Centra-East Texas? East-Central? Don't know which they use, or whether they use either. Five thousand six hundred souls. Wikipedia says "the city's motto is "Giddings Texas: Experience Hometown Hospitality".

So let's do just that, then.

You either know what this is, right away, or you don't.

The corner booth was the best, if you could get it. A view of two sides of the world! But you'd probably be looking at your pizza.

Yes, it used to be a Pizza Hut.

"The city itself was founded in 1871 when the Houston and Texas Central Railway came to the area. It probably took its name from local magnate Jabez Deming Giddings, who was instrumental in bringing the railway to the area.

He had come to the area from Pennsylvania in 1838 to claim the land bounty of his brother Giles A. Giddings, killed at the Battle of San Jacinto."

The railway:

Doesn't look as if there's a lot of commerce connected to the old iron road.

On the left: the obligatory Buckaroo Revival shingled overhang. Because. Because they had to.

Downtown: the loss of a building seemed to reveal something very old:

Wiki:

Bull Durham advertising represents the most expansive, revolutionary advertising campaign of its time. The Blackwell Company spent more money to advertise Bull Durham than any other company on any product.

Large advertising campaigns at the time were considered to be extremely risky and fruitless in meriting more sales. Bull Durham ads proved this theory wrong, however, as the various campaigns became some of the most successful of the time and paved the way to modern day advertising.

And brought color and cosmopolitan flavors to the smallest and remote of towns.

"Mister Potter? The railroad called, and the front of your buildin' arrived. They said they can send some men over to nail it to the front."

They were thin back then, those banks - but at least they were two stories tall. Better to be tall than wide.

Tall was strong; tall was secure.

The awning spoils the buildings - it's like a sword caught at the moment it slices into a victim.

I say that as someone who's never felt like he was burning up because the sun was blasting through the window and there was no escape until October.

The overhang leaves the second story cut off from everything else, a different realm for different activities. Law, sleeping, tooth extraction.

Dentists were often on the second floor. I wonder why. To increase your fear as you walked up the street? No, that wouldn't be it. Perhaps that's just because professional people were upstairs.

Upstairs was for people who had a sheepskin.

Sometimes you get a raw look at something that probably looked like this in '64:

Does the pole remember what its signs once said? No, of course not. It couldn't see what was on the sign.

Also, it's a pole.

This looks boring and ordinary, I suppose - but think about it. Take a good look.

This was a little piece of the modern world come to the Texas flat lands. The flat brick expanse unpunctuated by windows or decorative patterns; the metal overhang; the angled windows. They were leaning into the Jet Age. Those broad panes made the entire lower floor visible from the outside, opened up the corner.

This was a sign the town was up-to-date.

The Courthouse.

Says its historical marker: "Designed by J. R. Goron along lines similar to New York State Capitol."

<pacepicante>Neew York State Capitol? Git a rope</pacepicante>

Doesn't look a damned thing like it, but in 1899, who'd know?