Escape

I don't see fire escapes very often anymore, as I guess most newer buildings have stairwells inside for emergency exit purposes. 

But out walking last night in Fort Worth, this caught my eye.

And I had a flood of memories of hours out on fire escapes in Philadelphia and New York. They used to be (and perhaps still are) important urban spaces for endless private conversation, drinking, smoking, getting outside without going downstairs, checking out what the hell those noises are on the street, etc. In typical fashion, humans devised all sorts of uses and purposes for fire escapes that had nothing to do with escaping from a fire. It was common to see people haul their mattresses out there and sleep, for example, on hot summer nights in Spanish Harlem. 

Here's a beautiful series of photos.