The Drive to Work

I take the same route to work everyday due to some construction and I always admire the huge old houses that line Broadway.  Now the old houses are only found on the north side of downtown and I still remember when they tore down the old houses on the south end.  It was painful to watch as the bits and pieces of a time gone by was laid on the curb for trash only to be replaced by fast food restaurants and medical buildings.  A shame really.  I would wince as I drove past and saw bullseye molding in pieces and other odds and ends.  I suppose the consumer driven monster behind it all found it more lucrative to replace rather than restore.

The character of my small city completely changes when you pass through its tiny downtown.  It is like stepping into the past if you gaze upward at the old houses.  They are truly lovely.  I decided to stop on the way to work this morning and share one house in particular with you.

Isn't it lovely?  I can imagine peeking out the window in the turret and seeing horse drawn carriages slowly making their way down the street.

This style is quite popular here.  And I love how they mix the stone with brick.

Circular rooms have always fascinated me.  I imagine it took a skilled mason to lay these stones.

Yes it looks like 3 stories of history here.  I wish I knew more about this house.

Across the street is another house.  Someone is doing some work on it as you can tell.

I'm not sure what the gray thing is on the side.

This white stone has a name I can't recall, but it is common to see here as well.  Old houses like these have it as well as those built in the '40's and '50s.  Buildings later than that do not have it.

Another turret!  Notice the stone.  Like the other house it is bedford stone.  You see lots more of that stone further west.  In fact, there is a town in Indiana named for it.  Indiana for my friends abroad is the neighboring state across the river.

Another shot of the turret.  I would LOVE to look out the upper most window.

Right across the street from the gray panel is a park!  I had never noticed this tiny park.  If it is on private property they are willing to share this bit of green space!

At first I wondered if this monument memorialized some eccentric person's "beloved" pet. 

Let's look around this tiny park.

There are actually two benches and the park runs nearly a full block.

I was very happy to find this.  I only stopped because there was a spot to park and I wanted a photograph.  Somehow it made me feel better about the world to see that someone had taken the time to put a nice little spot here in downtown for no apparent purpose except to provide a respite for pedestrians.  The area has quite a few homeless people and it was very generous of the owners to invite anyone to sit right outside their window.