So they’ve knocked the Co-Op down. I know it’s been abandoned for several years now but it still feels wrong. I never realised what a great building it was until the whitewashed windows and CLOSED signs made me look skywards.Did you ever notice how big it was? It was big! Just look at the demolition site now. It’s massive. But it was tall too; its Art Deco stylings stretching into the blue yonder. So far the front of the building thankfully remains intact.
There are actually a few places like that scattered around the town that I bet you’ve never seen. We’re always too busy to notice stuff like that. Our eyes either watching out for the charity tins to avoid, or looking to see where little Billy has wandered off to this time, or worse; our faces glued to our smart phone as we walk forwards using our heads as makeshift battering rams through the market on a Saturday.
Anyway my point is: Look Up. There are some really interesting looking buildings around the town and if we’re not careful the shops within aren’t just going to close, they’ll eventually just be levelled to the ground in favour of a new car park (we’re fast approaching the point where we have more car parks than shops aren’t we?).
Have you noticed that big orange brick building as you drive along Lowfield Street? It’s ok if you haven’t, your eyes really should be on the road of course, but why not park at the top of the Priory car park and look down and call to people to look up. Perhaps you could meet this new-found friend in the Bull & Vic for a drink – here’s a pro tip: Go there during the day, stand just past the bar and… you guessed it… look up!
Written by @MrBinks
(Article first published in September issue of Dartford Living page 32)
