Part two of the Joys of Hastings - there's quite a lot for a town of 25,000 souls.

I had to check to see if I'd sized this one correctly.. It looks as if it's been put on the rack.

The original sign; the original showcase entrance. Well, original in the sense that it was done long ago, and not altered since. It's part of a larger structure, but the other half doesn't make much - same details, but not symmetrically organized.

Don't care; cool storefront.

The juice flowed through the signage holes to light up the gas.

Say, sir, did you want windows on the third floor?

Nope; that's for murderin'.

It takes some confidence to literally gild the city's HQ, but I'm glad they did.

Take a look at that marble: it was the style to mix up all the slabs so the lack of pattern created an abstract effect.

For a tidy structure, it's impressive and self-possessed. I wonder if it's up to snuff for today's needs, and the bill to bring it up to date exceeds its original construction cost.

From a few years later, I think, another attempt to update an old building with our old friend, Colored Panels. Probably a shoe shop for families. Or dresses.

"Skin Flixxx Tattoo" now. Next door: no one comes to visit grandpa anymore.

That's the way you do it! Then again . . .

The painted cornice is recent; for years it was white with black letters. Now:

Now you can't see the name. Hmm. Anyway, Thomas Farrell was an early settler, and was part of the town's creation in 1872. Things moved along quickly, it seems. Wonder if they imagined that it would be standing in the unimaginable year of 2016.

While the occasional metal screen can bring a new spark to a building, somtimes it just makes the street look like condemned men wearing hoods:

I suspect big names may have been attached to the screens, but I can't see any holes where they were attached.

FOR GOD'S SAKE BRICK UP THE IMPERIAL JEWELERS BUILDING PEOPLE CAN LOOK IN AND SEE EVERYTHING

Here's what happens when you don't screen off every building: three individuals, but part of the same building.

Two floors for the corner building, and three for the others. Built all at once? In stages?

It was the Nebraska Loan and Trust. The historical society says it has "three stores at end sections and two stories above an elevated basement at the corner section." Okay. Bank vault in the basement, perhaps?

Hello:

In a big city it would have been blacked by coal dust after a few years. In the clean air of Nebraska, it shines as it did the day it was finished!

Well, I suspect they've washed it a few times.

I showed some ground floor details for this one last week, and due to a peculiarity in the file naming, I didn't show the building itself. (By which I mean, I screwed up.) I am delighed to see this in a town of 25,000.

Let's zoom in and sharpen it up:

VB for Victory Building. Victory over the Hun, in this case. Finished in 1920.

Do you know what these fellows did? I'll leave that for the comments.

It's not what's there; it's what's missing.

Of course it's fireproof!

The lowdown:

"When the Clarke Hotel was dedicated in February, 1914, it was hailed as a triumph of local initiative. The $175,000 project originated with the Chamber of Commerce, which established a corporation to construct it through sale of stock to Hastings residents. It was designed by C.W. Way and built by the John Hempel Company, both of Hastings. Bricks made in Hastings formed the exterior of the building, and local craftsmen made everything from the terra cotta trim and marquee awnings to the light fixtures, oak millwork and mosaic floors. It was named for Alonzo L. Clarke, a prominent Hastings businessman."

Local craftsmen made everything. More: "The grill room, with its life-sized murals depicting "Wine, Women, and Song," painted by an Italian member of the Royal Academy of Arts, was an especially popular gathering place."

It's been restored. The painter was Aniello A. Aprea of Minneapolis. He painted murals for the homes of the rich in Minneapolis - and how many are still there, or slumbering under wallpaper, I can only guess.

Lest you think it's all old, there's stuff from every era.

Alas.

At least it tries to pretend some sort of classical style. Really, it's there.

I am partial to these, if only because I hear the Perry Mason theme every time:

Finally, just to conclude this interesting look at a remarkable little town, the one thing a dowtown needs.

They still have it.

Ahhh.