Past mystery

Some time ago, like 2004, walking toward the Pond on the Pinebank Promontory in winter, I encountered a graffiti-covered, decaying brick building, a mansion well past its prime, sited between two majestic, white-barked and leafless sycamore trees. The Hancock Mansion sat there with broken and boarded up windows and surrounded by a chain link fence. It was a forlorn sight, this elegant building brought down by neglect and the elements.

Shooting through the gaps in the fence, I captured these images. I was unable to process the panorama until a few years ago, given my increased abilities and more robust software.

Now the site is marked on the turf with granite slabs outlining the footprint of the building. I am captured by a wide range of thoughts: about decay and transition and how we care for our heritage, among others. This is our past, our history. Let’s look deeply before it completely disappears.