smoking on the fire escape

one of the themes of Tennesee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie revolves around escaping one’s life. tom frequently ducks out onto his apartment’s fire escape to smoke and generate physical and emotional distance from his domestic life. the fire escape at once provides a brief reprieve from his troubles and torments him by tickling his wanderlust.

i don’t smoke, and my apartment doesn’t have a fire escape, so when i need a brief reprieve or want to tickle my wanderlust, i turn to photography. to extend the metaphor and pay homage to Tennessee Williams, Tom, and everyone out there who’s wondering what else is out there, i put together this collection of shots of chicago fire escapes. enjoy!