Contemporary Shopfronts
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Walking down Henry Street this morning and every second shop has a portland stone effect cladding (graffiti soiled) and also chrome lettering or some stainless steel projection. Why are they all producing these facades, theyre all the same, bland white, with added signatures of Deco and Anto.
One I’d like to single out is the Meteor store down at the O’Connell Street end – black polished limestone used to good effect (graffiti proof)
What I’m saying is that there are very few decent shopfronts out there being produced at the moment.
What is really astonishing is how quickly shopfronts are changed and discarded.
Lawrence photos taken before WW I, could show the same shopfronts as retained into the 1960’s or even longer, – sometimes with repainted trader names the only change over time.
Looking recently at some shots I took in Dublin in 1998, it dawned on me that very few of the “new shopfronts” were still there in 2001.
A life cycle of months, not years is now in evidence. If you like it, take a photo it may be gone next time you pass.
Problem is that mock victorian is never done ‘right’, lumpy details, poor execution, or just plain wrong. Good pastiche should be indistinguable from the original but many ‘olde’ shopfronts just look poor and garish.
There is a lot to be said for pastiche in the right location. Grotty PVC fronts can never be forgiven.
[This message has been edited by Jas (edited 10 May 2001).]
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