Nor our county’s budget for that matter. According to the fire marshal’s sign in what passes for the lobby, maximum occupancy is five hundred and eighty-three. How they arrived at that number is anyone’s guess. Like the rest of the fairgrounds, construction began in the late 1930s and continued sporadically until the early 1990s when it was declared not so much finished as a waste of more money. Let’s just say the style is eclectic though it has a charm to it I’ve always enjoyed. Judicious use of climbing ivy covers the worst of its sins and careful pruning reveals its more beautiful points. Now, aside from making sure the roof doesn’t leak and the wiring doesn’t catch fire, it’s left pretty much alone. Pete Norton led the way to the stage door and unhooked from his belt the carabiner with its heavy ring of keys, identified the right one and let us back in. The poodles raced inside along with Roomba doing her crumb searching routine. Even Mazda put on an impressive burst of her former zoom to investigate this previously terra incognita.
