Fantasy Architecture
Disney’s RiverCountry Rotting in Fittingly Ballardian Way
In 1976, RiverCountry opened up at Walt Disney World in Florida. By 2001, it had closed. Now, it stands–rotting and decrepit in a manner that J.G. Ballard would have approved of. These photos come from an excellent thread about River Country on Dis Boards. It was just a waterpark, although one of the first generation... »
Spite House: Is This For Real?
I have heard of spite fences. I have heard of architectural holdouts. But spite houses are a new thing to me. Spite fences are built by people who want to “spite” their neighbor, building a fence that often blocks the view of the unoffending neighbor or otherwise is designed to irritate him or her. Here is... »
Forced Perspective and Disneyland Main Street
Forced perspective is one of those common photographic illusions. Let’s say you go to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and position your spouse so that he/she is pretending to hold up the tower with their hand. That’s forced perspective. But another way that forced perspective is used is to give objects and buildings the illusion... »
The Moto Ritz Towers, 1937
Bruce McCall is the patron saint of secret infrastructure. His book, Zany Afternoons, is one of my most highly valued books. For some odd reason, most of my favorite books were on sale in the bargain bin at bookstores. This one was a mere ten bucks at Barnes & Noble. While there... »