s doors are just a pane of glass with a handle and words painted on it, or it is glass framed in a metal sleeve. A cold barrier that is relative unimpressive and uninviting.
Looking at the buildings of the era you can see that the door is something that was thoughtfully designed to accent the building. A door way is a place that greets visitors, to prepare them for the wonders of the design of the inside and the object that announces you to the outside. A door is functional keeping the weather out but a door should incorporate the design of the whole building. A door is more that its name implies.
The Matyk Building Door is set in, giving you the feel of being in the space without being truly in. The welcoming being closer to the inside, the shelter of the space from the weather gives the space warmth. This accented by the plants, which are dead, and the glow of the gas light above and the wood. The wood that gives life and character of the door. Wood is warm, life and a welcoming feeling to the space to the house. I believe no matter what the rest of the building is made from, a wooden door will always warm you before you go into the house and that is how it should be.
The exit door from the TCR Building has that quality as well. The doors have that feeling of the warmth of the inside sheltering us announcing us to the world. What this space says to me, “Thanks for coming, we have enjoyed you but now the story is over and it’s time for a new story somewhere else.” That sounds funny but to me that is what a good exit door should be.
Doors, there is a lot of them around town that I will be photographing because I believe in some way they are a part of our town visually and metaphorically.
The Matyk Building Door. The plants are long past dead but still gives life to the space.
The TCR Exit Doors. This space is a warm thoughtful exit out to the world that says to "thanks and comeback again."