Starry Night Clarksville

This mural is painted by @draftsbyolasubomi features the Montgomery County Courthouse and Customs House museum on a background similar to Van Gogh's Starry Night. It is located off Madison St. near Hiter St. in the parking lot for Dollar General.

Customs House at Night - Clarksville, TN

From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_House_Museum_and_Cultural_C...
The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is Tennessee's second largest general interest museum. It features fine art, history, and children's exhibits. It is located in Clarksville, TN's Downtown District on 200 South 2nd Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as Clarksville Federal Building. It was established in 1984 as the Clarksville Montgomery County Museum.

The 1898 portion of the Museum was originally designed for use as a Federal post office and custom house to handle the large volume of foreign mail created by the city's international tobacco business. It is built on the site of a former boarding house.

The structure was designed by the Supervising Architect of the Treasury, William Martin Aiken, in the eclectic style popular to Victorian America. Aiken incorporated many architectural styles including Stick, Queen Anne, Italianate, Romanesque, Flemish and Gothic. Its highly pitched roof with large eagles on the four corners, steep gabled windows and elaborate terra cotta ornamentation combine to give importance to a relatively small building. Contrary to popular myth, the design was not inspired by the architect's visit to China.

The building was constructed by Charles A. Moses of Chicago.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Ambulance

This well maintained classic ambulance is located in front of McReynolds, Nave & Larson Funeral Home in Clarksville, TN.

Frank Sutton (Sgt. Carter) Statue - Clarksville, TN

Frank Sutton was an actor from Clarksville, TN best known for portraying Sgt. Vince Carter on the TV show Gomer Pyle USMC. This statue was made in his honor in his hometown of Clarksville, TN across from the Roxy Theater.

Busy Bee Drive-In - Clarksville, TN

Sadly, this mom and pop restaurant in Clarksville looks to be out of business.

Post Card Tuesday: Vacation Motor Hotel - Clarksville

This neon motel sign looks suspiciously like an old school Holiday Inn sign. I don't know if it once was a Holiday Inn which became independent, or they just wanted a copycat sign. The motel is still open for business along highway US41A/79 in the Providence area of Clarksville.

Montgomery County Courthouse Bell

This 4200 pound bell was put in the clock tower of the courthouse when the courthouse was rebuilt following the 1900 fire. During the 1999 tornado, the bell came crashing to the ground and they decided to place it on the plaza grounds instead of putting it back int he reconstructed tower. It was built by the MC Shane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, MD in 1900.

Dunbar Cave Lake (From Inside the arch)

Dunbar Cave is a scenic State Natural Area in the middle of a residential area in Clarksville, but a hundred years ago it was a rural tourist destination.

At one time, a resort hotel operated here. More significantly, the opening of the cave became a popular party spot for big bands in the 1930's and 40's. (So popular, that Roy Acuff bought the area in 1948).

Caves tend to maintain a nice cool temperature, and having lots of people hang out by the entrance would be a cool place on a hot summer evening, plus the rock formations around the entrance make for a nice bandshell. The springs from the cave were dammed to make the picturesque Swan Lake.

The typical picture of the area shows the triple arches of the white concrete. As soon as I got here, I went down there, and there was nothing there. It looks like it should be an entrance, but it isn't. Instead, it's purpose from the big band era was to hold up the concrete dance floor. The reason the arched area was made accessible was so you could walk the nature trail along to the other side of the lake. The actual entrance is of course above the arches.

Today, Dunbar Cave is owned by the state and operated by the State Park service.

Wilma Rudolph Statue - Clarksville, TN

In honor of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio...



Wilma Rudolph is perhaps Clarksville's most prominent citizen ever. Most people are familiar with her story, from growing up with Polio all the way to her multiple gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics. The City of Clarksville placed this bronze statue of Rudolph along the RiverWalk near the base of the pedestrian overpass. Many of you will even remember the famous photo of Rudolph crossing the finish line that this statue was adapted from.

Clarksville: John Montgomery statue

This statue honors John Montgomery, for whom Montgomery County is named. While on a long hunters' expedition, Montgomery claimed Clarksville, Tennessee's second oldest city, so named for Gen. George Rogers Clark. The statue was erected in 2002.

Dunbar Cave Arches

Dunbar Cave is a scenic State Natural Area in the middle of a residential area in Clarksville, but a hundred years ago it was a rural tourist destination.

At one time, a resort hotel operated here. More significantly, the opening of the cave became a popular party spot for big bands in the 1930's and 40's. (So popular, that Roy Acuff bought the area in 1948).

Caves tend to maintain a nice cool temperature, and having lots of people hang out by the entrance would be a cool place on a hot summer evening, plus the rock formations around the entrance make for a nice bandshell. The springs from the cave were dammed to make the picturesque Swan Lake.

The typical picture of the area shows the triple arches of the white concrete. As soon as I got here, I went down there, and there was nothing there. It looks like it should be an entrance, but it isn't. Instead, it's purpose from the big band era was to hold up the concrete dance floor. The reason the arched area was made accessible was so you could walk the nature trail along to the other side of the lake. The actual entrance is of course above the arches.

Today, Dunbar Cave is owned by the state and operated by the State Park service. For a few years, the actual cave itself has been closed while researchers study the white nose syndrome which has been plaguing bats in many caves around the country.

Vacation Motel - Clarksville, TN

Located along US41A/79 in the Providence area of Clarksville, TN

First Presbyterian Church - Clarksville, TN

This church on Main St. in Clarksville, TN was completed in 1878 with a neo-gothic architecture at a cost of $43,000. It's one of several historic churches in Clarksville and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dunbar Cave Vintage Concession Stand

Dunbar Cave is a scenic State Natural Area in the middle of a residential area in Clarksville, but a hundred years ago it was a rural tourist destination.

At one time, a resort hotel operated here. More significantly, the opening of the cave became a popular party spot for big bands in the 1930's and 40's. (So popular, that Roy Acuff bought the area in 1948).

Caves tend to maintain a nice cool temperature, and having lots of people hang out by the entrance would be a cool place on a hot summer evening, plus the rock formations around the entrance make for a nice bandshell. The springs from the cave were dammed to make the picturesque Swan Lake.

The typical picture of the area shows the triple arches of the white concrete. As soon as I got here, I went down there, and there was nothing there. It looks like it should be an entrance, but it isn't. Instead, it's purpose from the big band era was to hold up the concrete dance floor. The reason the arched area was made accessible was so you could walk the nature trail along to the other side of the lake. The actual entrance is of course above the arches.

Today, Dunbar Cave is owned by the state and operated by the State Park service. As of right now (July 2010), the actual cave itself is closed while researchers study the white nose syndrome which has been plaguing bats in many caves around the country.

Vacation Motor Hotel

It looks suspiciously like an Old School Holiday Inn neon sign
Located along US41A/79 in the Providence area of Clarksville, TN

"Nora" - Clarksville, TN

This bronze statue of Leonora "Nora" Witzel (1875-1968) is located at the northeast corner of the brick sidewalk of the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, TN. She is honored for breaking the glass ceiling and being prominent in local Portrait, Architecture and Landscape photography. The statue was sculpted by Andrea Lugar and dedicated five years ago on April 19, 2007. Part of her collection is on display at the Custom's House museum.

Old Post House - Clarksville, TN

Located in a part of town that used to be called Oak Grove, this is midway between the center of Clarksville and Hopkinsville, KY. This served as a stop for the triweekly stagecoaches which operated between Nashville and towns along the Ohio River. The building was erected in the 1830's (possibly sooner) and also was used as a post office, a church storeroom and a private residence.

Today, you can find this along highway US 41A as it runs along the entrance to Fort Campbell. As the highway had to be expanded, this was considered important enough to build around as this is between the northbound and southbound lanes, along with Bethel United Methodist Church and Patriot Park. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places. The city renovated it, which was finished in the fall of 1990.

Historical Marker:
seemidtn.com/gallery/index.php?album=historical-markers/m...

Roxy Theater at Dusk - Clarksville, TN

On the corner of Franklin and First in Downtown Clarksville, the Lillian Theater was built in 1912. It burned down in 1913 and was rebuilt. It burned down again in 1945 and the was rebuilt again, this time as the Roxy theater.

It showed first run movies until 1980 and then ever since 1983 has been used as a popular live theater.

The Art Deco theater was also the backdrop of the music video "All I wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow in the mid 90's.

For more info, see:
www.roxyregionaltheatre.org/

13th Anniversary of the 1999 Clarksville Tornado

This is the 4th Courthouse to be built in Clarksville. It was constructed in 1879 for $100,000, and was placed in a location that was away from the town square. It was designed with Italianate and Victorian elements in a classical style and is topped with a tall clock tower.

This courthouse was built after a devestating fire turned the previous courthouse and much of the city was turned to rubble. On April 13, 1878, the fire started, which was aided by wind as well as the town's only fire engine broke down early. This fire wasn't fully out until another fire engine was sent by train from Nashville.

On March 12, 1900 another fire almost destroyed this courthouse. It was believed to have started in the southeast section of a flue in the office of the Circuit Court Clerk. By now, the town had learned its lesson and had better fire-fighting practices in place, which saved the building. Steel girders and beams in the ceiling were anchored in cement keeping the lower floor intact, although the roof and tower collapsed. After inspection, the remnants were deemed structurally sound and the building was rebuilt with a new clock and the soaring bronze eagle was reinstated in his aerie on the top.

On March 20, 1976, heavy winds caused the eagle on top to be blown off and it was feared to be lost but eventually found and reattached.

Disaster struck again on Jan. 22, 1999, when an F4 tornado struck downtown, crippling the courthouse and causing $74 million damage to the city. Sections of the roof and spires were ripped away, the clock tower was leveled and the east wall was collapsed. The eagle was never found. After considering building a new courthouse, city leaders decided to rebuild this one again. The exterior was rebuilt to look just like it had been and the interior was redesigned. A replicated tower and eagle was again placed on top. All repairs were completed in the fall of 2002.

How long will it last this time? Clarksville has a very storied past of disasters with fires, tornados and floods.

This view was taken in July 2008 from the top of a parking garage.

Neon Ice Cream - Clarksville, TN

Here's hoping your Christmas had an extra cherry on top!

Part of the Cream City Ice Cream sign. The cherry on top moves. Right now, it's in the "up" position, but it also takes the outline of the red.