Arizona OtBP (Off the Beaten Path) #1 by junge1
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Description
A closed cafe in the Harquahala Valley west of Phoenix and south I-10 to California. The Harquahala Valley is an INA (Irrigation Non-Expansion Area) meaning that there are certain restrictions in place as to water use, but no active management by the State.
The square unit on the left top of the building is a swamp cooler. Swamp coolers were common in the early days of the city right through about the 1980s. Swamp coolers were always on top of the buildings they were meant to cool. Swamp coolers were a means to cool the inside of houses. On all four sides of the box were straw-like pads. These pads were kept moist by running a trickle of water through them and air was blown through these damp mats and channeled into the interior to keep the home cool. This system worked great as long as the humidity was low, but once the monsoon started, in Arizona primarily an increase in humidity during July through September, they became ineffective.
In the 1980s the swamp coolers were slowly replaced by combination swamp coolers/ air conditioners, also still mounted on the roof of the buildings. These units in turn were gradually replaced by air conditioners now located on the ground behind the residences..
This picture was taken on 25 February 2017, Sig...
Comments (13)
photosynthesis
I'm not quite sure why I find images of decaying, neglected buildings so fascinating & appealing, but I do & this is a great example of that genre. The cloud filled sky & the vegetation running wild in crazy patterns along the ground add a lot of visual appeal as well...
bobrgallegos
Love these old abandoned buildings!! imagine what stories went on here!!
LivingPixels
A superb shot great camerawork!!
Faemike55
Love to explore this old building
great shot
durleybeachbum
Some very interesting information.
Buffalo1
A typical thing to see off the interstate. I never knew about "swamp coolers" before.
alida
nice story makes the pic talk
ontar1
Interesting, great capture!
starship64
When I was young we had a swamp cooler on our house. Nice capture.
virginiese
well Sig, I couldn't do the difference between a swamp cooler and an air conditioner if I saw one of them ! Your explanations are always interesting. I wonder who went in this cafe in the past.
junge1
@Virginie! Probably the locals!
auntietk
Looks like it might have been a garage at some point. I love buildings that have been used and modified and used and modified again and then left to deteriorate on their own. This is great!
sossy
those flat buildings remind me of oklahoma many years ago 😀