February 2003 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

The mural on the side of this corner store In Saratoga Springs is an unfortunate attempt to compensate for the blank wall this little shack presents to the street. In the absence of architectural detail you get television. A close look at the mural yields a vision of amazing weirdness: the racehorse has apparently gotten loose from the paddock and escaped to somebody's lakeside deck as the sun sets radioactively over the distant pines. A menacing jockey approaches brandishing his criding crop. Duck and cover, Seabiscuit!

The flag helps us remember what country we're in.