Marina Bare, Photographer/RFP Staff
♦ Only every other lifetime such a treasure trove of historic photographs is unearthed. Just a few days ago an archivist working late into the night stumbled upon the previously unpublished lost photographic remnant of the Bare “Empire Hotel Collection”. Within hours of the discovery a phone call arrived at RFP HQ telling our esteemed Editor of the monumental visual find. Somewhere Otto Wood “The Robin Hood of the Piedmont” and the actress Sarah Bernhardt stirred uneasily in their graves. The interior photographs of the former flophouse, unopened to the public since 1963, would be made public.
A Photographic Grand Tour of the Empire Hotel: The Fabulous Queen of Salisbury’s South Main Badlands:
Back in the early 60’s migrant farm workers, couples looking for a two hour betrothal, low rent escorts, and junkies bedded down at the Empire said to be the cheapest Downtown flop.
“A Room with a View”:
“Le Grande Staircase:
A little Comet and an electric grinder could do wonders:
At one time this was a top-of-the-line restroom. 1912?:
Spacious enough hall for a knife fight or a broken bottle bum fight after a Saturday night spree. Life in the South Main Badlands has changed little since 1963.
How many got “rolled” in this hallway?
Falling asleep with smokes in this joint likely kept the fire department on their toes:
$10 bucks a pop-can’t beat it:
Part II Monday
