The Corner Grocery

The corner grocery used to be a staple of every neighborhood back in the late 19th and early 20th century.  Before the advent of the supermarket, people needed a nearby place to buy groceries, and usually they were commercial buildings plopped down right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, such as the one in the photo on the left that I took while wandering around Fort Collins, Colorado. It used to be called the East Side Grocery, but is now someone's photography studio, with living quarters upstairs.

Another former grocery can be seen in the photograph on the right, located in Denver's Lower Highlands neighborhood. The "ghost sign" on the front of the building shows that it was once The Fair Market, but it is now Studio David. I'm not sure what Studio David is, but years ago when I was taking photography classes at the University of Denver, it was called Gallery Sink, owned by photographer Mark Sink. Our class went there on a field trip one day. Sink takes photographs using traditional methods, and his works look like they were taken back in the 19th century. When we were there, he spoke to the class, and afterwards mentioned that he was working on a photography project featuring (I think) fairies, or some sort of Victorian costume party, or something like that. He invited the class to come back, get dressed up in costumes he would provide, and take part in the shoot. Surprisingly enough, I decided not to partake in this, and if anyone ever uncovers what looks like a 19th century photograph of me in a fairy costume, staring unashamedly at a nymph, it is a forgery. I swear.