Grapes of Wrath, Room 21 #14247

The Story

Room 21 has a weathered chair sitting outside, waiting. This abandoned motel out on the edge of the boondocks is the place where the Sandman meets the wandering fairy around midnight to share secrets where no men can hear. No living creatures ever come close to the place.

The wind is the only visitor that comes by, blowing straight through and never staying, only carrying leaves and stray spooks. Even they won’t stop and stay now that the cable has been shut off.

Photographed exactly as it was found, the place sits not far but still out of sight from the four-lane highway. The new road killed the business and sent the maid home early. The world is still bypassing this place at 65 mph and there is no retro revival in the future that will ever rejuvenate it. None of those modern four-lane drivers will ever get to see this slice of roadside Americana that once thrived along the two-lane blacktop.

The wrought iron grapes gave this image a title, which might be fitting depending on point of view. have the grapes proved wrathful, or not? The motel is from the mid-sixties and has undergone a few cosmetic facelifts in the past. Some parts of the motel are even older than that, probably back to the thirties or forties, and all of it is abandoned today. This place lies off the beaten path in the central Pennsylvania highlands, snow country, and photographed with special permission.

Location: near Cresson, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.