Tuesday, April 19, 2016

That Old Ruin, Out On That Old Tahoka Highway

We're all out, pedal to the metal, on that Ol' Terhokey HIIIIIGHway.




Having taken so many of these pics, I believe I understand abstract expressionism a bit more. Meanwhile, this used to be THE STRIP, where Lubbock went to kick out their jams, and they had a lot of jams. It took a lot of liquor, beer, and wine to relief the chronic moral and intellectual constipation of living in Lubbock when it was dry. Head out to the strip, where the lights were bright, the neons beckoned, and the booze could be had. Cheap dreams were made of this. But there was still nothing to do in town. Nothing to do but drive drunk, cruise the drive-ins, get in trouble. I knew people, like my first college roommate, who came to Lubbock from Winters, Texas. He got in a LOT of trouble.




Next time, it'll be OLD CARS on the Tahoka Highway! There are a lot. I have not even begun to photograph all the old junkers on that stretch of road.

 

Monday, April 18, 2016

Old Buildings Along Highway 87 Near Lubbock, Texas

Yep, in the bad old days this was Lubbock's Strip. Lubbock used to be "dry" and that was a bad joke if there ever was one. Fortunately, several years ago, sanity prevailed at last. The sky didn't fall, as some predicted. Divine wrath did not empty upon us, as some predicted. Lubbock is doing quite well. But old relics along Highway 87 remain. Lubbock did lose some of its unique character. It became less stupid. Somewhat.




 This structure is very old, but I don't remember it! Must have been some kind of package store. Looks like they also sold fast food. Looks like there were also motel rooms. No telling.




Could it have been a beer joint/hot dog stand/whorehouse combo?




People have been in here, but the building seems ready to collapse. Very dangerous.




Don't go in there! Terrible things might happen!




We'll be looking at this some more next time.
 

 
 

Friday, April 15, 2016

A Visit To Cooper School

There's a tiny community out on Highway 87 that hosts what the locals call "Cooper School" or the "Cooper School District". We took no pics of the schools there, but found other things to photograph.




This old structure was interesting. It used to house a flea market, judging by some old signs. Not anymore. It is a home to numerous pigeons, and a lot of junk.




Seems like this thing could still be used for something...











This structure is probably older than "Cooper School".
And this is the only thing we found worth photographing in "Cooper". On the way back home we stopped to view some buildings that used to be part of "The Strip". And we took a close look at more junked cars. I'll have that next.