This is a crosspost from a comments section on another site, so forgive me if you saw this. Seem to fit here, since we do urban-studies things. 

A nice green residential neighborhood:

This may look ancient, but I think it goes back only as far as the early 90s.

It's a restaurant called Sasha. Their website has an alluring description:

On warm summer days and evenings, our guests will be able to admire the beauty of the summer recreation area.

A fountain, a waterfall, sculptures, chess, gazebos in the coolness of majestic maples - all this adds charm and desire to visit our restaurant again.

Classical European cuisine, delicacies, barbecue dishes, children's holidays, quality service, friendly atmosphere, live music in the evenings, fountain plays in different colors - this is about us!

The dining room:

Their Facebook page has lots of delicious-looking dishes, and pictures of the family that runs it.

Or rather, ran it.

These shots show the interior court of the apartment complex.

The full video:

At the end there's another video, taken by someone else who laconically notes that “Russia paid us a visit,” shows the view from the street, which lets us stich together a before-after. (This one was done by a redditor.)

I did this of the view across the street at the small apartments:

On the other side of the roundabout the Google Map says there's a place called Dr. Hunger. It was a pizza restaurant.

When I googled it, the company profile on the page said I should hurry, because it was closing soon.

Now, this year's Above-the Fold Kul-chah Feature, or ATFKF.

Someone had a lot of fun with this one. And might have been trippin', as they say. Title: Armor of a warrior, Michiel le Blon, 1597 - 1656. Spiritual and psychological armor as well, perhaps.

Says the museum:

In a circle stands a naked figure, covered with a network of geometric lines. Above a compass, crowned sword, pen, measuring stick and an unster. Below the circle a cartouche with warriors fighting. Around a border with allegorical figures, with various mottos. Title print of an eight-part series of prints, devoted to the qualities of a good warrior.

Props to Leo:

Griffin, Cock, the Snake Twins, Fido:

The whole thing is like an album cover for stoners.

That’s a good sign, isn’t it? Almost European. But of course American cities can look European, in their own way. (Which is American.)

You can romanticize this era as a time when beauty and tradition was respected, but remember:

It was also an era of toothaches and BO.

Google: “Consistory, (from Latin consistorium, “assembly place”), a gathering of ecclesiastical persons for the purpose of administering justice or transacting business, particularly meetings of the Sacred College of Cardinals with the pope as president.”

Specific searches turn up “Scottish Rite” and “wedding venue.”

		"I don’t see any enemy forces coming from this direction."

It's the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors monument.

You don’t see a lot of statues for Civil War sailors.

Smash-cutting to the future, it’s this week’s OUMB:

 . . . and the serene rebuke on another block.

Stylized Federal Moderne is one of my favorite styles.

This has a true Art Deco aspect, with some nearly-full-strength classic references as well. One of a kind, perhaps.

From any angle, the tower looks overscaled.

A building ought not to be mostly tower.

Nice little modern structure; It’d say mid 60s, because of the shape of the panels above the window. The start of late-modernism’s kitschy baroque period.

This is what came next:

Aggregate around the recessed  punchcard windows, I think. An original Buckaroo revival-style roof. Utter crap.

Just . . . awful.

I saw that one! It was an 80s beach sex-romp.

Cinematreasures:

(In 1998) it was in terrible shape and I was amazed that it was still functioning. The ceiling had been dropped and many of the ceiling tiles were missing. Sheet panelling covered most of interior so it was impossible to see any of the theatre’s original detailing. There appeared to be almost as many broken seats as there were unbroken.

All new, or a wrap-around?

Both are possible.

A bit too much tower, but not as bad as before.

A nice place. That’s all I got, so I assume that’s all there was. More or less.

That will do. See you tomorrow.