Battle Creek was home to the Potawatomi people long before white settlers arrived in the 1820s. The completion of the Erie Canal brought a wave of people into Michigan seeking work in the lumber industry and the town of Battle Creek was formally established in 1839. During the antebellum period, Battle Creek served as a minor but frequent stop on the Underground Railroad and in 1857 abolitionist Sojourner Truth chose it as her new home where she would live until her death in 1883. In the late 19th Century, the Battle Creek Sanitarium opened as a health resort for the rich and famous. Some of its more famous guests were President Warren G. Harding, Mary Todd Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Amelia Earhart and Henry Ford. The manager of the Sanitarium was Dr. John Harvey Kellogg whose brother William also worked there. I’ve read several accounts of how they accidentally created their now-famous corn flakes, but however it happened, they were a hit. A lesser known guest at the Sanitarium, C.W. Post, took the cereal idea and ran with it, setting up his own Post Cereal empire in Battle Creek. Between Post and Kellogg’s, Battle Creek has taken the nickname Breakfast Capital of the World, or, less seriously, Cereal City. Because these two successful brands still call Battle Creek home, the city looks great. The downtown area is vibrant and full of unique artistic flourishes and beautiful murals. There is a wonderful walking path along Battle Creek River and some great bars and restaurants around as well. Although it was quiet when I was there, I really enjoyed my visit to Battle Creek and I hope you enjoy these photos from Cereal City.
All I knew about Flint when I arrived, I learned from Michael Moore's 1989 documentary Roger and Me. That and not to drink the water. Some people warned me not to go. What I found was a vibrant, clean city with an interesting past and a bright future.
In 1819, Jacob Smith established a small trading post on the Flint River. It grew quickly and become a convenient stopover on the route between Detroit and Saginaw. By 1860 the population had grown to 20,000 and Flint’s major industry, like most of the region, was lumber. In the late 19th Century, Flint became a major producer of carriages which paved the way for its entrance into the automotive market a few decades later. General Motors was founded in Flint in 1908 and would grow along with the city for many years. When GM started pulling out of Flint in 1978, the population began to drop and crime and poverty, which always go hand-in-hand, began to rise. For several years, Flint was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the country. The recent water contamination issues have led to Flint once again being in the spotlight for less than ideal reasons.
During my visit, I found a city that wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. Flint has fought back against its bad reputation and taken serious steps to beautify its downtown and move the city forward. I found a vibrant Farmer’s Market, beautiful murals throughout the city, some great historical markers and statues (through a partnership with the National Park Service), and some great bars, restaurants and breweries. It was quiet when I was there, but I saw exercise classes going on in the park and some kind of jogging/scavenger hunt which looked like a lot of fun. While it was frustrating for me that their main museums were closed, they were closed for renovations and promise to come back next year better than ever. I was only in Flint for two days, but I’m certainly glad I stopped for a look. If you’re ever in the area, drop in and see what’s new in Vehicle City. You might be surprised by what you find there. I Hope you enjoy these photos from downtown Flint.
Detroit’s Eastern Market is a wonderful place. The central open-air market is only open Tuesdays and Saturdays, and market days are obviously the busiest time to be there, but the neighborhood surrounding the market is a vibrant place full of old buildings, shops, restaurants and stunning murals. I visited on a Saturday and the whole place was buzzing. There were buildings full of flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, seafood, nuts and some arts and crafts as well. Wandering the surrounding neighborhood, I found live music, packed outdoor patios and even a wedding at the beautiful St. Joseph’s Oratory Cathedral. The people visiting the market was an incredibly diverse mix from all corners of the city and all over the world. If you’re in Detroit on a Tuesday or Saturday, definitely head out to Eastern Market. You’ll be glad you did. If you can’t make it there, I hope these photos will give you a little taste of what it’s like. Enjoy.
Corpus Christi’s Marina Arts District is a wonderful story of urban renewal and public art. When Terry Sweeny moved to Corpus Christi in 2014, he found a city, like so many others, which had sold its soul to suburban sprawl. He also saw an area with tons of potential and set about trying to revitalize downtown. He joined forces with Brad Lomax, who had been working on revitalizing downtown Corpus Christi for years, and a dedicated group of like-minded citizens. The result is staggering. The colorful murals and public art projects make downtown look clean, sharp and vibrant. If you look closely enough, you’ll see that there are still plenty of empty storefronts looking for an opportunity to be resurrected, but they are hard to spot as your eyes are constantly drawn elsewhere. My favorite part is the wonderful seawall walk overlooking the marina on one side, and the Arts District on the other.
I enjoyed my time in the Marina Arts District even though I was there right as everything was closing up shop for a while due to the coronavirus. As I wandered around taking these photos, I heard wonderful music echoing up and down the empty streets. When I finally found where it was coming from, I sat for a few minutes to listen to the performance of a wonderful street musician in front of the shuttered Executive Surf Club. I needed a few songs in my day to blow thoughts of the virus away, and he gave me hope with his music. And hope is a wonderful thing. It is, in fact, the only thing more powerful than fear. I know I’ll be back in Corpus Christi at some point when all of this has blown over. I’m looking forward to it already.
West Point, Mississippi is a pleasant, medium sized town in Clay County in the east-central part of the state. Perhaps best known as the hometown of legendary bluesman Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett, I found it to be a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. There are some beautiful old buildings, some delightful parks and some wonderful murals and artwork, all packed into a compact and walkable downtown area. Originally home to Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians, the French, Spanish and British also vied for control of the region. The town itself was originally laid out as a railroad town when the Mobile and Ohio Line came through in 1858. It would grow as part of the state’s Black Belt as cotton production became Alabama’s main industry. While I couldn’t find the origin of the name West Point (interesting to me because it’s in the east of the state), Clay County was named for the Great Compromiser, Kentucky’s Henry Clay. Because of the railroad, West Point was a strategic target during the Civil War, although the only real skirmish was a small one and occurred in 1864. November 2nd, 1909 was an exciting day in town when President William Howard Taft’s train pulled into the station and he addressed the townspeople from his rail car before heading on to Columbus.
When I visited West Point, I sadly found the Howlin’ Wolf Museum closed. While I waited for a call back from the man who runs it, I grabbed my camera and went for a wander. While I was there, the clouds cleared and I found a wonderful, clean, well-kept downtown with a distinctly small-town feel to it. I loved the City Hall building, City Park, the town’s stoic churches, the old Ritz Theater, some beautiful art projects scattered around town and some really cute small businesses on Main and Commerce Streets. While I never did get into the museum (they’re building a new one in a vacant storefront on Commerce Street), I’m still glad I stopped. There wasn’t much going on when I was there, and I was okay with that. A beautiful town on a sunny day is always something to write home about. Thanks for a wonderful visit, West Point; I hope to be back when the new museum is open for business.
Florence, Alabama is a really neat little city in the far northwest corner of the state. It is part of a region referred to collectively as The Shoals, which includes the towns of Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia and Sheffield. Florence sits right on the Tennessee River, and was named for the city in Italy by the Italian surveyor who helped lay out the original plan. Florence is the hometown of both W.C. Handy and Sam Phillips, so musical traditions run deep in the area. In fact, it seemed like the arts were well represented in general there as is displayed by the beautiful street art you’ll see in this post. During my visit I also caught a wonderful performance of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas at the beautiful Shoals Theater, right in the heart of town. I really enjoyed wandering the streets of Florence and spending some time in the riverfront McFarland Park. While I spent my days touring nearby FAME Recording Studio, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and the birthplace of Helen Keller, I kept finding myself drawn back across the river in the evening to experience all this town had to offer, from nice restaurants to some cool live music venues. While there is so much to see and do in this part of Alabama, be sure to save some time for a stroll around downtown Florence, “Alabama’s Renaissance City”. You’ll be glad you did.
Pulling into downtown Dothan, Alabama, I had no idea what to expect from it. I knew it was the seventh largest city in Alabama, and the “Hub of the Wiregrass” - a region which covers southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia and parts of the Florida panhandle. Other than that I was pretty much going in blind. What I found was a pleasant city with a compact downtown full of beautiful murals and statues. Dothan has an excellent art museum, a gorgeous opera house, and some wonderful cafes and restaurants all within just a few blocks of each other. It was a quiet and pleasurable place for a stroll, and I had a beautiful day to do just that. I spent several hours photographing this beautiful city, and you can see the results in this post. I really enjoyed my time in Dothan and I’m already looking forward to my next visit. If you’re ever in southeast Alabama, be sure you stop in and say ‘hello’ - you will definitely be surprised by what you find here.
When I arrived in Shreveport, my first impression was that I had found Biff Tannen’s alternate future from Back to the Future II. Massive casinos line both sides of the Red River and the Hustler Club is prominently placed nearby. The streets were empty and the rest of town appeared to be falling apart, except for the outet mall across the river which seemed to be the place to go.. As I looked closer though, I started to find Shreveport’s hidden gems. The Noble Savage Tavern on Texas Street, for example, where great local food, drinks and music are only made better by the excellent staff. Or at Strawn’s Eat Shop out on King’s Highway, where I got the best slice of pie I’ve ever had in my life (their strawberry ice box pie). Then I started spotting some of the lovely murals and public art projects around town and I started to come around on the place. Finally I went to two wonderful local festivals where I ate well, heard some great music and met many of the wonderful people that live there. Shreveport took a major hit when Standard Oil left town in the eighties, but seems to me on the upswing. There are some beautiful old buildings around town, though many are in desperate need of repair. There is much to love about the Ratchet City, but much like a great blues song you need to look a little deeper to see what makes it special. I hope you enjoy these photos from my visit to Shreveport.
Cincinnati has done a great job of commissioning murals around the city to adorn blank walls and help fill wide open spaces. These murals have changing the whole aesthetic of the city. During my stay I ran across dozens of beautiful murals. These are some of my favorites.
Sadly leaving Athens County behind, I stopped for a brief visit at the Buckeye Furnace State Memorial. Tucked back in the woods, this was a great place to learn more about the production of pig iron, an industry that brought a lot of wealth to the region. I had the place all to myself but could imagine the small community which once stood there and kept the furnace going. This was another of Appalachia's hard labor industries, and one that disappeared as the iron ore dried up and the nation's demands shifted to steal. It was a cool place to visit.
From there I headed out to the Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande where I had a big breakfast for lunch and wandered around the property for a while. I learned the story of Bob and how he started with a steakhouse, but soon started making sausage as well. This sausage would catapult his business into one of Ohio's best known names.
Inspired by murals he had seen across the state in Steubenville, Dr. Louis Chaboudy hoped to create something similar in his hometown of Portsmouth. In 1992, he commissioned Robert Dafford to begin work on a project which would last 10 years. Over that time period, Dafford painted over 50 murals which stretch 2200 feet along the Ohio River. These murals tell the history of Sciotto County and of the people who have lived there. It is a wonderful project which I really enjoyed visiting. The local Visitor's Center provides brochures and even a cell phone tour for your visit. Unfortunately I was shooting into the sun while I was there, and all of the murals are different sizes making it difficult to crop them and still have a nice layout for this post, but I still thought that they were wonderful and wanted to share them with you today. Enjoy!
