Mercantile

Valentine, Texas, 2010

The desire to ornament a small store in remote West Texas is different in my time. The roof ornamentation of the mercantile is an outward expression of something creative, and I like that.

The building has a cornice along its roof and a crown in the middle. Why? How did a design language agree that this is how a building should appear? The more I think about it, the more strange and intriguing it becomes. It has charm.

The metal facade mimics a stone building, elevating the basic wooden structure into something more prestigious. The equivalent in my time would be a dollar store enclosed in brick and surrounded by parking.