Upstairs on the second floor. It is a bit hard to get your bearings here. This is at the top of steps from the store area to the second floor. The fact that there are windows across the space it means we were facing the front or rear of the store. It was pitch black. The man who let us into the building said her had been on the second floor the day before and it as bad. The floor was far from stable, the mess on the floor from pigeons was bad, there were pigeon waste, eggs, even baby pigeons. We didn't venture any further then the top of the stairs. One place I stepped gave way enough I knew I didn't want to go any further.
Looking to the west on the second floor.
Looking to the west on the second floor.
Looking down the hallway towards the front of the building. Those would have been the windows on the front on the left side of the front of the building when facing the building from the sidewalk.
Beginning the go back downstairs. Meet our host for the day.
The private entrance to the second floor.
The private stairs to the second floor. Ahh, let's just move on.
Looking up to the top of those steps. On the right it looks like maybe some sort of statue on the top of stairs on the right.
A better view of the top of the stairs area.
The back of the building. The interesting drainage system can be seem in its rotign condition. It is possible that the destruction of this building orginally began with the gutters being full of dirt, debris, etc causing water to back up on the roof becoming standing water which in time found a way down into the building. That in turn began the leaking, dripping water, the mold buildup, the rotting of wood. Of course the fact that pigeons found entrance obvioulsy compounded the problems.
A slightly different angle.
That walkway was between Ogilvie's Department Store and the second floor of the Woolworth's building where the Ogilvie's Domestics/Fabric Department once was.
Continue to Brookes Building