It's one of the larger towns we've done - 117K souls. The Wikipedia entry sounds like it was done by local boosters, calling it "a tourist destination." Paris, watch your back. It also notes it's been featured in film and television: "The Daily Show has featured Evansville in two episodes. The first featured a story about comedian Carrot Top's reopening of the historic Victory Theatre. "

TPC, aka The Phone Company, built a lot of these bunkers around the country. Some were better than others.

The only thing worse than a Brutalist building is a windowless Brutalist building. I guess there’s lots of stuff in there that needs cooling, and windows would screw it up, but these were deadly.

Add the lovely sight of the old building on the corner, stripped and bricked, and you have to wonder once again why people thought the mall was more pleasant.

An 80-year-old rich guy and his 50-something Botoxed 3rd wife:

The Romanesque building on the left is quite handsome. I wonder about the one on the right - probably a post-war facadectomy, with nice thin brick on the ground floor for a modern look.

So of course they fix the thin white brick with vertical slats of wood.

Never put a suburban office park downtown. Just don’t.

If you ask yourself, would this look at home in a suburb, and think “Yes! So it will help revitalize downtown,” it won’t. It’ll just break the streamline.

That said, it has a certain crisp appeal.

L. E. Long would not be happy about this:

Miserable rehab, but things are looking up. From a may 2017 story:

The L.E. Long building at 18 and 20 NW Sixth St. currently has two business on its ground floor: Psychic Readings and attorney David Shaw's office. Brothers Danny and Kevin Fulton, who bought the property recently, are pursuing a  new tenant, possibly a restaurant

Shaw is moving out at the end of June, but it is possible Psychic Readings could stay put.

The story says downtown is blossoming, so a lot of what you’re seeing here could change, or could have already changed.

According to city records, the building dates to 1906. Original owner Lewis E. Long was a dealer of saddles and horse supplies. In the early 1920, Long shifted to  automobile parts sales. He and his family lived in the upper floor apartment.

The article also notes that the building is across from the Victory Theater, which I missed in my first pass through the area; lacks an impressive marquee, but it’s obviously a big 20s theater.

Lovely little Art Deco details.

It's part of this:

It’s the Hulman Building. Handsome structure.

It was initially built as the new Central Union Bank Building and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Morris Plan (Central Union Bank)". However, the bank failed on 11 January 1932 during the height of the Great Depression.

That happened a lot. All over. Everywhere.

Another piece of civic architecture from 20s, when such things had a grave, classical solemnity:

Sober Doric below, exuberant stonework above:

She looks as if she’s making them take a time out for being naughty, and they know they were naughty, but don’t like the time out anyway:

“1968?” you say.

“Possibly, yes.”

Yes. The tallest building in town, and proof that you didn’t want a skyscraper in the late 60s. The podium just ruins the streetscape; it’s blunt and dull and featureless.

So, is it salvageable? Yes: there’s an impressive amount of good building stock in reasonable shape, at least from the outside. The downtown seems too big, right now - no critical mass of pedestrians or housing. But if the lesson of Fargo teaches us anything, it’s that these places can fill up again and succeed.

Of course if the lesson of St. Paul teaches us anything, it’s the opposite.

Or there’s the lesson of Evansville: when your Main Street looks like this . . .

It’s harder to come back. But I wish them luck.