Alley View #1

Noblesville, Indiana, my home town, has 6-8 blocks of intact 19th century commercial buildings. Various owners, over the years, have made many changes to the buildings' facades. Most were meant to update and modernize the buildings' appearances. A more recent trend has been to invent historic facades to replace the ones that have been lost. This can be a good thing, but in the broader context they begin to give our neighborhood a Disney-like appearance.

But..

Alleys don't lie. They give up their secrets. Commercial loading docks, wheel hub protectors, fire escapes, iron shutters and scars all are clues to these buildings real pasts.