tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post4924191617156998690..comments2023-10-19T05:19:01.550-08:00Comments on American Dirt: Drivable Main Streets, Part I: Quaint, picturesque sprawl.AmericanDirthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04600555386886915000noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-68052752619146931392014-07-13T16:41:20.083-08:002014-07-13T16:41:20.083-08:00David Duvic, thanks for your comments and clarific...David Duvic, thanks for your comments and clarifications. Not sure between you and the original Anonymous poster who might have a lock on the location of the Ford dealership. But the fundamentals of my argument still stand, regardless.AmericanDirthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600555386886915000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-5806818198814749932014-07-11T15:04:48.813-08:002014-07-11T15:04:48.813-08:00The Ford dealership is not on Hwy. 61. It is locat...The Ford dealership is not on Hwy. 61. It is located right where it has always been. The brick building was a bank with offices upstairs. Again, always been there.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081699659816939454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-76136440618849617472011-07-19T08:29:06.170-08:002011-07-19T08:29:06.170-08:00Thanks for writing, Chris. The photo fails to cap...Thanks for writing, Chris. The photo fails to capture the oddity of the two-story brick structure in relation to its single-family residential surroundings. Then again, a lodge chapter HQ would be far more likely to sit tucked away in a residential district than most other potential uses for this building, especially considering that the a structure such as this predates zoning (which remains a lightly applied practice in most rural Louisiana parishes).<br /><br />In light of what the Anonymous poster said, it's surprising that dealership might have remained at its prime location this late in the game, especially considering that St. Francisville is clearly not stagnating. But the place it apparently removed fits perfectly with the "bypass highway" location that you mentioned.AmericanDirthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600555386886915000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-7000571287753248782011-07-19T06:19:48.227-08:002011-07-19T06:19:48.227-08:00Car dealers and gas stations were downtown fixture...Car dealers and gas stations were downtown fixtures until bypasses and interstates were built, mostly post WW2.<br /><br />I'd speculate that maybe the two-story brick has a connection to a lodge order of some kind. The "residential conversion" looks suspiciously like a church because of the steeple-looking thing, though it could also be a former livery.Chris Barnetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03381572623576666991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-44081035290531887672011-07-18T20:45:17.732-08:002011-07-18T20:45:17.732-08:00Thanks for writing. The pictures are dated almost...Thanks for writing. The pictures are dated almost exactly a year ago--late July of 2010.AmericanDirthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600555386886915000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-34461090250689997762011-07-18T17:14:57.636-08:002011-07-18T17:14:57.636-08:00Just curious...when were these pictures taken? Th...Just curious...when were these pictures taken? The Ford dealership is now on Highway 61 and has been there for awhile.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com