The Oculus

daytime sky showing through a circular opening in a silo that is temporarily without a roof

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

If you know me you know I like things that make me look at a landscape in a different way. At Crow’s Nest, while the roof is being replaced on the 1915 stone silo, we have a temporary oculus. I’d like to believe I can see the earth turning by looking up through the narrow opening, though I don’t think I can prove that. But we could tell time with it on sunny days.

Most people haven’t seen the inside of the silo, so here it is. As part of the stabilization of the structure, a new concrete floor was poured in the bottom (basement level) and a steel-reinforced slab will be poured at street level. It’s been many years since it has held silage (chopped vegetation used for cattle feed) but we’d like to preserve it as an example of this once-functional architecture.

At night I stayed long enough to try to see the stars move, but I really should try a long exposure.