We recently acquired some handsome pine timbers that were salvaged out of a Kentucky tobacco warehouse. This structure was part of a mammoth complex which at it’s peak offered over 8 million cubic feet of storage space along a major rail line. A casualty of the steady decline in tobacco farming, these buildings have been decommissioned and by the end of the year will be entirely dismantled.

I was able to take a trip down south this summer and visit this site while there was still something to photograph. My pictures are below. As for the timbers, they’re stunning. Almost entirely free of demolition damage and rot, these pine beams have a beautiful, unpainted ,circle-sawn texture and mocha brown patina. Best of all, they come in dimensions that architects, engineers and designers are always asking for: 8 x 8″ and 8 x 12″. My only complaint is that they don’t have even the faintest hint of tobacco aroma – they just smell like wood. That’s not so bad though, is it?