Barrier to the Past
29 April 2014 -- 119/365
Lincoln, Rhode Island
Tucked just beyond the Blackstone River Bikeway in the Lonsdale section of Lincoln sits this section of historic decay. As I've mentioned in a number of posts, the Bikeway follows the old railroad bed that was built over the mule path that ran alongside the Blackstone Canal. The Canal provided barge access between Worcester, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island and serviced virtually all of the mills that lined the Blackstone River between those two industrial cities. The path you see in front of you was once part of that mule path, and it lead to the abandoned mill you see in the distance. A guardrail attempts to block the way, but not surprisingly it fails to prevent the property from becoming a teen hangout in the summer. The mule path and canal were put out of business by the railroad, and the mills were put out of business by trade agreements with Southeast Asia and China. All that remains are these scenes of historic decay. They serve as a memorial to the fleeting economic growth that flourished during the Industrial Revolution.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, contrast, boost black, and boost white. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
