Thank you, @dswigle, for putting #marketfriday together.
Thank you, @dswigle, for having the patience with me when I tell you, every week, that I will #marketfriday, and then don't.
Today is the day!
Come walk with me as I walk down Main Street with my newest Crappy Camera, the Kodak DC120. This bad boy has a 128MB Compact Flash card for memory and a whopping 1MB sensor. In digital years, this is an antique.
Truth be told, I'm not a terribly big fan of Main Street, Newark, DE. I think it's pretty ugly and lacks "shops." What is lacks in shops it more than makes up for in dining establishments and restaurants. There's no way in the world I can eat that much, so I pass them by.
My first stop was at the Barnes & Noble. This particular B&N doubles as the University book store, so is full of College books and clothing. I remember, just last year, it was full of gift ideas. Apparently they weren't high sellers, because they don't have that section anymore. Alas.
Right outside the bookstore is Main Street's public clock. It does not work. I was not there at 5:20. I was there at 11:00.
Do you see all the overhead wires in the background? They're everywhere. I would love to see them buried into underground wires, but I'm sure that'd cost more than anyone is willing to pay.
My next stop was GrassRoots. GrassRoots used to run this entire building; now it is just the back quarter, while the rest of the building is run by food establishments. This is sad for me to see, because I really like this store, and I did end up buying things from it (I do every Christmas). This building was originally the Newark Opera House. Now it serves frozen desserts.
I could not get a good picture of the city Christmas Tree, but this particular plot of land is one of the oldest in the city. The building that sits on this same land is the original "Newark Academy" which was the forerunner to the University of Delaware. You can see the building behind the flag.
There used to be a tree here. A really large one, in fact. And no, despite how the picture looks, the city did not cut the tree down to move it 30 yards to decorate it. Two different trees.
The building in the background is the GrassRoots/Opera House building.
This is another one of my favourite stores: Days of Knights. It's a game store, with more board games and card games than a person could shake a stick at. Again, this is one of my main stops at Christmas, and often throughout the year. I like to support these folks.
My local comic book store, Captain Blue Hen. I like this place a lot.
There is, on the same lot as Captain Blue Hen, a yellow fire hydrant. I have not shared a fire hydrant photo in quite some time. That fault is now corrected.
My wandering eventually brought me to the Newark Shopping Center. This used to be a really busy hub. I remember, in its heyday, it housed a Woolworth's (anyone remember that?) with one of Woolworth's famous eateries. There was also a bowling alley and a healthy foods co-op. Of the three only the co-op remains. The bowling alley is now an apartment building for students, and Woolworth's has been turned into a barber shop and exercise joint. But there is a movie theatre!
This is Rainbow Records. Rainbow Records sells vinyl records, and I've bought more than a few from them.
15 years ago Rainbow Records was much larger than it is now, and it comprised two buildings; one for records, and one as a bookstore. The bookstore used to have weekly crafts for children that I remember taking my own children to. Sadly, we all know what happened to many bookstores and record stores. That Rainbow still exists in any form is nice to see.
Here's another fire hydrant.
That fire hydrant is right beside the corner plot that houses this Roman Catholic Church. I have been inside this Church once for a baptism. Today I walked across the back parking lot. I did not burst into flames; take that for what you will.
This is the theatre that I have been spending a lot of my time at lately. The next show that we do in this theatre in February is going to be the last one ever held in this building; a new building is going to be built and this one is going to be razed and replaced with student housing.
The last building on my walkabout is Klondike Kates, another restaurant. This one has been a fixture on Main Street for longer than my time in Delaware. This particular building is over 250 years old and has been used for a number of different purposes. I'm told that there are, in fact, prison cells still accessible in the basement. Honestly, I've no idea if it's true or not, but it is certainly an interesting story.
And that is about the end of my Main Street trip! With luck, next week I will have an even more merry Market Friday to share.
(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe
About Me
Sometimes photographer. Wannabe author. Game designer. Nerd.
General all around problem-solver and creative type.
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Don't forget to drop the link on the #MarketFriday post @wwwiebe Thank you!
Well you pics make it look charming. Though I agree wires belong under ground.
Thank you! It definitely is a "main street" very much in the traditional sense. We even have a store literally named "National 5 and 10"!
Looks like some great shops in that area, @wwwiebe. I hope you got lots of shopping done. Thank goodness you provided some fire hydrants. You have a reputation to uphold! 😁
LOL! I do! My youngest rolls his eyes every time I point out a fire hydrant, and voices his displeasure when I suggest I stop to take a photo of it. 😂
I wonder why the fire hydrants are different colour?
It is also great that you support shops all year round, and not just at Christmas. It does bemuse me here when people moan about local shops closing, and when I ask they admit that they never shopped there except perhaps for the odd Christmas present.
Great #marketfriday walk that you took us on with your crappy camera😂
I love those crappy cameras. 😃 I even have one that writes it's images to a floppy disk! It has a whopping 640x480 resolution. State of the art!
Fire hydrant colours are a loosely adhered to standard. The colour indicates the amount of pressure that the hydrant can provide, so the fire fighters can tell at a glance if that particular hydrant will be sufficient or if they'll need to use more than one. It is a national standard, but States and Counties may or may not follow, or may have their own. A national standard isn't nearly as important as a local standard, anyway. As long as the local fire department knows what's what, all is good.