The boundaries of Lancaster County, Nebraska were drawn up in 1855, and settlers started arriving soon after.  A Methodist Elder was among them, and he staked out claims and laid out the township of Lancaster.  He erected a two story building used as a female seminary and governmental meeting hall.  (It burned down in 1867).  A Methodist Church was built in his center of town, which was later replaced with the huge church in the picture above.

The State Capital Commission designated Lancaster as the new seat of State Government in 1867, and renamed it Lincoln to honor the martyred President.

 

This Telephone Building interested me with its covered emergency exit stairway.  Covered only to the second floor… maybe the Telephone people rented out the top floor to others they didn’t care much about?  It’s covered far higher than would be needed to keep baddies from jumping on it from the ground (Batman hadn’t been thought up yet).  It looks original, since the windows are staggered to allow room for it.

 

 

 

 

Whoever works in Woods Brothers was practicing social distancing with her mask on.

 

Several buildings have entrances or windows covered with nice canopies.  And the many covered walkways over the streets would make you think the weather is often bad here!

 

This one even has huge pedestrians built in!

 

The old Gold’s Department store building was completed in 1924, abandoned in 1980, and has had many abortive attempts to remodel/restore it.  Someone is trying again, and hopes it will house a fancy hotel in a couple of years.  I’ll keep you posted.

 

There are signs up promising the “Return of Downtown Lincoln” is coming soon…

 

 

It’s already an interesting blend of old and new.

 

 

The Sharp Tower building was finished in 1927.  At sixteen floors it was a skyscraper!

 

Sometimes the old and new are in close proximity…

 

This building reflects patterns of buildings across the street.

 

 

This next one is a microwave tower, that from what I’ve read, is abandoned.  It was supposedly given its unique shape to help it blend in with downtown architecture.  It this Mission Accomplished?

 

The Lied Center is a modern concert/performance center.

 

Near the train station there are many quaint shops and restaurants.

 

We went to Leadbelly’s last time we were here (Remember the Cinnamon Roll Burger?) but I never noticed there is a caboose squeezed up against one end of the building!

 

Speaking of squeezed, this guy somehow squeezed his beautiful ’57 Chevy into this short thing.  Maybe to fit in this little shop squeezed between two much more stately buildings.

 

 

Almost adjacent to the train station is a funny little alley with sculptures down the whole length – up out of reach.

 

Other places boast interesting sculptures also:

 

And I rest easier knowing that should a proper emergency arrive, the Emergency Donut Vehicle is ready to respond!

 

 

Social distancing is also being practiced by an overweight bench sitter, and even the fire hydrant is asking to be avoided!

 

 

Walker Tire was founded a LONG time ago.  Bought later by a car enthusiast, it is now run by his kids and grandkids… they have 4 locations in Lincoln, and I went there when the Tire Pressure Monitoring system on the Suburban gave me some screwy readings.  Turns out that in the past, when someone rotated the tires, they didn’t recalibrate the sensors, so the system was reporting low pressure in the left rear when really it was the right front.  Walker recalibrated the sensors, but over the next few days the right front leaked about 7 pounds out… so today I had them attempt to fix the leak.  A staple and a screw in the tire.  Sigh.  We’ll see if it works.  The tires are close to needing replacement… maybe that will be next week’s story!