The corner is naked

Do you recall the NW corner of Willis and Montezuma, back in, maybe, December 2006? There was a big yellow frame apartment building on the corner, then, heading north, an old brown house, next to Hugo's. How fast things can change. They are no more. In January, 2007, the apartment house burned; this April -- maybe a week ago -- the brown house was dozed to the ground.

I had no file picture of the original corner building -- but did capture images of it right after the fire. As for the brown house, again my photo library yielded only this sad little shot framed by a car window.

Sunday I was on my way to the chalk art scene, walking down Willis, when I noticed changes at the corner lot. And then became aware that I was seeing straight through to Hugo's outdoor dining sheds (below).

Turning the corner, there was this big dozer smack dab in the place of the brown house, surrounded by rubble. Thus far, only the one-sided trees remain standing.

The question, of course, is what is in store for this choice property? We already have two prime vacant corner lots in the middle of town, across from the Square; will this corner also remain empty as long as the market is down or are plans already afoot? Has anybody heard anything?

Blogger Meet-Up Link: Thanks to Tombo for an upbeat write-up about our very small get together Sunday. You'll have to scroll down because I wanted you to also see his report on a strange little art exhibit in the city drainage ways. Tom has a knack for locating totally unexpected sights in what everyone thinks of as a fairly staid little town. Way to go, Tom!