Dennison's Twin City

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typical Tusky County town - but WTF is up with that Chase branch.  It might take the title for ugliest Chase branch I've ever seen from the one in Lorain where they left the columns but demolished the whole rest of the building.

For a twin it looks a good deal uglier.

Appalachia!

 

  The first photo is very interesting. It shows a covered sidewalk, with the second story of the building constructed over the sidewalk, supported by columns.

 

    This pattern was encouraged in some Roman cities. If all buildings followed this pattern, then there would be a continuous covered sidewalk, and pedestrians could stay out of the rain. There would be no need to clear snow from the sidewalk.

 

    In Ohio, this kind of construction is illegal in most places. I suspect that this particular building got away with it.

 

    Some modern buildings, especially strip malls, are built this way, but the difference is that they are on private property on not adjacent to the street.

 

  The first photo is very interesting. It shows a covered sidewalk, with the second story of the building constructed over the sidewalk, supported by columns.

 

    This pattern was encouraged in some Roman cities. If all buildings followed this pattern, then there would be a continuous covered sidewalk, and pedestrians could stay out of the rain. There would be no need to clear snow from the sidewalk.

 

    In Ohio, this kind of construction is illegal in most places. I suspect that this particular building got away with it.

 

    Some modern buildings, especially strip malls, are built this way, but the difference is that they are on private property on not adjacent to the street.

Perhaps it's grandfathered? That feature wasn't uncommon in Indiana in the nineteenth century and probably into the early 20th, and I wouldn't be suprised if it was used in Ohio, too.  I can think of a few buildings I've seen that still have it; there's one on the main street in Portland, Indiana, or was a few years ago, and I've seen several others in my small-town photo excursions. One in Pennville that originally was a hospital extends far out over the sidewalk, and I suspect once there may have been a driveway pull-in where the sidewalk is now. I've seen old photos of buildings in Fort Wayne that were built that way, including some hotels and a Pythian building. It probably was intended to provide shelter for people alighting from carriages to enter the buildings, with the upper-level porch to provide a pleasant outdoor sitting area for guests of a facility that didn't have space for a lawn or courtyard (back when cities were dense  :wink:)

Overall the town looks a bit bleak but relatively healthy economically for a small Ohio town - people actually walking around on a cloudy day and actual businesses in operation. Contrast with the burned out husks of some small towns in southern Ohio.

its not bad, nice setting. sure they have some all too obvious tear-downs and weak replacements, but who doesn't? you can just assume something cuter was there before the dollar and quasar stores and the post office, for example. and some cornices seem gone. too bad the losses stand out more here...but...just as they would in any smaller town.

 

a perfect example of where i always wish we still had little inter-urban trolleys running between these towns, bet it would help save their older town structures.