Clausurado

These "clausurado" (condemned/closed) signs are pretty ubiquitous here in Mexico City. They seem to crop up both on delinquent businesses as well as dilapidated older buildings. The decay seems more noticeable this trip; many beautiful turn-of-the-century facades now appear beyond the hope of restoration. There is a sad paradox there - saving the buildings would make them too expensive for their current lower to lower-middle class residents, and would thus destroy the human quality that makes the neighborhood so wonderful. Yet it is at times agonizing to watch the paint peel and the doorframes warp.