I took this picture on Friday, April 4th, 2014. This was at the Observatory, which was a neat little indie space for music and stuff in Lakeview, Chicago, specifically at 3036 N Lincoln Avenue.
Obviously, we’ve got a lot of interesting color here. Let’s examine.
The knob itself is a standard gold design, with a strong outwardly protruding lock mechanism, a good decent size to it. The knob itself is well-worn. You can see lots of spots where the shine has faded away.
Of particular note, though, of course, is the green door and blue doorframe. It’s a bright and fun paint job, although it’s obviously pretty old.
There’s scratching around the knob itself, which indicates that the knob probably wasn’t screwed on tight enough. There’d be some give around the base that resulted in those circular patterns.
The wear on the edge of the door would be from when people handle it, opening or closing. That’s where we put our fingers. It’s the grossest part of any door, since it’s the least-cleaned, hence the dark spots here too.
That the frame has wear on it just shows that this place was fun and quirky but not especially concerned about appearances or being perfect, which is great.
And the fact that the wall itself is white, not some other quirky color, is interesting in itself to me.
Overall, this was a great choice by the owners. It’s interesting, a good mix of natural tones with gold, and something that makes the whole venue more memorable. It’s a shame that the Observatory is no longer around, because it had a real solid doorknob lock.