Twee toegangsportalen van panden te Wenen before 1894

This black and white photograph presents two entrance portals from buildings in Vienna. The image, made by an anonymous artist, freezes in time a moment of everyday urban life. Consider the socio-economic implications of architectural grandeur. In a city marked by its imperial history, these entrances speak to power and status. The differing levels of ornamentation and the presence of signage, like the one advertising "Josef Burger's Wursthandlung," subtly hint at the building's function and the social class it serves. Who passes through these doorways, and what worlds do they lead to? The photograph documents and perhaps elevates these portals. It invites us to consider how architecture, often perceived as immutable, reflects and reinforces societal hierarchies and identities. What stories do these portals tell about the lives lived within and beyond them?