File:Let the Sun Shine In -2 (24276360302).jpg

Bricks and mortar are far more opaque than glass. And yet, so often with old buildings, wall space where once, panes of glass let wonderful, uplifting natural light inside of otherwise dark spaces, now bricks and concrete blocks greet passer-bys.

I say, let the sun shine in! For me there is no more pleasant light than daylight. It is a beautiful crisp and cheerful white. Artificial light, especially incandescent has a depressing yellow tinge that makes everything look dingy. Oddly, for me, flourescent, halogen and LED lighting is coloured to make it mimic that depressing (for me) incandescent yellow colour.

And although most blocked up former windows have a lifeless and sad appearance. This building on Bond Street in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario seems to have bucked that trend. The bricked in windows blend in nicely with the rest of the wall. The window keystones and arches, showing where the windows once were add a nice architectural decoration to an otherwise drab brick wall. Even the two tone red of the wall (a result of painting over graffiti) prevents this wall from having an abandoned appearance.

Still, give me windows! Give me sunlight!