In 2001, My friend Don and I decided we needed something to celebrate the fun of The Maze. Secretly, while no one was watching, we built a website for The Maze. Don was proficient at code and I was up to my eyeballs in Photoshop, so away we went.
We gave each year its own page and placed photos from the parties and descriptions on each. I designed a header for each one of the pages. We created a page to do profiles on everyone who helped construct the Maze and make the party such a success. We also had a page for all the strange things we had created - like the skull keystone from last post and the "Carrie" trophy for best costume - a trophy with an idol of a prom queen covered in blood! We threw a huge party on my friend Carol's birthday (Cinqo De Mayo) and premiered nexuscentral.net.
I suppose that is where things went a little crazy. The party that year was beyond huge. We had more people than we'd every had at any of the other parties combined. I believe the cops showed up three times that year. There wasn't any violence or anything...with that many people, we were just a bit too loud. I have to claim some responsibility for the tension and recriminations that followed. That party was TOO big and many boundaries were crossed during and after the party. That was where things changed.
After the 2001, the luster of the maze fell away and we were left with the stark reality of the effects the parties were having. After that year, the Maze moved to another location and the parties lost some of their sparkle. They were still fun mind you, but the honeymoon was definitely over. The price of the maze had become painfully clear: too much money, too much cleanup, too much arguing, and too little respect.
So the maze parties moved to another location and we all had to grow up a little. The parties continued, but some people backed out of the preparation phase and all of our efforts were a bit halfhearted now that we knew and understood the price of the maze. Ahhhhh, but we have the memories of rushing through the darkness, anticipating and fearing the strange touch of our friends and wondering if the trembling hand that reaches towards us is shaking out of communal fear or in preparation for the kill. Oh the Murder! The Murder in the Maze!
There are still a couple of pieces left to post from the website and a flyer or two I've missed. OH, and did I forget to mention the LEGEND OF THE MAZE! Alas, that is for another post...BWA HA HA HA HA HA!
The website doesn't exist anymore, but I couldn't post about the maze and overlook this essential part of its history. The Carrie trophy was created and photographed by my friend Don and the Skull Keystone was created by my friend Mike and also photographed by Don.
{All the headers were created within Photoshop}
More Maze History and Art: