Best Served Cooled
Is this ceiling fan watching you masticate? Not lately, as the Florida restaurant in which it resides has been abandoned for quite some time. “I like the texture of the peeling paint and the way everything has yellowed with age,” stated the photographer back in 2008. Hopefully that doesn’t include the food. Mmm, peeling paint! (image via Martin Lopatka)
Brass Banned
Still resplendent in polished brass complemented by boldly grained wood paddles, the above ceiling fan both cooled and WAS cool – in a Seventies sorta way. Those days have long gone, however, along with whomever once chose this fan to boost the folksy aesthetic of their Brady Bunch-worthy home. As the old expression goes: what goes up, must come down. (image via Ben Seidelman)
Be Square, Be There
Hot town, summer in the city! Detroit in the Sixties wasn’t exactly a breeze for residents of the long-abandoned Lee Valley Apartments. At one time, though… a comfy sofa, Tigers game on the rabbit-eared TV, a chilled case of Stroh’s in the fridge and – last but not least – a quietly humming box fan surely helped make one tenant’s summer days slightly less miserable. (image via Thomas Hawk)
Shelf Abuse
Garages can get pretty hot – then there’s this place; a poster child for stuffy shelters with its burnt-out ceiling fan sporting drooping wings worthy of a doomed Icarus. Unlike our wax-winged mythological hero, however, this fan didn’t fly too close to the sun. A Pontiac Sunbird, maybe. (image via emilyvanwormer)
Polarization
This box fan’s brand name – Polaris – evokes snowy arctic vistas, glacial breezes and chilly winter nights lit by the twinkling north star. Contrast that with the sad reality of this abandoned apartment, replete with age-darkened wood paneling and a truly hideous faux-flagstone fireplace surround. Can anything relieve the oppressive atmosphere of overheated sadness now that the fan’s on the fritz? Well, the chair’s upholstery displays a pleasantly pastoral theme so it’s got that going for it, which is nice. (image via Mike Fritcher)
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