Friday, August 7, 2009

The Ritz Theater

Betty and I have been looking for an image showing the Ritz Theater in Afton for a long time. Last week, a friend of Betty's (and now a friend of mine), Perry Knight, acquired this one from a former Afton resident. It's from a postcard from the 1950s, and I also have the companion postcard, which I've shown here before. I can't stop looking at both images and imagining Afton in the days when it was busy and vital. Almost none of the buildings in the photo are still standing, the traffic light at the corner of 1st St. (Route 66) and Main St. is long gone, and I'm sure it's been decades since that many cars lined the streets. Unfortunately, this image has been over-copied, so it's not terribly clear, but you can see the Ritz Theater on the left.This is from my postcard collection, and it's a first generation copy, thus clearer. It shows the other angle of the intersection.

As usual on Friday, I'm not at Afton Station today. Yesterday I snapped a picture of one of my vintage Route 66 maps, just to test the portrait feature on my camera. It's not too bad. I love this map.

3 comments:

Beth said...

I know it troubles you that Afton is no longer as vital as it once was. That's the way with so many small towns throughout the country, and it IS sad. Hugs, Beth

Trevor Hilton said...

I love maps, though, I don't know why. That old map looks fascinating.

Cathy said...

Geez you've got some real treasure there, what a tribute to an American era and it's ways. Love it.