"He squinted at the cool florescent sky, and he knew he was out of luck..."
Hey, check out the flyer wall at the bottom of the page to see what is going on....
I hadn't made a roadtrip to Larryville for a show in years... I used to do it whenever I could. It was a treat. The distance between central Missouri, and the 1st liberal city of Kansas was great. So, it really was a rare treat that I used to look forward to. Then, I moved there, and the treat became an every day occurrence. What was exceptional and rare, now became mundane, and I burned out on it. I grew up. So when I made a day of going to Lawrence to see James McMurtry and the Bottlerockets, it stirred up some very old memories. I was very happy to make a day of it alone... well, actually, not quite alone, as I had my favorite traveling companion... Tima.
Dashcam Pictures
I always used to take the backway in. I would take K-32 to 58 hwy, however, on this day, I left late and took I-70. No trip to Lawrence is complete without a visit to the lively downtown. I have no stats to back it up, but I believe that there are more empty storefronts than ever. I hope that downtown Lawrence is not becoming like downtown Topeka. My memories are always of driving down Massachusetts street tuned in to KJHK. This day, however, KJHK was stuck on a sports program.
![]()
height="281" alt="IMGA0002" />
Lawrence, Kansas
Several names have an instant association in many minds to live music in Lawrence -- the Bottleneck, Liberty Hall... the Outhouse...
Look Ma! It's an indpendent bookstore. Those things were killed off by large chain bookstores subsidized with corporate welfare....
Speaking of which.....
In 1996/1997, I worked at Sunflower Cable shooting news part time. One of the big issues was the destruction of this block of New Hampshire by a developer who wanted to bring a big chain bookstore to downtown. Despite howls of protests by the citizens of Lawrence, the city council passed the measure allowing the block to be razed. The only exception was the eastern and northern facade of this former car dealership on the corner of 7th and New Hampshire, which was spared, and shored up artificially to placate the protests. Now, the chain which the block was razed for is going out of business. All over the United States there are examples of this kind of blight. One way or another, if you are a taxpayer, your taxes are paying for it.
Hate to say we told you so...
Santa Fe Depot
Not a great place to watch trains, but the Chief comes through here twice a day. I like to come here now to check out the progress of the preservation of the station. Here is a live webcam of the depot.
I went to Rudy's to get some pizza slices, then onto Henry's for some kawfee....
In the 70's and 80's, there were plans to replace downtown Lawrence with a mall. I even saw proposals where most of downtown was condemned and torn down, replaced with a huge mall complex. A mall did open about 1990, again, met with protests. The mall is now dead, but downtown is still there...
In the 50's and 60's, as a means to try to keep downtown competitive with the strip malls, there was an effort to turn the storefronts around to face the parking lots. Many of these rear entrances have been boarded up, with signs stating that you have to enter the store from the Massachusetts street side.
At one time, a person could take a train from downtown Lawrence, to downtown Kansas City for a minimal fare. Government subsidies of the automobile killed that.
Solitude in the Shadows
FLYER WALL
Watch live video from stevosvoboda on Justin.tv Finally... I have my handy dandy google calender with all the upcoming events in the area and beyond...
If you are interested in expressing your opinion about art, or this blog, or if you have ideas, calender updates or even blog entries, send me a message at http://www.facebook.com/Svoboda.KC TMI, BRD
Hey, check out the flyer wall at the bottom of the page to see what is going on....
I hadn't made a roadtrip to Larryville for a show in years... I used to do it whenever I could. It was a treat. The distance between central Missouri, and the 1st liberal city of Kansas was great. So, it really was a rare treat that I used to look forward to. Then, I moved there, and the treat became an every day occurrence. What was exceptional and rare, now became mundane, and I burned out on it. I grew up. So when I made a day of going to Lawrence to see James McMurtry and the Bottlerockets, it stirred up some very old memories. I was very happy to make a day of it alone... well, actually, not quite alone, as I had my favorite traveling companion... Tima.
Dashcam Pictures
I always used to take the backway in. I would take K-32 to 58 hwy, however, on this day, I left late and took I-70. No trip to Lawrence is complete without a visit to the lively downtown. I have no stats to back it up, but I believe that there are more empty storefronts than ever. I hope that downtown Lawrence is not becoming like downtown Topeka. My memories are always of driving down Massachusetts street tuned in to KJHK. This day, however, KJHK was stuck on a sports program.
height="281" alt="IMGA0002" />Lawrence, Kansas
Several names have an instant association in many minds to live music in Lawrence -- the Bottleneck, Liberty Hall... the Outhouse...
Look Ma! It's an indpendent bookstore. Those things were killed off by large chain bookstores subsidized with corporate welfare....
Speaking of which.....
In 1996/1997, I worked at Sunflower Cable shooting news part time. One of the big issues was the destruction of this block of New Hampshire by a developer who wanted to bring a big chain bookstore to downtown. Despite howls of protests by the citizens of Lawrence, the city council passed the measure allowing the block to be razed. The only exception was the eastern and northern facade of this former car dealership on the corner of 7th and New Hampshire, which was spared, and shored up artificially to placate the protests. Now, the chain which the block was razed for is going out of business. All over the United States there are examples of this kind of blight. One way or another, if you are a taxpayer, your taxes are paying for it.
Hate to say we told you so...
Santa Fe Depot
Not a great place to watch trains, but the Chief comes through here twice a day. I like to come here now to check out the progress of the preservation of the station. Here is a live webcam of the depot.
I went to Rudy's to get some pizza slices, then onto Henry's for some kawfee....
In the 70's and 80's, there were plans to replace downtown Lawrence with a mall. I even saw proposals where most of downtown was condemned and torn down, replaced with a huge mall complex. A mall did open about 1990, again, met with protests. The mall is now dead, but downtown is still there...
In the 50's and 60's, as a means to try to keep downtown competitive with the strip malls, there was an effort to turn the storefronts around to face the parking lots. Many of these rear entrances have been boarded up, with signs stating that you have to enter the store from the Massachusetts street side.
At one time, a person could take a train from downtown Lawrence, to downtown Kansas City for a minimal fare. Government subsidies of the automobile killed that.
Solitude in the Shadows
FLYER WALL
I will endeavor to post flyers that I find around town up on my own virtual wall, so that you can peruse them and see what is happening...
Watch live video from stevosvoboda on Justin.tv Finally... I have my handy dandy google calender with all the upcoming events in the area and beyond...
BLOG DOG
PLEASE LOOK AT AND COMMENT ON MY BLOG...