I cannot count the number of years, let alone the number of individual times, that I've passed this location and thought to myself, "I really should stop there at some point and have a look around". Finally, I took the opportunity to do so on the long weekend of September.
The first thing one notices is the collapsed section, followed closely by the burned section. From there the eye wanders to the graffiti and the rest of the typical damage one sees at a place neglected for so long. Something in particular that caught my attention, however, was one of the names spray-painted several times on the walls. Venise.
At first, I wondered why that name, among many others, had stopped my eye, but then I remembered... I had seen this same name on the Lakewood Motel outside of Wawa (link is in the See Also section above). Apparently Venise likes motels.
I wandered the scant remains of the building, attempting to get a sense of what it looked like in its day. The destruction was pretty thorough, however, and it challenged the imagination to get any image.
When I ascended the stairs, I realized that I wasn't alone. There were eyes watching me. Several sets, and they were nearby. I could feel them on me. And they were nervous.
The front room contained watch-pigeons... and I knew I'd have to tread carefully if I was to avoid harm from these viciously protective beasts. Saying soothing words in soft tones, I took my pictures and retreated, mindful of the bloodshed I'd narrowly avoided.
As I went back to my truck, I mentally crossed this one off the list of "one-day" places I would get around to. While there's not much left, I don't regret having stopped and taken in just a little local history.
