road trip to Paris...(Paris, TX, that is) n

OK, if you were driving down the highway and saw a road sign for Paris, TX, could you resist? Well, I couldn't...





























One of the first things I saw was this light...actually, there were two of them...and they were HUGE, close to 5 feet tall, I think, at the front of a very ugly municipal building. I didn't like the building but I loved the lights.



Just down the street from the lights, I came across this beautiful memorial to Lamar County WWI soldiers killed in battle...




















Walking down the street, I eventually came upon this alley and staircase. Although I love the country and wild places, in many ways I am also a city girl at heart, and that part of me loves alleys and staircases. This one has it all...red bricks, ivy, a wonderful metal staircase, and to give the gritty urban aspect authenticity...a bunch of ugly, discarded AC units. Ah, well...








Moving right along, I looked up and saw this neat red window:





















I love the way it looks in the red wall, which the ivy is climbing with great determination...
Just down from the red window, I came upon a working FORGE. Here's the neat sign, advertising it....













And here are the ever-so-cool forge DOORS! Aren't they great? I could smell hot iron and hear someone banging away at something inside. I'd have loved to have seen what the person was working on, but didn't want to interrupt their work...so I moved on...




To the Paris/Lamar County Courthouse:





Here are two details from the pink granite trim on that building. I find the gargoyle quite hideous, but I guess that's the point...


Just down the street, I loved the architectural detail, both stonework and window trim, on this building, and I loved the colorful reminder from the ivy that fall is on the way...

























There were more gargoyles on other buildings downtown...and I have to say, I liked these better than the ones on the courthouse...




In the center of town there's a square with a fountain and several of these lovely benches....


























Here's a close up of some of the detail in the cement work on the town square...



















And here's one of the lamps in the town square...

This was a good little sidetrip on my way home from Arkansas.