Something crossed my path yesterday in my emails...ghost ads...those wonderful ads from not so long ago, I remember as a child being more vibrant, yet something of an eyesore...isn't this a grand old structure...a derelict old building owned by a tight-ass, slumlord attorney that wants an outrageous price for the building...many have offered to buy it at a fair market price and restore it for condos and retail space...but he holds fast to his blood money ...jerk!!!
So I wandered the alleys of our downtown and scored a few shots of what used to be.The Batterson stores were mercantiles, 3 floors of cool stuff. I'll never forget the jewelry department on the first floor...back in the day me and my Mom would circle the counter looking for the perfect set, necklace and earrings, you know, the clip-on style that gave you a headache after 15 minutes...and wonderful baubles that would make her hand sewn dress just zing with style...my Mom was the most beautiful Mom in the whole world when she dressed up for church or the dances her and Dad would go to at the Colosseum Ballroom.
Those were the days when we got to have a babysitter...oh so long ago!
Groceries...our downtown boasted many such mercantile...I'll never forget taking the bus downtown with my Granny, to the butcher shop for her weekly meat stockpile.This store had a cool old floor that squeaked when you walked acrossed it...and the faint smell of cigar smoke and smoked fish...what a treat...this was a very busy and vibrant community in it's day.
I don't remember what was originally in this old building, it was on the South end of town, the rough end of town that we never went to much, lots of bars and flop houses for the clam diggers, a very important part of the cities economy...pearl buttons from the Mighty Miss.
These next two shots are an old feed store, this is where I buy my bird seed and once my chicken feed...TeStrake Brothers...it is still operational today. The building behind it was the old ice house where ice was cut from the river in the frozen winters and stored here for sale to house wives for their 'ice box'...can you imagine...before my time for sure...
This is all I could find this time, but my awareness has been peeked and so may be yours...many have been painted over, as most consider them to be eyesores...a sign of the times...
