Uptown!

Got out and about today, and briefly found myself in an old, somewhat dusty, prairie town.

Naturally, the camera came along with me for the ride....

Sadly -- at least for me; it might have saved all y'all some serious boredom -- I didn't have time to wander around documenting every interesting nook and cranny of this grand place, but there was one landmark I absolutely would not have let slip past, un-recorded, in my peripheral vision, no matter what.

This is the Uptown Theatre*, a 1948-vintage red-enamel, glazed-tile and yellow-brick Art Moderne movie palace out in the middle of what looks like (but really isn't) nowhere. A plaque on the wall attests to its birth year, and reports that the most famous and best-loved feature of its snack bar was the pickled Sno-Cone**.

Nowadays, the Uptown is apparently some kind of community theater, which is Good because it was saved from the destruction visited on far too many wonderful old movie houses.

But for me, it brought back memories of watching black and white war movies and Warner Bros' cartoons during the Saturday matinees of my Yoot*** at the long-ago demolished Temple Theatre, a much less-interesting theater in my home town.

With such reminiscences rattling around in my head, I wanted to display the Uptown as it might have been illustrated on the day it opened.

PARENTHETICAL I HATE-IT-BUT-NEEDED-IT-NOTE: Since the community theater folks felt compelled to replace the original marquee with cheesy electronic message boards, I felt compelled to dip into my photo software's box o' tricks and black out the offending portions. If I was a real artist, I would painstakingly have recreated the original marquee. But I ain't.

I wanted to drag the Uptown away and take it with me wherever I end up next. I'll feel that way for a long time....

*     Duh!

**   If the place had been open I still wouldn't have tried one, sorry....

*** Said matinee-going Yoot being a number of years after 1948, if you please!

I need...

...what this place has to offer!

And that's all I have to say right now....

Whaaaaaa...?

All y'all who endure this kind of thing every year may laugh at me -- why should you be different? -- but, while I am very familiar with snow, I simply didn't expect to see it Where I Am Now....

I mean, I've spent plenty of time in and around the White Stuff, from Alaska to Colorado, Seattle to Norway, Connecticut to, well, California. I've played in it, walked in it, driven in it and, on two memorable occasions, even raced cars (albeit informally) and scooted around on a snowmobile in it.

I'm simply not used to seeing it from my bedroom window.

In fact, that has happened to me only once before, and that was in 1991. The place Where I Used to Live seldom had recorded snowfall (the last time before '91 was in 1950, and I do not remember that), so the sudden appearance then was a surprise for us. More so to the four cats that then shared my abode; two took right to it and went outside to play, two sensibly -- and aloofly -- stayed indoors and ignored the whole thing.

The snow lasted only an hour or so there. It'll likely be around longer here. Given my current situation, it's not especially convenient, but I do like it, and am enjoying snow-memories it is dredging up.

Maybe I'll feel less affinity for snow when I have to shovel big drifts of it, as I'm quite certain I will one day. Nope. I'm sure I'll be offered hot chocolate and other inducements....

In the wind...

...but it's impossible to tell if this is merely decoration meant to add an Old West flavor to the area or a working water pump. The vanes do spin in the breeze, anyway....

My guess is that it does nothing. Couldn't see any shafts, chains or even wires connecting the vanes to anything. Seems like a shame....