Posted March 10, 201510 yr Some shots of these two county seats I took last summer. The Town of Liberty is the county seat for Union County, Indiana. The town has a population of 2,133 (2010 census) and when entire county has a population of only 7,516. The county public library, which has a nice historically accurate addition Union County Public Library by Eridony, on Flickr Templeton Cabin, built in 1805 and moved to the courthouse square in 1980 Templeton Cabin by Eridony, on Flickr A small county has a small courthouse, but it's nice! Union County Courthouse by Eridony, on Flickr Union County Courthouse by Eridony, on Flickr Downtown Liberty by Eridony, on Flickr Downtown Liberty - Union Street by Eridony, on Flickr Downtown Liberty by Eridony, on Flickr The next county north is Wayne County, population 68,917. Its county seat is the City of Richmond, population 36,812. Downtown Richmond is not ritzy, but it does have a mostly intact Main Street with some gems Richmond by Eridony, on Flickr I liked this one a lot Romey's by Eridony, on Flickr The National Road by Eridony, on Flickr Knucklehead's by Eridony, on Flickr Richmond Civic Theatre The Murray Theatre by Eridony, on Flickr This one could use some help Main & 9th by Eridony, on Flickr Former Tivoli Theatre Tivoli Theatre by Eridony, on Flickr Kresge's Tile by Eridony, on Flickr Former Kresge Store by Eridony, on Flickr Slipcovered Harris Bank by Eridony, on Flickr Main Street Richmond by Eridony, on Flickr Chase Bank by Eridony, on Flickr Richmond Rexall Sign by Eridony, on Flickr It's great to see a small city with a downtown department store still. Damn it is ugly though Richmond Elder Beerman by Eridony, on Flickr Downtown Richmond still has a lot of actual retail Veach's by Eridony, on Flickr Downtown Richmond by Eridony, on Flickr Two Knollenberg Buildings by Eridony, on Flickr GH Knollenberg 1888 by Eridony, on Flickr Former Leland Hotel, built 1928 Leland Hotel by Eridony, on Flickr Hoagy Carmichael mural Hoagy Carmichael is Watching by Eridony, on Flickr Outside of downtown the other neighborhood I investigated was the Depot District, a cool neighborhood developed around the former Pennsylvania Railroad Station Pennsylvania Railroad Station by Eridony, on Flickr Depot District Market by Eridony, on Flickr The Depot District is also home to the Bluesmobile Bluesmobile by Eridony, on Flickr Depot District - E Street by Eridony, on Flickr Richmond Car Tower by Eridony, on Flickr Depot District by Eridony, on Flickr The Cradle of Recorded Jazz by Eridony, on Flickr BBQ restaurant in an old fire station Firehouse BBQ & Blues by Eridony, on Flickr Moon Walkers by Eridony, on Flickr Depot District Sidewalk by Eridony, on Flickr The Daniel Burnham designed train station Pennsylvania Railroad Station by Eridony, on Flickr Pennsylvania Railroad Station Star by Eridony, on Flickr Richmond Townhouses Richmond Townhomes by Eridony, on Flickr Atlas Apartments Atlas Apartments by Eridony, on Flickr This last shot of the county courthouse was taken a few weeks after the rest. It is separated from downtown by a couple of blocks of nothingness Wayne County Courthouse by Eridony, on Flickr
March 10, 201510 yr Gorgeous towns! Indiana has such gems. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
March 11, 201510 yr My favorite aunt lived in Richmond from the 1940s through the 1990s, so I have some familiarity with the place. My family (and I) visited the city frequently in the 1960s -- 1980s. I have mixed feelings about the place. It was an important place many decades ago, but was visibly on the decline starting in the '70s. Nonetheless, my aunt continued to maintain that Richmond was a very important & special place, and was continually getting better. I think this was a common reaction in many declining rust-belt towns at that time. Regarding your last shot.... This last shot of the county courthouse was taken a few weeks after the rest. It is separated from downtown by a couple of blocks of nothingness I believe this was the area destroyed by the gas explosion of 1968: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Indiana_explosion By that point, downtown Richmond was on a glide-path towards oblivion, like many rust-belt cities. A few modern buildings were built in the destroyed area after the tragedy, but the economy, and general trends in city planning and construction meant that no real rebuilding would take place in this area. Even today, almost 50 years later, the area is sort of bleak & empty -- a few low-rise building surrounded by lots of parking lots. Stuart
March 11, 201510 yr Richmond also has some gorgeous historic neighborhoods just east of downtown with excellent, ornate housing. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 12, 201510 yr I think I first discovered this website on Urban OH -- thanks, guys! Here are a couple of classic Victorian mansions in Richmond, one on East Main, as you point out: http://rustbeltpreservationist.blogspot.com/2015/02/preservation-envy-1829-e-main-st.html http://rustbeltpreservationist.blogspot.com/2015/02/midwest-victorians-204-s-15th-st.html As somebody who's been on the east coast for decades, I find it amazing the quality of the house you can buy for such an incredibly low price. If I could convince my (Boston-born) wife, and if Richmond had any quality jobs, I'd be ready to move...... Stuart
March 12, 201510 yr I have always had an affinity for Richmond. So many elements remind me of Hamilton, Middletown, and Springfield, although it feels like Indiana. Too many downtown buildings have been covered or lost their cornices, but with some rehabs and streetscaping downtown has great possibilities.
March 12, 201510 yr Looks great! It's one city I've always wished I had time to explore on foot. Thanks for the posting the photos.
March 15, 201510 yr I used to live in Eton, Ohio in the early '80s and Richmond was the nearest bigger town to do shopping. I remember seeing my first Target store there and I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark at a little single screen theater in Richmond in 1981. The time zone line was also at the border of Ohio and Indiana, so going to Ricmond meant we gained an hour.
June 23, 20159 yr nice set, some great old stock and even the 'slipcovered' bldg is pretty cool -- speaking of richmond, i see tom raper died recently. i think he single-handedly kept many of the local toledo tv stations funded with all those commercials. they always made me wonder about the actual town: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/longtime-rv-business-owner-tom-raper-dies/nktrk/
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