Thursday, March 4, 2010

Some pictures of my town

I did take some time at lunch to snap a few pictures from my car. This is our Lowertown area. Thank goodness someone in our local government a few years ago woke up to the fact that we have classic and beautiful houses near downtown. The problem was they were not kept up....at all by the property owners. So our city folks developed a wonderful program aimed at artists all over the country called the Artist Relocation Program. What they could do was do purchase a dilapidated home for a very cheap price with the promise that within a certain period of time the home would be restored and updated. This program not only improved the Lowertown area but also brought all kinds of talented artists to our area. Oh my! There are SO many gorgeous homes now in what was turning into a ghetto area. These pictures do not at all give any justice as to the beauty of the homes but they do give a slight imagine of beauty.

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As I pulled out of my bank turning right this is what I saw.

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These signs, or flags, mark the Lowertown area

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What the?

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Naturally I got a closer look.

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All rightly then.....it looks like a paper mache kind of Santa.....kinda

Not all of the updated homes are huge

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As you can tell, I took this picture from my car. The drivers around me seemed to be in a hurry

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This house survived the flood of 1932 in Paducah. Apparently a cow ended up on the upper porch in order to live and a picture of it made the papers around the country......or so the tale is told. I was glad to see that it is still very much alive and is a coffee house now. I think the folks, including the cow, that survived would be happy about that.

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Here is another beauty.

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The next few pictures are of the floodwall that was erected sometime after the 1932 flood. If you ever get near Paducah it is definitely worth checking out in person.

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This is the Market House. It was used in the early 1900's as a trading station. Can you imagine what it must have been? Farmers and traders riding their wagons onto town with their wares aboard. It is still standing in its original spot. There is a museum there not to mention the many gallery shows where artists can show off their wonderful items.

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You can see how long the floodwall is. Well, actually it is much longer than this, I was just pressed for time since I only get 45 minutes for lunch and still had to eat a bite. Speaking of eating this is where I picked up a fresh made deli sandwich.

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Anyone who is anyone knows this spot. It is easily within walking distance from the courthouse. Tons of folks walk over and get their lunch. Correct me if I am wrong So but our Papaw worked there years ago. I swear, the folks that work there are some of the nicest you will find. They greet each and every patron with a smile and a how are you today.

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As I took more picures of the floodwall it appeared to me there were so many stories behind it all.

Who knows when or if I will hear any of them. In the meantime I will just enjoy what I can see. And there is lots to see.

7 comments:

Karen said...

Your town has so much charm and history. Our town was started in the 1950s, so. . . no charm or history here. It would be nice to live in a place like Paducah. Its even a fun name to say!

Carroll Farm said...

What a charming little town! The wall would really be fun to see, and hear all the stories.

Anonymous said...

Such lovely architecture -- thanks for sharing this.

Jan Blawat said...

Thanks for the pictures, I was just sitting here at my boring desk wishing I could be somewhere else today, and what a treat! I got to take a walk around Paducah. I wish I had a floodwall to decorate, instead of a leaky levee by my house.

Leann said...

We have old homes here in Albany just like that. I love the old homes. During the winter time the owners use a 'group' decorating theme and they do a tour on horse drawn carriages.

Syd said...

Great looking town. I really like the restoration of the old homes.

Bill said...

I love small towns! Thanks for showing us around.

I think that was Easter Island Santa toward the top of the set.