Some Enchanted Village

My other title for this slide show was Enchanted Village of the Damned. I'm not sure which is more appropriate.

This group of pictures shows what was left of the famous Enchanted Village from the department store Jordan Marsh.

In another lifetime (or so it seems), I was the creative director there and worked, along with a number of people, to bring the Village back to the store . It had been shut down since the 40's and came back in 1990. Although there is some confusion about it's origin, this display was a recreation and not the original.

A few months ago, David Filipov, a reporter for the Boston Globe, did a story on the Village. It was now owned by the city, a gift from Macy's. They had decided not to set it up after they had taken over Jordan Marsh in 1998. The city had displayed it for a number of years and no longer had the money to do so. It was all warehoused in a huge space near the waterfront.

I was able to get permission to photograph it the day before it was auctioned off. I thought that the current setting and condition brought an appropriate message about the holidays, shopping, commercialization and sadness. Having been part of that machine, it resonated strongly with me.

The Enchanted Village now resides at Jordan's Furniture in Avon, Ma.

Special note: the music is 2000 Miles by Merrie Amsterburg. She is an incredible artist and I am proud to consider myself a groupie. Her album Season of Rain is incredibly moving and her latest album, Clementine and Other Stories, is a rich retelling of classic American songs.