Views From The Past: Downtown
Wichita Falls V #2
By Julie Coley
CreateSpace
ISBN #978-1503078239
110 Pages
Price $15.26
Rating 5-Stars
In this second volume of Views From The Past, Julie
Coley has gathered 99 more old photos of early Wichita Falls. Down town scenes,
including shots showing the Tower Theater, Strand Theater, and State Theater,
as well as the businesses that catered to the city residents from the 1920s
through the 1970s. Streets where I walked and played as a kid growing up. There
is Ohio Street, Indiana, Scott, Lamar, 7th, 8th, 9th,
and many others. Gibson’s department store, the Casa Manana restaurant, and so
much more. These pictures compliment the huge volume that precedes it.
Overall, the pictures are clear and detailed, though
there were a few faded due to age and wear. As with any project like this,
there are so many memories of places lost forever, and half forgotten until
viewed once again. Maybe we remember other buildings, other businesses. Cafes,
car lots. Theaters. But they are not here, and we hope for yet another volume,
and more pictures. I don’t think any building should ever be torn down without
first capturing it on film and recording its history. So much is lost to us
now, and will never be re-discovered, unless someone finds an old box of
memories in a forgotten trunk amongst family snapshots that also capture city
scenes in the background. I wish everyone would dig into forgotten boxes stored
in a basement or closet. You never know what pictures may bring that forgotten
memory to light once more for someone.
I spent my formative years in Wichita Falls, from 1947
to 1956, and attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as
Reagan Junior, High. San Jacinto is gone now. Carrigan is a vocational school,
and Reagan is an Admin building, though it still stands. We lived in many
sections of the city, and I played all over town. Anyone who ever lived in the
city will enjoy this book. Highly recommended to current and past residents of
Wichita Falls, as well as anyone that enjoys viewing a city’s past.
Tom Johnson
The Gem Theater
http://thegemtheater.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment