Collapidated service station in Kerrick, Minnesota

From the archives: In the UP, even the spelling is collapidated

From the archives: Collapidated hunting camp, Cass County, Minnesota

Collapidation in Marietta

The Red Owl grocery store developed acute structural problems.

Collapidated: An introduction

I first heard the term "collapidated" from my former neighbor/crony, Hesler. A parking lot attendant he befriended--an older guy who liked to eat turtles--used it in reference to a decaying building.

To me, the word is more expressive than collapse or dilapidation, more than the sum of its parts.

Collapidation is all around. Given the trajectory of the economy--and the culture--we are likely entering an era of unsurpassed collapidation. Hence the photoblog.

This example of old school collapidation comes from Marietta, Minnesota, a beautiful, half-dead town near the South Dakota border, where things are allowed to fall apart.