You can find the monstrosity below approximately 8 km to the north and 12 km to the west of Strathmore, Alberta, on the north side of highway AB-564. Even better, it can be yours for a paltry $1,200,000.
It appears to be two separate buildings. One is a boarded-up former apartment building from the look of it and the second is a partially finished building made of steel sea cans. The real estate listing says a total of 26 sea cans are available with the purchase, but only 16 are visible in the image. They have cutouts for windows and doors and these are also boarded up. The sea cans appear to be stacked directly on the ground without a proper pad below them as they are sinking unevenly.
It’s a mess.
The fact that this carbuncle has been allowed to persist for years tells me the neighbourhood has a distinct lack of architectural controls. Nice people (or at least people who are concerned with appearing nice) like to be surrounded by other nice people and things. The ongoing presence of this eyesore tells me the immediate area is likely populated by people who are also unconcerned with appearances with properties that are just as run down. This is good news for photographers into that sort of thing.
The Missus and I cruised down the range road running past the abortive shop and apartment building and we discovered I was right. Several km north of the highway we found a yard on the left side of the road with a burned-out home and it is obviously owned by a hoarder. The yard was packed with stuff that, while mostly worthless, was treasure to someone. I wanted to stop and get a pic of the entire mess, but we spotted what looked to be a recently parked vehicle at the edge of the road.
People who hoard are unpredictable and I had no desire to get into a confrontation or get shot at, so I let the opportunity slide today. I will be back once it warms up with my drone to explore from a safe distance and also get some pictures from a legal vantage point.
Today’s big thrill was simply being right about what else I would find in the vicinity. Birds of a feather…
Note: The single image in this diary entry was grabbed using my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra mobile phone. It didn’t want to come out of my pocket at first as it felt unsafe. It mumbled something about old Blackberries possibly roaming the area.
