Horse and Buggy Days

On Labor Day for the Bridge Walk the Woman's club handed out a brochure/passport for the bridges. A comment on it read, "In the early 1900s South Main Street was named Flint Avenue. It was "The Avenue", a lovely shaded street during the hose and buggy days."

Whoah on the nostalgia -- although the trees seem to have been street-widened away, with Amish about the area, the horse and buggy days never left!

Walkin' the dog

A cold but bright and sunny day, the evening sun reflecting off downtown buildings which are reflected in the river.

Monochrome Race

Seen in monochrome is the race from the Rocky River as it exits the old powerhouse. The race then goes under Michigan Avenue, through Scidmore Park, and joins the St. Joseph River just above the point where the main part of the Rocky flows into the St. Joseph. In the distance is a barn in the park.

The old powerhouse provided electricity for downtown Three Rivers in decades past; the building now fuels the area with expresso, dispensed at LA's Coffee, which shares space in the former powerhouse building with a travel agent.

Leaving the cafe yesterday morning with my coffee in hand, the scene just looked like a perfect monochrome. To see more of the world in monochrome, just click over to The Monochrome Weekend, presented by Aileni.

Clean-up

After yesterday's storm the front-loader was busy. I wonder where they put the snow?

They have a lot more trouble with snow removal in Sweden - see this photo from Haninge.

Alley

Sealed up window and dark passageway, delicate Victorian decorations and crumbly brick walls. Walls that have been here a very long time, and have their own secrets.

To see more of the world in monochrome, just click over to The Monochrome Weekend, presented by Aileni.

Slush

Spent most of the day in a meeting, but I did catch this shot of a boy slogging to school with his musical instrument case. The sign announces free parking, if you can get to it through the slush. (Behind the "white house", downtown.)

Downtown Duck

This mallard has been living downtown for a while. I just "met" him this evening on my way to a movie. Traffic had stopped for him while he walked across the street.

Uh Oh, Snow

Heavy wet snow has flattened the various inflatables that decorate the awning over Lowry's - Santa is tipped, the Christmas tree is flat, someone is falling out of the chimney, and I don't know what is happening with the snow globe.

9 degrees F this am (-12 degrees C). Brrr. But the sun is out!

A cold place to read

This sculpture on a downtown park bench depicts a girl reading to a young boy. A nice summery sculpture...

Singing outdoors

Christmas caroling by the downtown Christmas tree. The little children sang louder than the adults!

(Addendum: River Country Journal ran a 1 minute audio of the, uhm, music... thanks Bruce! Links from here: “Christmas Around Town” to continue )

Christmas Around Town

Lots of activities today downtown, sales, Santa, carriage rides and street vendors, "Christmas Around Town" is the name of the event. Here is a proud reindeer with his handler, Joshua, in a pass-through between stores and a parking lot. I didn't catch the reindeer's name. The pass-through was formerly part of the Falvey clothing store chain from the 1920s. The building collapsed while being restored, and the city purchased it, filled the basement with dirt, and planted a large tree!

Art Guild

Members of the Three Rivers Artists Guild hang a sign in the storefront that will house a gallery of members' works - for sale for the upcoming Christmas season. Watercolorist Lynn Johnson and photographer Becky Hackenberg are placing the sign, which announces the gallery opening next Saturday.

Visible across the street are some of the interesting and well preserved Victorian-era buildings that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (previous post: Best Preserved Victorian Streetscape).

Night

Last night I went to the Riviera Theater in downtown Three Rivers to see Così fan Tutte, filmed at the Salzburg Festival in July of this year. It is a creepy take on Mozart's disturbing comedy, this version focused on Don Alfonso as a demonic force determined to separate the young lovers from their innocent optimism and drag them into cynical despair. The advantage of seeing it at the Riviera is in being able to take your glass of wine into the theater (from the theater's attached wine-bar)... or popcorn, if you like! The mezzo playing Dorabella (Isabel Leonard) was a real standout for me, but they were all wonderful.

On the way home I took this shot of the downtown lights, not despairing at all.

Main Street Morning

Early morning light on historic buildings in downtown Three Rivers , a little misty.

X-Ray

Walking down Main Street I glimpsed an ancient sign through a dusty window. X-Rays, just up this dark stairway. Step this way...

More monochrome to be seen weekly on The Monochrome Weekly.

Harmony Fest

Setting up in the early afternoon for the Three Rivers Harmony Fest, the big musical event for the Labor Day weekend. Events include everything from a guitar contest for teenagers, to big name blues performers from Chicago.

Here the bandshell has been set up, tables laid out, and the sweet smelling smoke from a long line of barbeque stands begins to fill the air.

Marker for the Carnegie Library

Historical marker for the Carnegie Library building, attached to the local pink granite wall.

Old Three Rivers Library
Built in 1904, this structure served as a public library for seventy-five years. Financed by an Andrew Carnegie grant, it was designed by A.W. Rush & Co. and built by H.V. Snyder & Son. Warren J. Willits donated the site. The exterior pink granite and the interior wood came from the local area. A mosaic skylight and four Grecian columns adorn the entrance room. The building is part of the Downtown Three Rivers Commercial Historic District.

Underneat it says, "Michigan History Division, Department of State Registered Local Site No. 1044
Property of the State of Michigan, 1984

Carnegie Center for the Arts

The Carnegie Center for the Arts is a Three Rivers jewel. Shows feature regional and local artists, and the Carnegie features traveling shows of other kinds as well. Art classes for both adults and children are held downstairs.

The Carnegie Center for the Arts consists of two downtown buildings, the original 1902 Carnegie library (to the left, now replaced with a modern library) and an old bank (to the right), beautifully joined together by a modern center section.

Best-preserved Victorian Streetscape

Passthrough showing the fountain and the north mural (the other one is on the south side) looking toward the intersection of Portage and North Main.

HISTORIC DISTRICT
The Downtown Three Rivers Commercial Historic District has one of the best preserved Victorian streetscapes in southwestern Michigan. Three Rivers, settled in the 1830s, grew with the development of local water poser and a railroad in the 1850s. St. Joseph Street (North Main) and Penn Street (Portage) formed its business center. The district's oldest structures, built on North Main in the early 1850s, are the Kelsey building (39-43) and the Crossett-Spencer-Millard building (40-42). The district was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

At the bottom it says

Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State
Registered Local Site No. 1315
Property of the State of Michigan, 1986

Riviera

The Riviera Theater downtown, a completely refurbished 1920s movie theater, now showing all sorts of old and new films -- and opera! "Aida" and "La Traviata" so far.