This weekend catch Building 173 at the Peabody Essex Museum as part of the third annual Salem Film Fest. According to the festival and film websites, Building 173 explores three generations of life in downtown Shanghai via seven families who lived in apartment Building 173 at some point since the 1930's. 

The intersection of architecture and the lives of those who inhabit it fascinates me. This is why I'm a fan of house museums. Merge your Film Fest visit to the Peabody Essex Museum with a tour of Yin Yu Tang, the Museum's remarkable example of Chinese domestic architecture from the rural village of Huang Cun, originally built more than two centuries ago. I wrote about Yin Yu Tang here. Wouldn't it be fascinating if the PEM produced a film about life in rural, southeastern China through the stories of the lives lived within Yin Yu Tang? Every building has a tale to tell. Imagine yours.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast