Baltimore, 2007

I arrived at the Rossville Community Center at around 3:00 pm Saturday afternoon and headed inside to pick up my badge. Huge garage-sized doors were open on all sides of the building to allow dealers to bring in carts laden with boxes, but the building was still relatively empty save for the rows of tables adorned with stark white covers.

The first thing I noticed was how bright the show room was. One of the recurrent complaints about the venue focused on the poor lighting, which grew steadily more murky with passing years.

As I noted in last year's report, the ceiling is studded with light fixtures, but the bulbs get replaced infrequently -- as in once every several years -- and they impart a sickly green caste to everything in the room as they near the end of their life. Clearly they had been replaced in the intervening months and the difference was dramatic.

After an extended period of groveling and forelock-tugging at the feet of the show organizers too express my deepest thanks at being invited to attend* I headed for the stairs leading up to the balcony to snap a few pics.

*The show organizers may remember the interaction somewhat differently - I can never resist the opportunity to throw a few jovial jabs at good-natured Bob. Steve threatened to throw me out on my ear.

The Physical Education center is essentially a circular structure capped by a domed roof (the building at right in the aerial image shown above: labeled "Ccbc-Essex"). While the architecture is basic and utilitarian, the interior is filled with fascinating juxtapositions of curves and chords.

The visual contrasts are most readily appreciated from the balcony, where the curved members of the ceiling stand against stark vertical balusters, and the horizontals created by rows of show tables.

The ceiling dome with its perfect array of light fixtures is something to marvel at in itself. If you didn't know any better, you might think that you were looking up into the belly of an extra-terrestrial traveler and about to have a close encounter of the alien kind!

At this point in the story, you're probably thinking that I don't get out much and you'd probably be right. My trance was broken by Paul Van Vactor, who had snuck in while I had my eye glued to the camera eyepiece. He was staring up at me from the show floor -- "are you planning on coming down from there sometime? I have something to show you". I collapsed my monopod and scrambled back down the stairs.

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