This is a kind of nostalgic area for me. The Humane Society used to be based out here, and Riley Wooten had his model shop/balsa factory out in this area at one time. He moved out in the boonies to get away from walk-in customers. His hobby shop was on 34th Street before that, and it was there for a long time. I bought a lot of stuff from him, starting in 1969. We were looking for fresh junk on South University, and we found some good stuff. I used the Nikon this time.
Out on 19th Steet, going way west past Loop 289, you arrive in a recently annexed part of Lubbock which used to be the independent community of Carlisle. It mostly catered to the Reese AFB crowd. Reese has been closed for years. You can still find some old barracks in Carlisle. It is in somewhat better shape than it was, prior to annexation. But not MUCH better.
We got here from the old water park by taking Upland north from 82nd Street. We ate lunch at a tiny Filipino restaurant. Lots of atmosphere in a small space. "Linda's" I think it was called. It is worth a visit. My wife and I like to find alternatives to corporate/franchise food. There was one of those across the street on 19th. Don't go there. Go to Linda's. Experience something different. Pancit is probably your best bet, as an introduction to this kind of cuisine.
There was once a dance hall out in this part of town. I went there a lot before I got married and my wife and I went there once or twice, but it is out of business. Dancing seems to be not very popular anymore, especially ballroom and country. Is that a generational thing?
But, fortunately, not a dollar short. These scenes were taken at the site of an old water amusement park, a branch of Texas Water Rampage, I think. Not much left today.
I knew someone once who got a very nasty infection splashing around in their polluted waters. Restrooms were later found to be over flowing into the amusement pools-- people were cavorting in sewage. It closed not long after, and good riddance. It seemed to have been poorly managed and poorly maintained.
There's a Methodist church on the property, now, and with all the recent rain, wildflowers flourish. Rest in peace, long-vanished water park.
I'm finishing the series of photos I took with my $2 HP Photosmart camera. Very compact and very basic but sometimes that's what you need.
For the next series of pics I used the Nikon. Those will begin to go up tomorrow.
I'm not sure about the zoning in this part of town. Maybe it is light industry or mixed commercial.
It can't be all bad because there are a lot of stray cats around here and somebody goes to the trouble of feeding them.
Lots of abandoned houses are near this area. I don't know what you could do with structures like this. Try to fix them up and I doubt that you could ever recover your investment. This area was a lot more viable for small businesses before I-27 ripped through it. The houses represent what was once lower middle class, when there still was a lower middle class. Lots of good people lived in houses like these, in neighborhoods like these.
Heavy junk warning ahead.
There's nothing sterile or fake about these parts of town. Unlike much of Southwest Lubbock, there are no "whited sepulchers" here. Here, the bones are in full view, and the decay is on public display.
