Hello friends and Hivians. I hope all is well. As for me I have been a bit busy but Friday and Saturday I got out. It ended up being a search and discovery mission for me due to a recent mural I came across. I must say I much enjoyed doing this.
Here we have a mural I came across on Friday. It's on the wall of Erwin's Jewery located at 223 W. Mission Ave, Bellevue, Nebraska. The artist is Kelli Zaugg a local artist in the area. I couldn't find out much more on it. However, all the subject matter in the mural is still in local area. So I will share each section of the mural with the real buildings. All of them but one is in the Old Town Bellevue district.
Before we start I have to show you this bench which I found very cool. It's one of 41 different bench arts in the local area all with the title, "Plains to Planes." There are several artists involved in this series and it was done to celebrate the Sesquicentennial(150 years) of Sarphy County Nebraska. All benches were completed and auctioned in 2007. The artist of this one is Katrina Methot-Swanson.
I particularly love the steam engine locomotive train. Doesn't it look like Thomas the Train? Haha. The other elements such as the World War II aircrafts, pioneer wagons, old vintage car, farm stead and the Buffalo are cool as well. I think it is masterfully painted as a whole. Look for me to explore more of these benches and share them with you 😁
This one is my least favorite of all the sections of the mural. I don't know, I really don't see a big significance of this building in this town. There are literally hundreds of other buildings that have better looks and historical content than this plain building. It's the oldest city in Nebraska (fur traders settled here in 1822)and we have this, haha. I'm not an artists maybe I'm just missing something here. I just couldn't find its meaning, maybe it's close proximity to the mural or our artist is into performing arts of dancing??
What you see in the mural and real photos is the old Fontelle Bank building.This building was built with hand made bricks in 1856. It only served as a bank for a year. It later served as a County Courthouse than finally as the city's town hall up to 1960. It entered into the National Register of Histotic places in 1969. Despite it not really getting used long for what it was intended for (bank)it's good it got repurposed for other things and still remains standing.
What we have here is the Quarters 19 & 20 building on Offutt AFB, Nebraska. This is the one not located in Old Town Bellevue. This building was constructed in 1896 on the than Fort Crook, an Army Fort. The Fort was built to serve as dispatch point to the Great Plains for Indian conflicts. It served as officer quarters back than and today it houses highly ranked officers.
Now obviously not all can view it because access is controlled on the base.This building along with several others that were built around the same time were entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Some real classic looking buildings which I see almost every day going to work on the base.
This mural represents the First Presbyterian Church which was completed in 1858. Its one of the oldiest churches built in the state and has the claim of being oldiest one still standing. Through out the years three additions were added before it's 100 years of religious service ended in 1958. It's great its still standing and gets use. Tours can be scheduled and couples can even get hitched there.
Here we are one of the oldiest structure if not the oldiest in the state of Nebraska. This log cabin was built around 1835 by a trapper on the Missouri River flood plains. The structure has been at its current location since 1850 after moving locations twice. Originally it was just all logs as a structure.
Additions were added throughout its history. To me it takes away from its historic value but its good its still here to check out. It remained a residence until 1954. I think if it would not have continued as a residence it wouldn't be here today. What is cool it stands in a habitable city neighborhood hidden within it. It entered the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
Here we are an older train depot. Probably my favorite of all of them. Ok I have an obsession for railroad history. This one is the oldiest surviving train depot in the state, built in 1869. It's moved two places and currently sits in Gemni Park also next to the Sarphy County Museum.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 but was removed from it when it was was moved its last time in 1987. This was due to it being removed from its purpose of being located near the railroad tracks. The depot was used for passenger and freight movements up until 1965. There is a lot more to share about this little gem as I got a personal tour of it on the inside. So I'll share that experience in a future article.
I hope you enjoyed the comparisons between the murals and the real properties. For the community this mural and these surviving properties pay tribute to the heritage of the pioneer past. It's good to see and learn from the past.
That's all I have for you today. Take care, stay safe and have a blessed time ahead. Until next time!
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