Six thousand souls. It’s Pauls Valley, and he’ll fight any man who says t’ain’t!

You have to wonder: did the investors fight at the last minute and fall out?

"Boss, I know you’re proud of the renovation and there’s lots of display space outside the store, but when I’m behind the back counter I got about two inches between me and the wall.”

SHUMATE!

Could be a 20s product that made sure shoes in the closet always stayed together.

PATTERSON & CONNER

So Mr. Conner threw his weight in with Patterson, rather than Shumate?

Wonder what the story was.

Once there was a bigger name, and there wasn’t that downtown-depressing word.

It was this.

These tiles always catch my eye. It’s the look of the commercial world when I was a little kid.

There’s a certain style of rehab that looks like they slathered on pancake makeup too thick. Always makes the buildings look unformed and blobby.

Hmm. Fire or collapse - or, renovation?

Answers that

Nothing seem out of the ordinary . . .

. . . until you look at the size of the doors.

There’s a bright testament of faith in downtown:

I wonder if the canopy was installed by a previous tenant, though.  Let's rewind the google . . .

Gosh, do you think it might have been a drug store?

OUMB:

That waterspout doesn’t look like it’s absolutely mission-critical.

GARVIN. That’s the county. This could’ve been a gummint office.

Dang, that’s nice::

And nicely maintained. Lends a note of ancient dignity to downtown.

As opposed to, say . . . this.

Nice going, Blanton.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another Roman temple under there.

They just kept whomping it with the ugly stick. Note the windows - I’m betting those are originals.

It was the Valley theater, once.

Sigh; swoon

The appearance of these structures in small towns must have startled, dismayed, amused, or cheered the locals. Which would you be?

Rote early 20th century office block, with a mindless rehab.

“I don’t care if the brick doesn’t match, I want to lighten it up! You know, get with it!”

One OUMB is never enough

Not the most inspirational fountain you’ll see today.