My wife, Ronda, lived here in the upper right apartment in the later '70's, and managed Coop Books, a radical bookstore. We met in 1978, when I volunteered at the bookstore. I moved in with her in '79, and we were married in 1980. It was a gem of a place. Ronda has always had a knack for finding charming spaces.
I can't remember this apartment without a soundtrack of British folk-rock and women's music: Pentangle, Fairport Convention, John Renbourne, Bert Jansch, Linda Cohen, Chris Williamson. Two of our neighbors across the stairwell, Scott and Judy, would leave to join a Fourth Way, Gurdjieffian group in Colorado, T. H. Tizer's "Harmonizing" movement. Other friends went west, to Seattle or to points in California to join E. J. Gold's Fourth Way group or to be Wiccans, as the '70's ended. We left too, in 1981, but that is another story.
Southwest corner of Park & College.
Rear view.
Across from our place on Park. I never knew anyone who lived here. It may have always been commercial, I don't know.
500 block of Park, north side. I've always loved the stairs.
Northwest corner of Park & Franklin, I love the stairs that bracket the place. Very inviting.
A rear view.
One of the larger buildings, at College & Meridian, and really the impetus for this project. It's been empty for at least ten years, and I was afraid it would be torn down before I could photograph it.
I never knew anyone who lived here. I always had the feeling that the tenants were old, and didn't turn over much.
The spiral supports and railings are often seen in these old buildings.
I've often wished I could wander through these old rooms.
Northwest corner of College & Franklin, these apartments have always seemed peaceful and inviting.
A group of buildings on the west side of Franklin between College & Park. The distant one on the right we have already seen.
Our friend, Rick, business manager of the Florida Flambeau, lived here, and also friends Charlie and Clare, who divorced. Charlie was a promising reporter for public radio.
Franklin Boulevard, which runs north to south from Tennessee Street to Lafayette Street. It floods in heavy rains.
My friend Jack McCarthy lived here. Jack wrote leftist opinion pieces for the Flambeau, and years later was my boss at Gateway Books in the Tallahassee Mall. One of our library shelvers lives here now, and walks up the hill to work.
Maison DeVille, at the corner of Meridian and Beverly Street. For years there was a sign with the name on the corner. It came loose from its hinges and lay on the ground for a number of years. I was sorry when it disappeared.
Maison DeVille, west side.
Another view of Maison DeVille. Ira, another public radio journalist, and his wife Linda, lived a few doors down on Beverly. They also divorced.
Beverly Street and Franklin. Again, I never knew anyone who lived here.
Surely has central air now. I don't see any open windows or window A/C units.
East side of Franklin between Park & Beverly. May possibly have been a single-family dwelling originally.
East side of Franklin at Call Street.
Northeast corner of Park & Franklin. Unusual radial aspect.
I always wished to be invited in here.
Interesting stone facings on either side of the door.
South side of Park just east of Franklin. V., a fire-breathing feminist friend of Ronda's, lived here. Men visited at their peril.
Park Avenue Apartments, east of Franklin, extending up to the bridge on Park over the railroad tracks. This is the largest of my subjects, but of the same period as the ones on College Avenue, with the same ironwork and casement windows.
