NZ Visual Diary - entry 133

Grafton Bridge Flats

Sitting at the intersection of architectural and street photography is a genre known as grunge photography. I’m sure it has other apt monikers.

The subject matter of grunge photography is all things dilapidated and distressed, especially, within an urban context, abandon factories, public buildings and other structures in advanced stages of disrepair. Within a rural counterpoint, the subject matter might be distressed barns and silos that populate farming communities.

A book by Will Ellis titled Abandoned NYC is illustrative of an urban-based photographic niche.

I am devoted to the genre. My fascination stems from a two-fold interest in the odd, but palpable, visual appeal of abandon buildings and the fun thought problem of imagining how such objects might have looked in some halcyon era before the onset of decay from neglect.

The building Grafton Bridge Flats take its name from its proximity to a significant Auckland landmark the Grafton Bridge. The bridge when completed in 1910 was the largest reinforced concrete span in the world. It connects Auckland’s central city district with the neighbouring suburb of Grafton. The bridge is worthy of its own entry, and I plan to feature it soon in a subsequent post.

The image featured here is a good example of my interest in grunge photography. The building has some handsome features, the two centre-section portions — with its set of four porticos and ‘top-hat’ central cornice — being the most visually appealing.

I did spend time before and after I photographed the building trying to imagine what the Flats building might have looked like in its better days.