I went to get a bite to eat at Timbo's and decided to walk around. Not that I needed any more convincing, but I get more and more excited of the potential for that area by just walking around. Everything just seems to fit, and seems much closer than an aerial map view can show. There are lots of people running, biking, walking, sight-seeing, hanging out at the VFW, SAMA, etc.
I started off at the Koehler Garage and walked down to the VFW; 1221 will be huge for the area(as if we haven't said that enough). 400-500 residents adding the activity down there daily will give it the day to day "normal" feeling; more people walking pets, walking, hanging out, etc. It really is
just right there.
Café des Artistes at SAMA
I turned right around and took this photo.... there are a couple of access points to get between 1221 and the river.
1221
They really are close to each other. You can see the awning for the cafe on the left, and of course, the shell of 1221 on the right.
At this point, I'm a few feet from Jones Ave, which means that if I turn 180', I should see the lot where the "Luxury Restaurant is going to be located...
I walked a couple more minutes to the VFW (figuring that was a little under a mile) and turned around to go north up to Brack Golf Course.
It was a bit of a maze; I had to go up to street level at Josephine and took the bike lane under 281 around the blind curve which led me to this....
It felt great to have that open space there, even though traffic was right behind me, it felt good to not see all that pavement. I kept going, knowing that this led to Ave. B, which should put me right behind the Butter Krust Bakery...
It really is "just right there." Imagine a 3 story addition to that side right there, the loading dock is getting demo'd. I walked a bit past this tiny parking lot on Ave. B and got to the corner of Josephine. I looked southeast and this was my view....
sure, doesn't look like much more than a couple of empty lots and Sam's... but that is where the 7-story project is going and a bit farther past that, possibly 1800. I walked under 281 and walked past Josephine St. Cafe and saw that someone is taking up the old Liberty Bar space....
This concludes the walking tour. It may not look like much, but I like to get "before's" and "after's" to get true comparisons of an area. Consider these the "before's."