On a lark I decided to see what was happening over in the Metro East, so I headed over the McKinley Bridge and first passed through Venice, Illinois. The first stop is a building that has long been many of my friends’ favorite, with its cool central pavilion, the Venice Recreation Hall. After that is the Venice Post Office.

I’m not sure what’s going on with the windows of City Hall. I was last over in Venice in May of 2019; the first time was way back in January of 2008 when the old Venice High School was being torn down.

For some reason I had never noticed this cool drive-in diner before. I am not sure if it is still in business or not. Then the “Fight Club House” comes up on the right past the vacant lot where the high school was.

Crossing over the giant viaduct over the railroads, we arrive in Madison. I had recently been in the city to look at the neighborhood near the uranium processing facility that had been in the news lately, most recently after a fire had destroyed one of the buildings.

The restaurant above looks familiar–does anyone know what the original chain was that built it? I always find Madison to be a bit mysterious; it seems like a lot of the industry that once powered the town is now gone.