Cordele, as you’ll see, is a city of contrasts! You know, like any other city. Wikipedia:

"Cordele is a city in Crisp County, Georgia, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Crisp County.

"Cordele calls itself the Watermelon Capital of the World."

Wonder if anyone else does. You can call yourself anything. Nno one’s obligated to agree.

Eleven thousand seems like a small amount of people for a downtown like this:

A street like that suggests the population was bigger once, but no: the city’s at its peak population today.

Ah, that explains it! They had all the secret money.

Built in 1907. The Masonic order may have supplied the carvings, off the shelf.

“Say, does this building have central heat, or fireplaces for each room?

“Now why would you ask that.”

Odd building - the metal part looks tacked on, which I suppose it is, and the corner doesn’t look as if it was ever used as an entrance.

Bricked-up windows, a facade that falls apart - a downtown can survive a few of the former, but the latter, left for years, depresses the spirit.

The heart is not gladdened by this, either -

- but at least it has a certain stoic consistency.

What does a palimpsest ghost sign like this tell you?

That there was nothing next door.

If I recall my reason for taking these next shots, they’re meant to show different times, according to the Google street view visits. The early pictures were always blurry and gloomy:

Later.

Fire? Did they just fall down? No; something made of brick will stand until it’s shoved.

Looks like a postwar renovation of an old commercial block:

Alas.

Nothing will be built there.

I think I might be able to guess what the right half of the building looked like:

Not sure that entrance is deep enough. Was there room for anything else but a counter and a door to the stock room?

It’s just painful.

Is it all like that? Click on to the next page.