Who says Centennial Mills is abandoned?
Signs of life are evident if you look closely
It’s like bird watching with a dose of danger; one never worries about birds falling. Spotting taggers on top of the last remaining Centennial Mills structure can be compelling. Do these people live inside or just go up there to paint their tags?
Glancing up today, I saw something move against the blue sky, a figure dressed in a white shirt, arms stretched at an angle, reaching for something as if on a sailboat. Careful, I warned him, as if he could hear me or would pay any attention in any circumstances.
A few seconds later, another figure, less graceful than the first, emerged dressed in black and wearing a backpack that appeared to contain something like a small dog or a large cat inside it. He climbed the metal ladder in the center of the water tower. Once up there, he walked around and tested the tension on a wire strung from one end to the other.
The old mill tower is not part of the sites redevelopment plans, but for now it remains an attractive nuisance or an unattractive relic. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.
