Some might say that this post should have come with an “Out of the Slot” heading. There’s an argument to be made for that, but I decided not to do so because-while not related to slot cars-this post is related directly to the environment of my basement toy room, where Drag City Raceway resides. Thus, it qualifies-in my mind at least-as an update on the process of building the environment around the track.
One of the projects I’ve been delaying in my basement is moving some things around to make space for a potential expansion of the diorama. This is something I’ve described multiple times, particularly in this post, where I actually drew a map of the plan. It wasn’t too long ago that I was able to move my dad’s old easy chair up to my office upstairs, all part of the effects of The Garage Betrayal. That cleared out that corner, but left my vintage record player still sitting awkwardly on a small end table crossed by a wire shelf.
There is an area in my basement across from the downstairs bathroom and the “Oddly Angled Room” which has never been useful because if it’s size and shape. I wanted to utilize this space for the record player, but I knew that in order to do so, I would have to have a very specific piece of furniture: something that was of reduced depth to fit without eating up all the floor space outside the bathroom, but wide enough to hold the equipment I want it to contain. Ideally, it would be a cabinet with some storage space for records. It seemed like the ideal item for this purpose was what is commonly called a “sideboard” or a “buffet.” Well, this weekend, I went looking for one…and I scored!
All this is thanks again to my buddy Patrick, who-unlike your HB-has a FaceCrook account, and can access FB Marketplace, which is a better alternative to the now useless Craigslist. He found several candidates on a Saturday morning, but everyone that we contacted said that we wouldn’t be able to come and look at any of the cabinets until Monday. Obviously, that doesn’t work for someone who works on Monday. Fortunately, late that afternoon, a new listing popped up in a town called Longmont, about an hour’s drive north; a town I am familiar with and once spent a good amount of time in, but haven’t been to in many years.
A few well-placed text messages and a couple of phone calls later, we tossed the dolly and a pair of ratchet straps into the truck and headed up the highway to the old part of Longmont, where we met a soon to be X-patriot selling all her furniture for a planned move overseas. The cabinet was a piece that appears to date from the 1940’s or ‘50s, so post-art deco, but in excellent condition, and looked to be the perfect size and shape for what I needed! I paid the asking price in cash and we loaded it into the truck without much difficulty, thanks again to Patrick’s exemplary skills.
Another 45 minutes to drive back and unload, and we confirmed that I was right: it was the perfect size and shape!
There is no power in this corner of the basement, and we had already explored the possibility of installing an outlet in the wall and determined that due to the structure of the house, doing so was going to present great difficulties, so we figured out a way to run a cord from the AC plug around the corner into a groove on the tile floor to get electricity for the record player and a little bit of additional lighting for the corner (more on that in a moment).
This was an acceptable solution, but it did require a little bit of work to the floor, so we made a quick evening trip to the local Home Depot to pick up a couple of additional supplies, including a small throw rug, which is of a color and style that is aesthetically pleasing, and matches the mood of the area fine, just fine! Once everything was in place, I was so pleased with how it turned out that I decided to spend the rest of the night diving into a long sealed box hidden deep within the bowels of “the Oddly Angled Room!”
21 years in storage
The contents of this box had not seen the light of day since 2005, when they were packed up and shipped back to Colorado after my brief and failed experiment in Virginia in 2004. Contained within were 2 antique plastic twist-lock containers made for 45 RPM records…both packed to capacity with singles ranging from the late 1950s to the early 90s; country, country rock, garage rock, psychedelia, New Wave, classic rock, all here: records from various periods of my distant past, some going back to my early days in CO, others going all the way back to my pre-teen years in CA…and none of which I had laid eyes on since leaving the East Coast all those years ago!
As you can imagine, there’s a lot of cleaning to be done, especially since some of these records are very worse for wear. I wouldn’t play most of these on my top-notch stereo system upstairs, but records like these are exactly what this old Singer phonograph is for, so I had myself a little record party late into the night, which continued well into Sunday, while sitting at the track running a qualifying round for the upcoming racing season with music on the auto-changer behind me!
And God Said: Let There Be (a little more) Light
As a post script, I felt that this newly rejuvenated corner of the basement needed a little bit more lighting, so I took some advice from a friend and hit Etsy, where I ordered one of those cool glass Turkish lamps that are such a hot thing nowadays. I choose a hanging pendant-style with a simple cane handle shape at the top and opted for a bulb style the website amusingly referred to as “Vhite Blue.”
I got that lamp for a very good price, and I think it will suit this corner very well; it should provide not only some additional lighting, but will also cast some interesting patterns on the angled walls of this narrow area. I don’t have this piece yet, but I expect it to arrive in the next couple of weeks, with some assembly required, of course. I’ll be sure to update y’all on the results once this “mood piece” is in place!
All in all, a productive and successful weekend that improves the dynamics and vibe of the area, and thus leads to more enjoyment at Drag City!
Two thumbs up on this find. It really is a beautiful piece and looks just like what you always described that you wanted for that space. I see and absolutely approve of your vision! That lamp will look amazing as well and the pendent style was a great!