Desolate towns

T

The Artillerist

Joined
Oct 14, 2023
Messages
228
Is there anyone on this board old enough to remember when things were otherwise?

IMG_5699.webp
 
What city is that? I'm really good at identifying a location from a single photo but I need more clues than just that.
 
I started to add a comment to this thread when I realized that I could write a book about my life growing up in a small town in the 1970's. It was life before the shopping mall and nearly all of the stores were owned by local business people who had a vested interested in the community. It was a treat to go to the Greyhound bus station to eat at their lunch counter.

Times and people were different. There seemed to be kindness and respect for one another that is sorely missing in our society today. I am very fortunate to live in a small town in Georgia where you can walk the courthouse square on a Friday night and socialize with your neighbors. The businesses are now mostly restaurants and there is no real commerce taking place though. It's the county seat and city and county government offices occupy most of the former retail locations. This town is where the country music star Alan Jackson grew up and his song "Little Man" mentions numerous places that were here in the 1990's but are now gone. Morgan's jewelry is still here at a different location and the Lee-King Pharmacy is a Mexican restaurant but it touches home with the lyrics. Take a listen...

 
I've seen that same picture where it was claimed that the 6-lane road with a 45MPH speed limit is the problem.

The road is definitely 6 lanes (with 2 for parking), but I can assure you that the speed limit on that road is NOT 45MPH. Maybe 35MPH, more likely 25MPH.
 
FowVay said:
I started to add a comment to this thread when I realized that I could write a book about my life growing up in a small town in the 1970's. It was life before the shopping mall and nearly all of the stores were owned by local business people who had a vested interested in the community. It was a treat to go to the Greyhound bus station to eat at their lunch counter.

Times and people were different. There seemed to be kindness and respect for one another that is sorely missing in our society today. I am very fortunate to live in a small town in Georgia where you can walk the courthouse square on a Friday night and socialize with your neighbors. The businesses are now mostly restaurants and there is no real commerce taking place though. It's the county seat and city and county government offices occupy most of the former retail locations. This town is where the country music star Alan Jackson grew up and his song "Little Man" mentions numerous places that were here in the 1990's but are now gone. Morgan's jewelry is still here at a different location and the Lee-King Pharmacy is a Mexican restaurant but it touches home with the lyrics. Take a listen...

Click to expand...


Looking back — and I understand that it was graduate — but when would you say things started to resemble today’s soulless ambience? Thanks
 
Lots of small towns that are still stuck a half/full century behind if anybody wants to visit them.
 
PF52 said:
What city is that? I'm really good at identifying a location from a single photo but I need more clues than just that.
Click to expand...

I’ve no idea (no my picture), but I can swear I’ve driven through countless such towns, that, for the most part, have about a dozen of franchises of various mega corporations covering the full commerce spectrum
 
The Artillerist said:
Looking back — and I understand that it was graduate — but when would you say things started to resemble today’s soulless ambience? Thanks
Click to expand...
It happened when parents stopped raising their children and they expected society to do it for them. Whoever thought it took a village to raise a child was a babbling idiot. It takes a dedicated mother and father. I won't go into specific details but you can't let the inmates run the asylum and expect anything good to come from it.
 
brianl703 said:
Sign says "KBMW a friend you can count on", KBMW is a radio station licensed to Breckenridge, Minnesota, serving the Wahpeton-Breckenridge area,
Click to expand...
Thanks, you have better eyes than I do. I spent a lot of time trying to read that sign.

Interestingly, Movie Gallery is defunct, so that's probably an older photo.
 
PF52 said:
Thanks, you have better eyes than I do. I spent a lot of time trying to read that sign.

Interestingly, Movie Gallery is defunct, so that's probably an older photo.
Click to expand...

Sometime between 2008 and 2012, from the street lights which were installed/changed between the 2008 and 2012 street view photos.
 
A few of the “before” with people and activity AND “today” that’s anonymous in comparison:

Same spot somewhere in Los Angeles:
IMG_5715.webp

IMG_5714.webp



Don’t know where:
IMG_5707.webp
 
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