Possibly moving to Denison. What are the people and town like? (San Antonio: houses, weddings)

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by TriumphOfTheSprint

Here are a few more photos I took of the downtown area on a couple of "treasure hunting" trips :

Up and down Main St:





Before and after:









Other buildings:







An old hotel that is being renovated:





Little restaurant in a converted gas station:

Beginning with number 3 in your parade of pictures, the building with the train painted on it (painted by my cousin, no less) was orginally the Griffin's Wholesale Grocery warehouse. That's why it has a row of griffin's on the main street side. It's now an "antique" shop. (See: Junk)

As your subsequent photos show, the painting has been recently restored. (But, the engine is still bent! Look at it closely. It follows the track.)

Next up, or down as the case may be, is the old Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad (Katy) passenger train station. It was built about the turn of the century after the original station, built of wood, burnt. Even in my lifetime, it was a hub of activity as passenger trains such as the Texas Special or Bluebonnet Special boarded passengers there. Just behind it, at the end of Woodward St, is a steak house named T-Bone's. Originally, it was the Railroad Express Agency (REA) building, where freight was shipped by rail.

The station's west plaza is now dedicated to Veteran's, which includes the so-called "Eternal Flame" in remembrance of them (the energy crisis of the 70's put the flame out, though it's been re-lit now). The plaza also includes a fountain and a memorial to the local National Guard unit which spent nearly 3 years overseas in WWII, the 36th Signal Company of the 36th Infantry Division, which fought from the Salerno, Italy beach head to Austria. My Dad was a member of the unit and there, in his wheelchair, when the memorial was dedicated.

The next picture down are buildings used now as an art gallery and Masonic Lodge. I don't know what they were before. Just across the street, though, is the current City Hall, which was originally the Bell Telephone switchboard facility.

Next is St. Patricks, the local Catholic Church and one of the most interesting and magnificent buildings in town. I do not know when it was built, but inside, the stained glass windows and statuary of the Saint's would rival the great Cathedral's of Europe. It's beautiful.

Originally chartered by the Irish immigrants who built the Katy into Texas, it has it's own cemetery, north of town, which includes headstones which say something like, "Born in County Cork, Ireland. Died in Denison, Texas." There's also the grave of a noted Priest, surrounded by very small, cubical headstones with only a single name on them. Those are the graves of Nun's, who did not have a last name when they joined whatever order it was because they were "brides" of Christ.

Across the street is the Catholic school. For years, it was housed in a very ornate, very astonishing old Victorian building which was 3 stories tall. I remember it well. It had two towers, crowned by statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Sometime in the 60's or 70's, it was torn down and replaced by the vulgar, utilitarian building which stands there now. The statue of Christ is in the Catholic Cemetery. I don't know what happened to Mary. How I wish I could find a photo of it!

The next couple of pictures are of the old Hotel Denison, erected in the 20's, I think. In it's heyday, it was THE place to stay and the tallest building between Dallas and Tulsa (all of seven stories!). The lobby was, and may still be, done in 1 inch tiles. Today, it's a flophouse; a hangout for druggies, drunks and elderly who can't afford to live anywhere else. It's in such bad shape that I can't imagine why it hasn't burned yet.

But, here is Denison's greatest shame.

A couple of years ago, they tore down the old high school building, which crowned Main St, in spite of efforts to save it. The building was unique in the State of Texas, or the nation for that matter, and will never be duplicated.

Built in the teens or twenties on the site of the first, free public school in Texas, it was the high school until the "new" school was opened in the late 50's. After that, it functioned as McDaniel Junior High, which I attended in the 60's. Abandoned at some point, it sat there deterioriating ( I believe deliberately) for 20 years, then demolished to make way for....nothing so far. It's just an empty lot.

A so-called "grass roots" effort was mounted to save it at the last moment, but all the money donated ended up in someone's pocket as the issue had really been decided beforehand by our city "fathers."

Here's an old picture of it:

[lallen2004]

Amazing pictures - gives a good sense of the town. You should post some of these on Google so when people like me are scouring the internet about a possible relocation, they'd get a good feel of the place from your photos. Thanks for posting them here!

[lallen2004]

Stillkit, I feel like I should be sending you a tip! You've been an incredible tour guide so far!

[TriumphOfTheSprint]

Thanks for providing the historical perspective!

Originally Posted by stillkit

Beginning with number 3 in your parade of pictures, the building with the train painted on it (painted by my cousin, no less) was orginally the Griffin's Wholesale Grocery warehouse. That's why it has a row of griffin's on the main street side. It's now an "antique" shop. (See: Junk)

Yes, the griffins on the main street side are very interesting.

Next is St. Patricks, the local Catholic Church and one of the most interesting and magnificent buildings in town. I do not know when it was built, but inside, the stained glass windows and statuary of the Saint's would rival the great Cathedral's of Europe. It's beautiful.

It is a magnificent building - I wish I had taken the time to go inside.

The next couple of pictures are of the old Hotel Denison, erected in the 20's, I think. In it's heyday, it was THE place to stay and the tallest building between Dallas and Tulsa (all of seven stories!). The lobby was, and may still be, done in 1 inch tiles. Today, it's a flophouse; a hangout for druggies, drunks and elderly who can't afford to live anywhere else. It's in such bad shape that I can't imagine why it hasn't burned yet.

When I was there last month, there was a crew working inside. I assumed they were restoring, but it's possible they were stripping the interior.

[FarNorthDallas]

That's really sad about the high school on Main Street. It was such a great looking building. Relatives attended it back when the highest grade was 11th grade. 1920s.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by lallen2004

Stillkit, I feel like I should be sending you a tip! You've been an incredible tour guide so far!

Thanks. Donations will be accepted.

[kingcrow]

Originally chartered by the Irish immigrants who built the Katy into Texas, it has it's own cemetery, north of town, which includes headstones which say something like, "Born in County Cork, Ireland. Died in Denison, Texas." There's also the grave of a noted Priest, surrounded by very small, cubical headstones with only a single name on them. Those are the graves of Nun's, who did not have a last name when they joined whatever order it was because they were "brides" of Christ.


hey stillkit where is the cemetery exactly???

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by kingcrow

Originally chartered by the Irish immigrants who built the Katy into Texas, it has it's own cemetery, north of town, which includes headstones which say something like, "Born in County Cork, Ireland. Died in Denison, Texas." There's also the grave of a noted Priest, surrounded by very small, cubical headstones with only a single name on them. Those are the graves of Nun's, who did not have a last name when they joined whatever order it was because they were "brides" of Christ.


hey stillkit where is the cemetery exactly???

It's on the east side of the old highway going north out of town. Just beyond the traffic circle, you top a small hill and pass by what used to be the Bowman Motel (I don't know what it's called now, but it's recognizable as an old motel.) The cemetery entrance is just beyond that. It's across from Munson Park.

This is a good place to confess that I made a mistake in my remarks about that cemetery. The Nun's headstones do not have their names on them. Just the initials of their first names.

[kingcrow]

ok I know the area, and will drive out there and check it out. the other cemetery just north on Main and east of the Katy station is were my Great-Grandfather is buried in 1922 Oakwood Cemetery

[stillkit]

To the OP:

Just out of curiosity, I drove by that property again today. It's the first time I'd been out there in awhile.

In the first place, it appeared to be well maintained and in pristine condition, at least from the road. And, I'd forgotten just how BIG the ante-bellum style house is.

Secondly, the neighborhood in the immediate area is upscale, but very rural. Across the street to the north is where the old "haunted house" used to sit, but it's been replaced by a modern home with it's own tennis court. There really aren't too many other houses on the road until you get to the junction of Sherly and Fannin. Then, there's a little community of double-wides, each set on 1/2 to 1 acre and none of them looked "trashy."

The property sits where Sherly and Interurban Road come together. From Sherly, you can only go right, left into "your" property's driveway or straight on into someone elses property.

Here's the neat thing: Interurban Road is named that because it follows the track bed of the old Texas Electric Railway company, usually called The Interurban line. It ran several electric motorcars from Denison, to Dallas to Waco for many, many years. They ceased operation in 1948, but the old tracks can still be seen running down the middle of some streets in Denison. The driveway to "your" property IS the old Interurban right of way! That means, had you owned that property years ago, the motor cars would have come right in front of your house.

In case you're interested in such things, here's a website which tells a little about it and there is a museum in Plano, which includes a restored motor car.

Texas Electric Railway