Was Your Hometown Retro?

[RetroModelSari]

There are parts of my hometown beeing really retro. The school that my great-grandmother attended still exists - but it´s a casino nowadays. In the last years a lot of houses got removed though. Real nice houses. Fachwerk-houses (I don´t know the trainlations but it´s those with wooden pieces in them). We still have some houses made of red sandstone that date back to the end of 19th century. Mentality over there is very twisted and allways was. On one side the old people and oldfashioned people and the other side is criminals and junkies. Someone that has no deeper knowledge might think it is a nice little place to be at, but insiders do know better *sigh*

 

[fortworthgal]

It's been said that a complete restoration of the Baker would cost between 30-55 million dollars. Nobody has stepped up with money to bring it back, but at the same time nobody dares to tear it down. It's an odd sight, seeing a huge skyscraper hotel in, quite literally, the middle of nowhere, but it's a potent reminder of a once great city. Besides, Mr. Baker died in his suite at the Baker, and I doubt he'd look too fondly upon his hotel being torn down.

So, anybody have $30-55 million?

I believe it was me who brought up Mineral Wells! lol Such a depressing little city.

I've toured the hotel a couple of times and I used to work with a guy who was a waiter in the coffee shop. That place definitely has some stories! The only suicide I know of is a hotel guest who got drunk and decided to jump off the balcony around the 12th floor Cloud Room. If you're in the room, there's a very narrow walkway, almost a catwalk really, that goes around the perimeter of the hotel. Apparently the guest decided to try to dive into the pool from said walkway, and landed on the shuffleboard court instead. The old hotel coffee shop on the ground floor was an Italian restaurant for a while several years ago. Pretty decent food! My boyfriend at the time knew the owner, who offered to take us down into the flooded hotel basement. We never got around to it, though.

The Baker is actually under contract right now. Apparently it underwent a makeover/renovation survey within the past couple of months as well. We can only hope! I've heard estimations that it would actually cost *more* to tear the building down than it would to completely renovate it!

We were there a couple of weeks ago on our way back from a camping trip and took several photos:
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/pmburk/Baker Hotel and Ft Wolters/

We'd been camping for 2 days so please excuse our appearances. lol Also there are a couple of odd shots of old barracks out at Ft Wolters. We weren't the only urban explorers traipsing around MW that day!

And just as a sidenote, another neat little Texas town is Jacksboro. Little country square with lots of old buildings. Even an old City Pharmacy with a lunch counter!

 

[Atomic Glee]

I believe it was me who brought up Mineral Wells! lol Such a depressing little city.

I'm pretty sure Baker didn't die in the suite... I think he died in a rest home. I could be wrong on that.

No, after reading up I think you're right - but I am sort-of right. T. B. Baker didn't die at the Baker - his nephew, Earl (to whom T. B. had turned the hotel over) was found in the suite in 1967, felled by a heart attack (though he didn't die in the hotel - he died at Nazareth Hospital later that day).

I've toured the hotel a couple of times and I used to work with a guy who was a waiter in the coffee shop. That place definitely has some stories! The only suicide I know of is a hotel guest who got drunk and decided to jump off the balcony around the 12th floor Cloud Room. If you're in the room, there's a very narrow walkway, almost a catwalk really, that goes around the perimeter of the hotel. Apparently the guest decided to try to dive into the pool from said walkway, and landed on the shuffleboard court instead. The old hotel coffee shop was an Italian restaurant for a while several years ago. Pretty decent food!

The Baker is actually under contract right now. Apparently it underwent a makeover/renovation survey within the past couple of months as well. We can only hope! I've heard estimations that it would actually cost *more* to tear the building down than it would to completely renovate it!

We were there a couple of weeks ago on our way back from a camping trip and took several photos:
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/pmburk/Baker Hotel and Ft Wolters/

We'd been camping for 2 days so please excuse our appearances. lol Also there are a couple of odd shots of old barracks out at Ft Wolters.

That's fantastic news, if something comes from it. I'm not surprised that it would cost more to tear down the building than to renovate it - those older buildings like the Baker were usually incredibly engineered and over-built. Having been through a couple of bad storms in the Electric Building in downtown Fort Worth (built 1929), I know I feel quite safe in an old building.

Neat pics as well!

And just as a sidenote, another neat little Texas town is Jacksboro. Little country square with lots of old buildings. Even an old City Pharmacy with a lunch counter!

Jacksboro is a neat little town. Ditto the Granbury square, of course (one of the nicest I've seen).

 

[fortworthgal]

No, after reading up I think you're right - but I am sort-of right. T. B. Baker didn't die at the Baker - his nephew, Earl (to whom T. B. had turned the hotel over) was found in the suite in 1967, felled by a heart attack (though he didn't die in the hotel - he died at Nazareth Hospital later that day).

That's fantastic news, if something comes from it. I'm not surprised that it would cost more to tear down the building than to renovate it - those older buildings like the Baker were usually incredibly engineered and over-built. Having been through a couple of bad storms in the Electric Building in downtown Fort Worth (built 1929), I know I feel quite safe in an old building.

Neat pics as well!

Jacksboro is a neat little town. Ditto the Granbury square, of course (one of the nicest I've seen).

I actually removed the line about TB Baker from my original post, because I wasn't sure if I was correct or not! I couldn't remember. Anyway, interesting. I don't think they're doing tours anymore. I wish they were, as my husband has never been inside the hotel. Maybe we forum folk need to work on that. Surely someone has an "in."

Here's an article about the Baker, it was in the Mineral Wells Index earlier this year (I used to work for the Weatherford Democrat and I have a funny little anecdote about the Index, but I'll save it for another time):
http://users3.ev1.net/~bakerhotel/article/mwi/11006.html

I like Granbury... but it is a little too "craft mall" for me. Not enough real antiques! Jacksboro is better for that, even though there's only 2 or 3 antique shops. Weatherford is probably my favorite though (and yes I am biased). lol

 

[Atomic Glee]

I like Granbury... but it is a little too "craft mall" for me. Not enough real antiques! Jacksboro is better for that, even though there's only 2 or 3 antique shops. Weatherford is probably my favorite though (and yes I am biased). lol

I do know what you mean by "craft mall." I'm an architecture geek, so I do love the Granbury square for its well-preserved/restored buildings.

I do miss the movie theatre in the Weatherford square (was disappointed in them for moving out to Hudson Oaks by the interstate). If I was a crazy billionaire, I'd buy the old theatre, restore the building (and put a good old marquee on it, not the '60s facade the old theatre had), and show old movies there all day. Wouldn't care if anybody came or not (like I said, I'm assuming I'm a crazy billionaire at this point. ).

I grew up in Brock, so Weatherford will always have a special place with me, even though my heart belongs to Fort Worth.

 

[fortworthgal]

I do know what you mean by "craft mall." I'm an architecture geek, so I do love the Granbury square for its well-preserved/restored buildings.

I do miss the movie theatre in the Weatherford square (was disappointed in them for moving out to Hudson Oaks by the interstate). If I was a crazy billionaire, I'd buy the old theatre, restore the building (and put a good old marquee on it, not the '60s facade the old theatre had), and show old movies there all day. Wouldn't care if anybody came or not (like I said, I'm assuming I'm a crazy billionaire at this point. ).

I grew up in Brock, so Weatherford will always have a special place with me, even though my heart belongs to Fort Worth.

Ah, Brock. I went to Peaster!

I like architecture, but I get a little too beaten down by the Saturday morning minivan crowds all hitting the Granbury square in search of that country painted wooden cow for their yard. I can't do it.

I saw many a flick at the Wford theater downtown. I remember eating at City Pharmacy back when Annie Hoese ran the world's best lunch counter. Man, those were the days.

 

[Atomic Glee]

Snapped these pics from a hill northeast of town when a friend and I were out in Weatherford geocaching. It's a bit of a time-warp moment, as pretty much all you see of the town from here is the old square and surrounding blocks. The pics turned out quite nice:

 

[fortworthgal]

Nice shots! The Weatherford square really is pretty.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

My town is FULL of development, but actually keeps it's small town atmosphere. Things are walking distance, even with the shopping malls and such, there's a street from me that is part of the "Old Granada Hills" I live in. Small family businesses, with the exception of a few. There's even a food stand down the street that you'd swear has been there for some time. While most everywhere else kind of looks like parts of LA, where you're still in the city, but there aren't a lot of towering buildings, even with slightly busy streets. There's a movie theater down the road, the local diner (even if it's a Dennys ), and there isn't any towering buildings. There are moments when you even pass by someone you saw the other day, or even run into someone you know. That is the small town atmosphere! I've ran into friends and family. I am not sure if anyone else around here has these experiences, but I have witnessed some every so often. Just a walk down the street ajacent to mine, you'll find some rather old fashioned looking homes. They've been there for quite some time. In my eyes, it's still the countryside it once was, when it was filled with farms and ranches, though I never got to see it. The barns and horse stables just happen to house Jack in the boxes and Ralphs Market's.

Above all, people are friendly. You can't find a better small town

 

[BigSleep]

My wife went to an elimentary school that looks just like the one in "A Christmas Story".

Still does. Especially when it snows.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

If you go out to Califonia, there's a small town known as Fillmore. one of the last remaining in Southern California. The town's literally caught in time. I can't say the same for the people, though.

 

[Air Boss]

Mineral Wells

Wow! Some of those buildings are incredible.

 

[ledsled]

Brick school

My wife went to an elimentary school that looks just like the one in "A Christmas Story".

Still does. Especially when it snows.

Yes! My elementary school looked EXACTLY the same as the Christmas Story one. The bricks have been painted yellow and it's been turned into condos. I'm grateful that it was not torn down.

BTW, as a kid I got my tongue stuck to a freezer, so I can painfully empathize with the kid at the flagpole....

I'll never forget the duck-and-cover air drills for when the Russians would bomb us.... as if hiding under a school desk would protect us from the radiation. It was a big deal to go down to the custodian's room in the basement and bring up the wire crate of milk cartons for snack time. Walking past all the metal drums of water with the civil defense symbol painted on the side. The janitor who had been a cook in the Navy. My sixth grade teacher was also in WWII and brought in K rations for us to eat! That was an amazing experience to eat soda crackers from WWII. I'll also never forget when he broke the news to us that JFK had been shot. The end of innocense for a nation.

 

[olive bleu]

i have nothing like the beautiful buildings in this thread to share.No retro architecture, but plenty of retro life style.I was born in the late 60's & spent the next 18 years on a remote island in the North Atlantic.I only came to appreciate what this meant later in life when i left home for the big city. I remember groceries being tied up in brown paper & string. I remember cheese always being cut from a big wheel,no shrink wrapped stuff.I remember not having electricity & eating meals by a kerosene lamp, having to use an outhouse and being bathed , as a child, in a galvanized steel tub in the kitchen.I remember getting running water & indoor plumbing.I remember when the only means i had to play music was to stack records on my Dad's portable turntable(the kind in a suitcase). I remember soda coming only in glass bottles, and when grapes were such a treat, i only got them in my stocking @ Christmas, wrapped in foil.I saw "Grease" & the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in the town hall, from a reel-to-reel projector, shown on a white sheet pinned to the wall.Is it any wonder i crave the good ol' days? I feel very privileged, to have these memories.

 

[Tommy Fedora]

It used to be.

I grew up in a small town in northern NJ and it was the typical retro town; main street with a soda shop, impressive old bank, and lots of charm. I didn't realize it then but it was very nice and confortable. Then urban renewal comes around and levels the whole thing, replaces it with a mall and makes it all look very anticeptic. It took years of construction and headaches with politicians getting rich and the little man being rewarded with a loss of style.
I like to sit and think, retrace my steps to school when I was young so that I don't forget what it used to be.

 

[BJonas]

I grew up in Tampa, Florida. While there seemed to be one finger on the "progress" button in the city proper, other areas like Ybor City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ybor_City#History) were rooted in a bit of history. Of course, Ybor City eventually became a rave culture cesspool, as mentioned in the link above. Nothing's sacred sometimes

 

[Avalon]

I live in a small town on Long Island, and it hurts to see the destruction done in the name of "progress". I (along with other community members) tried to save our single-screen movie house built in the 40s, but it was gutted and currently is a showroom for boats. The day they took the gorgeous wraparound marquee down was a sad one indeed. It was a popular hangout for generations of kids - for myself, as a reduced-price cinema in the 1980s and 90s.

Directly across the street was the local bowling alley, built around the same time. It closed in 2004 (when the gutting began on the theatre), but still stands...though its days are numbered: rumor has it that it will be demolished and replaced with - what else? - a chain drugstore. :eusa_doh:

Sorry for the small pictures - they're all that was available online.

the theatre

the bowling alley

 

[KY Gentleman]

Where I grew up in the '60's and '70's was a very small town in Northern KY.
We had a local theater/theatre, a family owned dairy that offered home delivery (which I had growing up), locally owned drug stores a lot of locally owned businesses. All of that is gone now so when I do get back home I can't help but notice how "corporate America" has become the norm everywhere.
(cue up the Pretenders song "Ohio" for feeling now).

 

[drjones]

my birthplace

my home town IS pretty retro but alas some development is moving in slowly.

DRJONES

 

[jayem]

I spent my childhood between Oak Park, IL, Chicago, and Elmhurst, IL. All three cities are very old, with a rich history.

My grandmothers house in OP was built in 1911. Many of the sidewalks still had the dates stamped on them, and many of them hadn't been repaired since the early 40s. The sidewalk in front of my grandmothers house had a big 1913 stamped into it. She had an old Model A in the garage that my dad would work on every weekend. Her house still had the old fashioned laundry shoots and dumb-waiters. Her upstairs bathtub was above ground and it took half an hour to draw a hot watered bath!

Both my great-grandmothers were still living up until I was 11. My Nana was born in 1898 and my Munno was born in 1899. Both, also, lived in OP and were well enough to take care of themselves way into their late 90s. Their houses had changed little from the 50s, even down to the table cloths.

I remember we used to go to an old ice cream parlor constantly called Margie's in Chicago. It was actually the place where the Beatles ate once when they came here in the 60s. The place is littered with old photos and signatures. You still eat out of the old clam-shell dishes that had been used to serve since the 20s.

In Elmhurst, the old movie theatre still had an organist play music in-between shows. Me and my mom would go and see matinees just so we could listen to her play. There's also a dozen old bakeries that still have penny candy and cookies.

The weekend before Halloween, my town would have a fair where all the kids would go to the civic center and play games and get candy in their costumes. Think 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. It was THE thing to do growing up, almost cooler than actual Halloween!

My school was built sometime around the Teens and, of course, we didn't have a cafeteria. We ate our brown bagged lunches at our desks, of course after moving them in little circles with our friends. We also didn't have a playground... just a parking lot with some four-square fields painted on and a baseball diamond. We played 4-square and kickball. Jump ropes were also popular, and I was amazing at Double Dutch.

My high school was built in 1918 and of course, we didn't have central air or heat. Summer time we all suffered on the 4th floor, especially having to wear wool uniform skirts. Winter time, girls would fight to sit in the back rows of class so we could be closest to the radiators. This also meant we had no elevator. Nobody had fat thighs when I went there. The desks in some classrooms were so old they still had inkwells and ink blots everywhere from clumsy students.

The coolest thing ever was the abandoned school in my town. It had been shut down in the 70s. My mom actually went there as a kid, and told me how everyone thought it was haunted since in the early 50s, 3 little kids (two of the brothers) didn't look before crossing and rant into the road and got hit by a car and killed. We would also try to peek through the broken windows and bent blinds and see if we could see anything spooky. The school had a big, open field behind it, and we would all play freeze tag, baseball, or football back there. I drove past it a few days ago... the school has been demolished and everything is now town-homes and office buildings.