Protected by the Pinkertons

Pinkerton's sign-Chicago, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Pinkerton Agency is probably the world's most famous detective agency. They had offices everywhere in the U.S., and were involved in all manner of security work as well as investigations.

This vintage porcelain sign was on the door at the former Erickson Jewelers shop in Andersonville, a neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. The shop's neon sign hung there for quite some time after the shop closed as well. The space has since been turned into a restaurant, and I don't know if this little sign is still there. I rather doubt it.

Star

Barn, originally uploaded by William 74.

This old barn-and I use the term loosely, it's more of a shed than a real, live barn-sits just off the Lincoln Highway, just outside of DeKalb. It's abandoned in the sense that it's kind of decrepit, but still in use in that there's stuff in there, things like rusty bits of machinery and old seed signs. It's in a field, and I like the way the sun sets behind it during the winter months, but I'd never really looked at it till recently. Mainly because it's no longer winter, and the field is now muddy rather than snowy.

I'm glad I did, though. The brackets for the sliding doors have stars on them. I've never seen ones like that-I'm glad I made the effort to get my shoes dirty.