There is no more Route 1 Miniature Golf, it’s been gone for almost a year now.
Honestly, I’m sort of getting tired of memorializing photos. I have so many from quirky and amazing places that simply no longer exist. Parts of Worcester I don’t see every day have changed so fast in the last few years they’re increasingly unrecognizable to me. Newton, where I’m home to visit once a week seems to always have some new development/demolition underway. Massachusetts as a whole is even harder to keep tabs on. There’s a fragility to the man made that we take for granted. A tree will grow back if given the chance; a mini golf course won’t, nor will a diner or news kiosk. The real question is though, what are we gaining in return, and is it worth these losses?
Knowing this was the last chance I’d ever have to photograph such an iconic place, I planned another one of our roadtrip-themed shoots, this once centered around arcade tickets and their uselessness beyond the confines of where they were won. It seems a decent metaphor for how quickly the world is changing and the idea that what once might have made someone feel useful may soon be dismissed as worthless, or easily mechanized. I’m not sure I fully captured that story here, we did get a little wrapped up in our 18 holes and all the amazing decor (followed by a search for Kane’s Donuts which turned out to be closed), but it’s a theme I’ll be revisiting.
The answer to my question, by the way, seems these days to almost always be housing, or, in some cases, new college centers. It’s probably not worth it; but that’s just a guess. Anyway, turns out you can’t trade in arcade tickets for a Lotto one…
*****Kayt
Credits:
- Date: Wednesday August 17, 2016
- Location: Route 1 Mini Golf- Saugus, MA
- Photography, styling, hair, makeup: Kayt Silvers
- Model: Jesslyn Sargent @ Maggie Inc.
- Assistant: Dan Silvers