At least the Parking Meters are gone...

NowaDays View

North Main Street ... 100 Block ... West ...  Early 2010s

OldenDays View

North Main Street ... 100 Block ... West ... Early 1960s

Minutia:
Fort Tax Service (top photo) used to be a candy store, a restaurant, and a "Gourmet Corner." The building in the middle was Newlins Gifts for many years. Nowadays it's a Curves Fitness Center. That lady doing the window shopping appears in my previous post. D'ya think she ever figured she'd be in a blog in the 21st century? Compared to the NowaDays View above, the building to the extreme right seems to have been covered by metal siding. They did this a lot in the fifties, sixties and seventies. (Remember, these buildings were already eighty years old by the 1960s!) Rather than restore expensive brick facades and ever-breakable glass windows, they just covered up the whole front of the building with enameled sheet metal tiles. In a rare instance of the NOW photo looking better than the THEN photo, this seems to be the case with the Five Star Antiques building. Thanks to Main Street being placed on the National Register of Historic Places, many of the buildings look better today than they did mid-century. And can someone pick up all the garbage in the gutters? Hey lady...

Municipal Building

NowaDays View

North Main Street ... 100 Block ... West ... Early 2010s

OldenDays View

North Main Street ... 100 Block ... West ... Early 1960s

Minutia:
The newest car I see in this photo is a 1960 Chevrolet parked in front of the Municipal Building, so, even though the caption says Early 1960s, this photo might actually be from late 1959. Perhaps the word circa should be inserted in the caption. BUT I DIGRESS. North of the Municipal Building -- in the building that is now Fort Tax Service -- was a candy store and restaurant. K&F Restaurant? Ever hear of that? How about Weber's Candies? Is that what it says? I'll have to research this. Maybe a 1960 phone book would help me out. Ask that lady in front of the Municipal Building. Also, there seems to be a tall vertical "Community Chest" fundraiser sign by the main entrance of the Municipal Building. And to the right of the steps (no wheelchair ramp, by the way) is a smaller vertical sign -- probably illuminated -- that says "POLICE." This must've been before the new/old Police Station was built one block east of here.


MoreOlden Views

North Main Street at North Water Street ... West ... Mid 1950s

Minutia:
Same Municipal Building, seen from a different angle. And -- judging by the vintage automobiles -- probably a few years earlier than the photo above. There looks to be about a 1955 Ford parked in the grouping of three cars, so this is the mid-fifties. Circa. I rather like the original front of this building. Currently, there's a wooden "awning" above the Main Street entrance (see NowaDays View) that looks to have been built in the 1970s. It doesn't seem to "fit" with the solid "concrete block" -look of the rest of the building. BUT I DIGRESS AGAIN...

North Main Street at North Water Street ... West ... Circa 1940s

Minutia:
This appears to be a 1940s view, again, judging, as I do, by the car. Is that a police car? Remember, the Police Station WAS housed within the Municipal Building back then, so maybe. Did you notice the ever-changing street lamps? The triple-dome style shown here are my favorites so far. Also of note: look at all those wires! Goodness help anyone flying a kite down Main Street in the forties. BUT I DIGRESS.

Whatever Became of Monkey Wards?

NowaDays View

North Main Street ... 70 Block ... East ... Early 2010s

OldenDays View

North Main Street ... 70 Block ... East ... Mid 1950s

Minutia:
Anyone remember Ihde's Superette in this building? Purveyors of both Coke and Pepsi I see. A couple of storefronts have given way for later addition(s) to First National Bank: Looks to be Jensen and Jones Clothing Store and a Monkey Wards (as Dad used to call it.) Notice too that the fire escape on the north side of the Foods building (that's food-apostrophe-s) has since been removed and bricked-up (see NowaDays View). That wire is still hanging across Main Street though. And notice the Main Street street lamps; the ones we have NOW look older than the ones they had THEN. Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser... Montgomery Wards later moved to a new location on Madison Avenue in the building currently occupied by Ace Hardware. First National Bank is now Premier Bank. Time? 1:12 pm. Temp? 39 degrees.