Here’s some good news.

"The population was 4,585 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Johnson County.[6] In recent years, the town has boomed economically due to methane production from the coal bed methane extraction method used in the Powder River Basin and surrounding areas."

I’m not sure why I took this picture. And by “took this picture” I mean I hit command-shift-4, dragged it over the image, opened in Photoshop, resized, stroked, saved. Not the same as actually taking a picture, because I wasn’t there.

If I had been there I would not have walked into that display area, because it seems like a place to trap you like a fly. You walk in to sup on the nectar and the awning closes swiftly down and the juices start to digest you.

I like the top. The way the vent punctuated the forehead like a marital-status dot. The original glass on the main floor. When was it rehabbed-but-not-completely so? No idea.

Hey! Yes:

The colors suggest Rexall, although they don’t necessarily clinch the connection; that hue combo also said “Howard Johnson” or “World’s Fair 1939.”

The other side. Same google visit.

I notice that the second-floor bricks are a different color, suggesting the spaces might have been windows. Big windows.

“Corroded limestone window sills” may not be on the promotional brochure:

The whole block:

I don’t know if if these were built to simulate old-timeyness for the tourist trade, but the expanse of Buckaroo Revival doesn’t help anything.

Shingle-Hells, Shingle-Hell, Shingle all the Nay

Check out the left side of the image. I’ve never seen that type of decoration on an old building, anywhere. Spheres running up and across.

And there they are again!

Look at the way the building frames the floors, recesses the windows - it’s a nice dramatic approach, presenting the interior like a big stage surrounded by a proscenium.

That’s it. There are a few more buildings, but you get the idea. A nice, tidy place - and it’s doing well. The pictures above were from Google’s last visit, in 2012. I’ll bet it looks even better today.