When I see that the population is around 50,000, I think "Fargo sized." Big enough to have a substantial downtown. Most of these old buildings are from a period when the city had far fewer people, though, so let's see what a town of 25K could summon up in the first few decades of the previous cventury.

Hmm. I have three folders worth. I guess this is Grand Island Nebraska month. Let’s get cracking. The good news is that I can’t possibly have the usual number every week - 20, 24.

We begin with a plaintive image: an old railroad warehouse - #3, it seems - next to the empty route where once the trains came through.

Now we're downtown. Nice Italianate structure, no? Unfortunate blinding.

Let’s go around the corner . . .

Interesting.

I’d prefer curtains, but whatever.

I assume it’s an old security feature.

Someone had a peculiar definition of improvement.

Clean new Son of Apple Store look:

I wonder what it looked like before. Can the old Street View images help? They can.

This is hard to read.

The position in the block suggests it’s an older building, renovated in . . . the 40s, up above? And much later, on the ground floor? Or all at once, in the 80s?

Can we roll it back some more?

Crockett and Tubbs approve

So, if it wasn’t all renovated in the 80s, it certainly took to the decade with natural enthusiasm

The smothering hand of well-manicured Buckaroo takes the last glimmer of light from an old downtown building.

Not so much Buckaroo’d as relentlessly shingled.

Ah: a complete rehab to its original state. Nice.

And look at that Cylon next door:

The upper level was apparently unable to be restored.

Ah, I see the Alpha Centaurians have set up camp:

The Y was responsible for some of the worst architecture in the country in the 70s and 80s. It seems as if they built nothing but trendy crap that aged poorly.

Another candidate for salvation. The ground floor details look remarkably well-preserved.

Sandblast and tuck point and glaze, and it’ll be good as new.

On the outskirts again? I’ll have to check the map. I’m really staggering all over the place here. At least the tracks are still used.

Say, what’s that . . .

Yes, we’re going to enjoy our three weeks here, I think.