Category: 4. Thursday Doors

Thursday doors

Door 26.

Barcelona 'not door'
Barcelona ‘not door’

First: I can’t believe that I have been doing doors for 26 weeks, half a year, it feels like no time at all.

Second: I expect that the phrase ‘when is a door not a door?’ has been used many, many times in Thursday Doors, but it feels appropriate here.

Third: I have not been as attentive this week as I might usually be due to a great many domestic distractions.

This door, in the heart of the old city in Barcelona, has for whatever reason been filled in. I have included it in the Thursday Doors series though because this is a common practice, and I find a great many of these ‘not a door any more’ kind of doors.

I love the textures of the bricks and cement surround and the inclusion of an iron ring, replacing where a knocker might once have been. If you look carefully, even a ‘not door’ can’t escape the clutches of graffiti and at some point in the past bunny ears have been added with the iron ring doubling up as a bunny nose.

The ‘not door’ is sandwiched between a more typical graffitied door on the left and a sliding gate on the right, offering more doors for your money (and plenty of contrast).

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

Thursday doors

Door 25

Barcelona door, March 2018
Barcelona door, March 2018

I returned from a short break to Barcelona with my daughter last night, and my memory card is heavily laden with doors. Barcelona must surely be one of the great capitals of interesting doors.

In the older part of the city, and indeed throughout much of the rest of the city doors appear to be fair targets for graffiti, and what a lot of it there is. This first set of three doors gives you a feel for what is commonplace in Barcelona…ordinary city doors, covered from top to bottom in graffiti.

Barcelona door, March 2018
Barcelona door, March 2018
Barcelona door, March 2018
Barcelona door, March 2018

I will post more doors from Barcelona over the coming weeks.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

Thursday doors

Door 24

Door, 161 Essex Street, New York
Door, 161 Essex Street, New York

When I took the picture of this door last October, I was simply capturing an interesting image of street art on a door, nothing more nothing less.

It turns out that there is a lot more to this door that I had thought, which I only found out about when researching for this post. The door is the entrance to Clayton Patterson’s gallery on 161 Essex Street on the lower East Side of NYC.

This is Portal number 7 of an interactive street art experience combining technology, art, urban space and community called ‘13 Portals‘. The project team have created an incredible ‘gamified’ experience that encourages participants to complete tasks and unlock the knowledge of the ancients. The door used to have a QR code in the white space at the bottom that linked up to the experience website.

I’m not sure when all this took place, possibly 2017, but it all looks rather complicated to me. I was just interested in the door.

The artwork itself appears to have ‘borrowed’ a little bit from the Terminator films and combines a skull with features relating to the number seven. This is what the website has to say about this door:

‘The number 7 is Saturn. It is death and transcendence. It is the seven colors of the rainbow, the seven western notes and the seven days of the week. 7. Seven is an exceptionally powerful number and also one of the biggest keys to the mystery. Each color, note or planet, represents a different perspective that we can seek to achieve awareness, clarity and enlightenment. It is the metaphor for the different races and the conflicts before they ultimately find harmony.’

So there you have it, perhaps we shouldn’t simply take things at face value, even a door.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

 

 

Thursday doors

Door 23

Door, Hotwell Road, Bristol
Door, Hotwell Road, Bristol

I do love a door within a door, and this beautiful red one in Hotwell Road really ticks some boxes for me. It is not particularly old nor is it all that interesting in that it has few features to speak of, but it has bundles of character. Most people probably wouldn’t give it a second glance, but to those who like to look might like it.

It was a double-take door for me. I actually walked past it, stopped in my tracks and went back to it to take these pictures. A nice simple door.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.

 

 

 

Thursday doors

Door 22

No 300, a door in East Village, New York
No 300, a door in East Village, New York

I cannot for the life of me remember exactly where in East Village this door was. I had been walking for a long while hunting down street art and had little idea of where I was.

No 300, a door in East Village, New York
No 300, a door in East Village, New York

The outstanding feature of this door is the beautiful cast iron panels either side of the entrance. Somehow these panels have survived, but appear to have been forgotten. A reminder of a bygone era. The graffiti is in itself rather unremarkable but adds to the overall appearance of the door. It is interesting that none of the graffiti or tags seem to stray beyond the border of the door, which appears to act as a kind of frame. An interesting doorway.

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

Thursday doors

Door 20

Crypt door, Church of St John the Baptist, Bristol.
Crypt door, Church of St John the Baptist, Bristol.

 

This really is one of my favourite doors…ever. It is a tiny door that accesses the crypt under the magnificent church of St John the Baptist. Behind the door…remember to duck…steps lead down into a vaulted crypt, a quiet and peaceful place that is opened by the Churches Conservation trust (who own and curate the building) from time to time.

The church itself was built into the city walls in the fourteenth century, and although alterations have been made, much of the original character of this building remains.

For me the door holds secrets behind it, secrets that only the curious enjoy.

 

by Scooj.

 

See more at Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

Thursday doors

Door 19

Graffiti door, Lydstep Terrace, Bristol
Graffiti door, Lydstep Terrace, Bristol

This door is at the end of a derelict factory building or warehouse in Lydstep Terrace. I can’t find out much about what the building used to be, but it has no roof and is in a pretty shoddy state. I managed to find a council document that refers to the site as an unlisted building of merit.

It is pretty clear that this door is closed to all visitors. No entry, shut, barred, locked…you’re not getting in.

The long wall to the left of the door is a magnet for graffiti and tagging and has used by street art wannabes as a practice wall. The graffiti here has come to something of an abrupt halt however as developers have recently moved in and are getting quite busy doing something. It will be interesting to see what they make of this rather unexceptional building.

Gentrification in progress. The taggers will have to move on.

 

by Scooj

 

Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

Thursday doors

Door 18

Edward Everard building, Broad Street, Bristol
Edward Everard building, Broad Street, Bristol

This is the front entrance to one of the most remarkable buildings in Bristol. It was the Edward Everard Printing Works and is tucked away in the narrow (and perhaps inappropriately named) Broad Street. Edward Everard was a well known and prosperous Bristol printer who commissioned Henry Williams to build the print works in 1900 and the pre-Raphealite art nouveau facade was by William Neatby.

Much of the original building was demolished, but this facade remains and the building has been used as as offices by the NatWest bank, although judging by the chain and padlock on the gate it doesn’t look much in use at the moment.

Edward Everard building, Broad Street, Bristol
Edward Everard building, Broad Street, Bristol

The beautiful craftsmanship on the gates is really worth a closer look – some fabulous oak and mistletoe designs and a very grand E.

Edward Everard building, Broad Street, Bristol
Edward Everard building, Broad Street, Bristol

The entrance arch and gates are impressive, but it is the stunning facade above them that sets this building apart from all others. More about this building on the Bristol past website.

 

by Scooj

 

Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

Thursday doors

Door 17

Redcliffe cave gate, Bristol
Redcliffe cave gate, Bristol

This is a door designed to keep prying eyes out, rather than to welcome visitors in. It is one of the entrances to the Redcliffe Caves, which form a central part in Bristol’s history as an international trading port.

I, along with many others, believed this cave to be a place where slaves were incarcerated, a folklore of the city which is quite untrue. Rather it was used as a store for merchandise and has in more recent times been used as a waste dump.

Redcliffe cave gate, Plaque, Bristol
Redcliffe cave gate, Plaque, Bristol

The area is steeped in history and above the gate this plaque, donated by the Bristol Civic Society, describes some of the features of Redcliffe. I have to say I find the plaque a little sycophantic and more about past and present businesses than abiout heritage…but maybe that is just me and I think I am being a bit harsh.

Certainly this doorway contains mystery and elicits curiosity.

by Scooj

 

Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

 

Thursday doors

Door 16

Door, Pastimes, Lower Park Row, Bristol
Door, Pastimes, Lower Park Row, Bristol

These doors belong to a small shop called Pastimes, which tells us everything really, a shop was never so aptly named. I don’t think that anything about the decor of the shop, and indeed much of its content, has changed since the 1960s.

Door, Pastimes, Lower Park Row, Bristol
Door, Pastimes, Lower Park Row, Bristol

I would guess that it is owned and managed by a passionate collector, and not a shopkeeper. It looks very much like a situation where a hobby has spiralled out of control. I cannot recall seeing the shop being open…ever, and it appears to have been in a condition of stasis over the last couple of years. Maybe the owner is unwell or too old to look after things. But it is still there, and when I pass I gaze through the windows trying to see what lies within. Wartime memorabilia, stamps, cigarette cards, coins, plates…all those kinds of things adorn the walls (and floor space).

It is interesting that the shop seems to span two buildings, each with its own front door. I don’t know if they join up inside. The building itself is not kept in the best of repair, and I am left wondering if the owner of the shop is also the owner of the buildings – how else could the shop still be there?

I think every town has a shop like this. A wonderland. An old curiosity shop.

 

Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0