I decided to check up on the Western Lutheran Cemetery, which I had not visited January of 2021, and had not really looked at closely nor walked the grounds since January of 2019. I came down Ashland Avenue, and to… Continue Reading
The theme this summer in many divested neighborhoods seems to be green, where plants and trees have grown up and swallowed buildings. I looked at some of these houses back in May of 2021. I’ve looked at this building before;… Continue Reading
Continuing south on Leffingwell Avenue, retracing my steps from my visit in May of 2020, I saw more green overgrowth and abandonment. The house on the left is actually a half-flounder, with a hipped roof. Its front façade was altered… Continue Reading
Back in May of 2020, I went and documented the houses to the west of the new NGA in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, one of the most heavily damaged in the city. But I have met many proud, hardworking people in… Continue Reading
Heading northeast up Southwest Avenue, we get closer to the heart of the Hill, and see more interesting renovations to houses. More Formstone, which was popular in the mid-Twentieth Century, was added to the front of these houses. Also, the… Continue Reading
I knew there was something up with this building, which is now the headquarters of the Service Employees International Union. It clearly had been a much older structure with a Modernist update in the central portal. Sitting on Clifton Avenue,… Continue Reading
The panoramic photo of downtown Independence serves us well again, as we can now look up and down First Street East to the east and west (where the Wapsipinicon Mill is visible to the far left). You can see the… Continue Reading
Praise the Lord for Frederick J. Bandholtz and his panoramic photos of several towns around northeastern Iowa, including the downtown of Independence. Above you can see straight ahead Second Avenue Northeast, which looks much the same now as it did… Continue Reading
The interior of the Wapsipinicon Mill is very well preserved, and shows most of the original wood machinery that ground flour and functioned as other types of milling over the life of the building. Of particular interest was a board… Continue Reading
Occasionally, I kick myself for coming within one block or less of some amazing building and totally missing it. That is certainly the case of the historic Wapsipinicon Mill in Independence, Iowa, which I drove within about five hundred feet… Continue Reading