Old Doors
Gothic Revival Door (1859) at Northwestern Medical School, Chicago Illinois 2025.
There’s something special about old doors.
We used to build them as if they mattered: heavy wood, deliberate geometry, glass that caught the light instead of merely letting it through. A door wasn’t just an entry; it was a statement about the place and the people who passed through it.
Such gestures are rare, now. Beautiful staircases have been standardized into fire-code rectangles. Lampposts that were once small works of civic sculpture are now just galvanized poles. We’ve traded ornament for efficiency.
So when I find a door like this — stone arch, carved figures, blue leaded glass — I pause, say "Hello, Grandmother," and take her picture.
And yes, of course doors are female.