From Higher Ground -- Again

This morning, in a conversation I had with an 87 year old woman who shall here remain nameless, I happened to comment that the Riverwalk is underwater again. The woman asked, "It is? Again?"

I replied, "Yes, it's almost as high as it was two weeks ago."

"The woman" then asked, "Reckon why in the world they put that thing so close to the River?"

Well, uh, let's just say that I was too dumbfounded to respond.

SO, since indeed the Riverwalk is underwater again, I think I'll sit indoors and take a little "history trip," prompted by my former student Andrew's request that I post some photos of "how the River used to look -- before the Riverwalk."

[I would, however, like to digress for one moment and say that while I shall let my former student Andrew remain last-nameless, I will divulge the fact that he once wrote a fine paper on the topic of the Lochapoka Syrup Soppin', thereby instantly catapulting himself to the rank of teacher's pet.]

These photos are from the Library of Congress website, American Memory section. One of my very favorite sites on the whole World Wide Web, http://www.loc.gov offers TONS of vintage images and documents. Just type in "Columbus, Georgia" or "Muscogee" or some other meaningful keyword and you'll be in vintage photo heaven.

Here are a few:

This is the 14th Street Pedestrian Bridge, back when it wasn't pedestrian. The first few of these photographs were taken in 1988. I remember way before that, though, before the mills were "Fieldcrest" and before the windows were bricked up.



And from the Phenix City side:


From the Phenix City side, looking into Columbus, back in 1988:




If you were standing directly behind the TSYS building, between the TSYS building and the River, where that brick plaza is now (I'll get a photo when the water subsides.), this is how it would have looked back in 1988. That's the Russell County Courthouse in the distance:


The next photo is an older one, taken in the 1930s. It's Muscogee Mill, the building that was torn down to build that TSYS parking garage I so despise:

And here's what replaced it:

We lost all this, too:

So, Andrew, I realize that this post has become more "mill history" than images of "the River before the Riverwalk," but I'm not sure that before the Riverwalk we even paid enough attention to the River to take a photo of it!