One of the ideas I found myself playing with as I shot these images, was how it was hard to tell the difference between places that were closed for the winter, and those that were closed for good. Some are obvious. This Coney Island ticket booth and the rides behind it appear very likely to re-awaken come Spring, while other buildings clearly have no tenant, and appear to be waiting to be torn down.

But many of them, like yesterday’s subject, present an ambiguous front. They clearly have not been renovated, or even given simple regular maintenance like fresh paint, in years. Yet that in no way means they will not revive come Spring and serve through another season. And it appears clear from the comments I have received both here and in some other sites that people seeing the images have the same uncertain reaction.

I believe yesterday’s subject is still open, but I do not know for sure. I suspect that many of the old line businesses are holding on and waiting to see what happens. Should they sell? Might they be forced to sell? If not, should they reinvest?  At this point, merely holding on and running as usual,without any plans to renovate or expand, probably seems the safest course.

This image of the Coney Island ticket booth was shot with a Contax G2, on film that I think is rebranded Ferrania. Ferrania is an Italian company whose own brand was Solaris, and I believe was discontinued, but they seem to sell under a lot of house brands through discount houses, drug stores and the like. This stock was sold under the Lomography brand. the same Kodak Gold Max as yesterday’s image.