Banning, CA: Bad Credit, No Problem

From time to time I continue to work on my “Boulevard of Blight” project along Ramsey Street here in Banning.

On a Saturday morning last month I spent about an hour making pictures on a single roll of film (remember that stuff?) at the Auto Source Car Sales dealership. Sales rep Tom Kuhn was kind enough to allow me to wander around on the lot to make pictures of whatever caught my eye.

Banning suffers from the same maladies as an infinite number of other modest communities across this country bypassed by interstate highways. The main street is a sad patchwork of small businesses that struggle to meet the basic needs of the local community and and endless series of abandoned buildings. Just this past Monday, the hulk of an abandoned hotel caught fire — again. It’s sad to see the properties so neglected.

UPDATE: Just yesterday, is was reported the Banning DMV would close permanently at its current location, due to structural issues in the foundation.

I have no answers, but to continue to make images of the man-altered landscape, or in this case, cityscape.