I don’t know what happened to this place, but it happened, and it happened hard.

As you enter the town, this sign of former prosperity - the rare three-story window with a minor ground-floor rehab (those bricks are not original, I don’t think) and full window-boarding.

A nice little civic structure, on the baroque side of Moderne.

“If you’re arriving to plead a parking ticket, use door #2. If you are paying your utility bill, enter at door #5.

“I’d like to make a withdrawal.”

“Sorry.” (Points to name of institution)

A remarkable lapse of taste on the left side. Covered up and buckaroo’d.

This is the saddest picture upcoming in the Google Street View section, and believe me, it has competition.

She remembers when it was different, I’ll bet.

If not now, Rhen?

It was also Bush furniture. The glue spots mark the place where the metal or vitralite panels were stuck. The modern letters mock the whole thing.

I don’t think you should bother knocking

Old Google view:

And now.

The atomic blast seared the images of the children into the walls:

FOLLOW US FOR FUN

Kart’s Fashion Center. (Or Kart’s?) At least we know they used to do something with the boarded-up windows.

Okay. It's all depressing. But I've broken this up into two parts. Next week? We'll see what happened to Kart's Kidz.