Monday, October 22, 2012

Another Block of Buildings



After another quick out-of-town trip, I managed to get down to the railroad and finish up another short block on East Railroad Avenue in Oakdale. This time we have an ice cream shop, photographer, office of the Oakdale Leader (newspaper), the Ban Box cafe, the Oakdale Cyclery and the E.L. Barris Dry Goods shop. As in the previous structures, most of these were based on real Oakdale businesses. The photographer and ice store are freelanced but Oakdale did have both businesses.

   Down a short alley is Hammond's Billiard Parlor with an adjacent pawn shop. Although the pool hall is intended for adult entertainment, there are always some kids in knickers trying to get a view of what the older folks are doing. The Sen-Sen ad was made from an existing ad painted on a wall in one of the towns along the Missouri River. For those who are not aware, Sen-Sen was and is a breath mint similar to Tic-Tacs.

   Across the street from these flourishing enterprises is a city park complete with bandstand and band. The bandstand was built from an etched brass kit available in the UK. The band is Preiser while the chairs are also etched brass from the UK.

3 comments:

  1. One thing i notice in photos from the 1860s/1870s in the east and even later out west are signs that run perpendicular to the buildings and stick out over the sidewalks. Have you thought about those signs? Your "boot" and other "iconic images" strike me as very much in the period.

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  2. Dave,
    I like those kind of signs as well but they just don't show up in photos of the part of California I'm modeling. That's the main reason I have not added them. Way out west, it was more likely to see a balcony to provide some shade from the sun.
    Don

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  3. Dave,
    I think you are very correct in your era, if modeling the period in 1895 most of those "early gold rush" type signs disappeared and the mounted on the wall type sign shows up. This is certainly true in Colorado Springs in that period. The building owners certainly seemed to enjoy the study income from ads painted on the walls of their buildings in that era.
    Tom

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