I see lots of cool stuff biking down High Street and other city streets--stuff you'll never see whizzing along 315 or 670. Like last night--as I biked home through the rain and strong winds, I caught sight of the half-demolished Clinton Theatre near Broadway and High.
The Clinton was an old, single screen movie theatre that my friends and I frequented back in the 60s and 70s.......lots of good memories. Back in those days, we only had one car per family (hence the proliferation of one-car garages in Clintonville). So every 3 or 4 miles along High Street, within an easy walk of the families living in the vicinity, there was a cluster of stores and businesses that provided everything we needed for everyday living and entertainment--a grocery store, hardware store, pharmacy, barber shop, beauty salon, library, post office and a movie theatre--in essence, a village.
Most of these village businesses are long gone, but if you look closely you can still see the "bones," i.e. the buildings that have been adapted to other uses (antique shops, health clubs, bagel shops, etc.). Unfortunately, the Clinton was not able to adapt and after sitting vacant for several years, was torn down yesterday. If you look closely, you can see the window where the projector sat.
Another cool sight is the tree stump on Cleveland Ave. in the front yard of a chiropractic office that has been carved into a spine.
I caught a photo of the spine decked out for Halloween, complete with black widow spiders. (That can't be good for business!) I caught this photo as I biked from my office downtown to a reception at the Lakes CC in Westerville.
Finally, I caught this great photo of a Gideon handing out miniature bibles to OSU students as they stumble out of their dorms on their way to morning class.
Hundreds of Gideons come to campus each fall, looking like an army of Bear Bryant football coaches, hoping to catch students, especially the freshman, early in the school year and gird them with the Word before they descend too far into sinful extracurricular activities.
I love being on a bike and getting to see up close and personal everything that makes our community...........well,.........a community.
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