It was a cold afternoon in March as we walked hand in hand in the freshest air we'd tasted in hours. ninja stopped, jerking my arm and pulling me face to face with her. We kissed, again. We laughed together as i tripped her and we began rolling in the snow and frolicking like young lovers. This was our 15th anniversary after all.
Immediately inside, the extent of the damage is overwhelming. It seems inconceivable that the Sundial Inn was active as recently as 2008. Black mould is virtually everywhere. Furniture has been destroyed and thrown out windows. Almost every mirror has been shattered, with many windows suffering the same fate. The bathrooms have been gutted for the copper piping in all 95 rooms and every single item with market value was gone within months of the closure, according to local media. The destruction is truly overwhelming at times, stopping us in our tracks and stealing our breath. The mould also stealing breaths.
Unfortunately we were not able to complete the mission and document the entire building. Our anniversary celebration was interrupted by a police car spotted outside during a routine spot check. Gear was packed, a quick discussion whispered in the thick air was followed by the thudding of feet echoing down a pitch black corridor. Flashlight beams bouncing from floor to ceiling, ceiling to floor. Another quick kiss, close and tight. And we were gone with the wind that was cold on our faces. That same fresh air from earlier was dancing off of our skin. Everything seemed so alive in the dead of winter. Our adrenaline pumping, her petrified, me laughing. This is romance, we agreed, in that moment.
When you explore as much as we do, and you are aware of the legal ramifications for each mission, you start to cut corners. Every time we leave the house on these missions we accept that a couple of $65 trespassing tickets might be coming our way. I consider that money already spent, although we've yet to be issued a ticket due to the gift of gab and a fine batch of mother instilled Canadian manners. Anyway, we often park too close to spots we deem as low risk, as we did here. Couple that with the anger of nearby residents and the problems the police and community have had with vandals and thieves at the site and the fact that i was spotted. Spotted either on the roof or through a window, careless.
The result was a phone call an hour later, and a whole lot of kisses and laughs and rap songs and kilometers to the south, that ended a little something like this.
"Mr. Nine, I'm not going to drive all the way to Somewhere to issue a couple of sixty dollar tickets, but next time you see a fence, understand what it means. Have a good day sir and Happy Anniversary to you and your wife." -Paraphrased police officer
Those of you that know me know that i'll be back to finish up this spot soon enough, that is if it is still there next time i'm in that hood. A portion of the Inn recently burned to the ground. So, with no further blah blah, i give you Sole & the Skyrider Band & the Sundial Inn.
i am unequivocally the luckiest man in the world. i love you ninja!
***EDIT***
Fri. August 26, 2011
Over the course of the past few weeks, the Sundial Inn was demolished. R.I.P.
click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES
6 comments:
Incredible images. Your stuff should be in the MoMA.
wow, thank you.
Very well done!
Great Photos, but all the Same ~ What a Shame' to See the Place like that now ! Just needs a Bulldozer, once Mould sets in, nothing is any good....Incredible Pics. thanks for sharing...
I remember when the Sundial was built - it was once a beautiful hotel - what the heck happened!
A lot of my friends and I worked here in the late 70's - busboys, waitresses, pastry girls, cooks and dishwahers. Sad to see how it was vandalized and eventually demolished.
Pictures are amazing and bring back many memories of my high school days and earlier romances.
Thanks for posting them.
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