Building 2: Derelict Storefront

I started this project on April 7, 2019, a few months after purchasing the Design Preservation Models (Woodland Scenics) kit “Kelly’s Saloon” at the train show in Puyallup. The idea to model a derelict storefront came when browsing Pittsburgh Bureau of Building Inspection photographs on Historic Pittsburgh.

5434 Butler Street, Pittsburgh (Lawrenceville neighborhood) on 7/10/1949.

The resolution was high enough to read nearly everything and recreate in Illustrator.

I found one of them particularly appealing, and it had the same basic storefront design as this kit, making it easy to recreate. I liked the broken windows, the grime, the many signs and posters attached to the front, and the fact that two of the posters were for Kennywood and West View, two local amusement parks. The photos were of such high resolution that I was able to read all of the lettering on the signs and recreate them at scale in Illustrator and Photoshop. I completed this model on December 17, 2020.

Packed in a box with pick & pluck foam blocks, where they'll be stored until there's a model railroad for them.