Summer in the City

I worked in the city for much of the last thirty years and I use to take walks all through its avenues, parks and byways. Over the last few years, though, I have seldom went into the city. Oh, the Little Woman and I have occasionally went to dinner at a downtown restaurant, but that isn't the same as visiting the city.

Next Wednesday I am forced to go downtown and report for jury duty. So this past Wednesday, since I was off from work, I decided to go into town and see how long it would take if I parked out near the art museum and walked to the courthouse.

I know the first picture in this post doesn't look much like a city. I parked about two blocks from where I took it.

The building in the center blurred by shooting toward the early morning sun is Gallucio's. It is a long established eatery.

The Little Woman and I used to eat there fairly regularly. We really ned to go back again.

The restaurant, featuring Italian cooking, besides being a neighborhood pub, is popular all around and even among the more — uh — elite classes.

There is a certain infamy about its parking lot. A one time, highly connected, well-to-do, and famous murderer use to have sex with his eventual victim parked there.

He was eventually arrested very near my home.

I didn't take any more photos on my walk to downtown. I was more interested in how long it would take me to walk to the courthouse. It took me a half hour to arrive on the main drag of town where I ask someone for the time. (I don't wear a watch.)

I then realized I had forgotten where the new courthouse was.

What a dummy!

I should have checked the address on the summons before I left home.

So I walked over to King Street and thought I will just look for it. I turned to my right and walked all the way to the old courthouse not finding it. I then wondered was it on French. I was going to turn right around the corner and down to French, except the sidewalk was closed. I crossed the street and went down and crossed french, because the sidewalk on French on that other side was also closed.

Since any timing of my walk was out the window at this point, I began snapping photos as I went. I began with St, Joseph's Church.

The church which goes back to 1884, I believe, as the first African-American Roman Catholic Church in the city, has a personal connection for me.  Later in its existence it was obtained by the Franciscan Fryers. Then at the end of my employment by a big bank my boss died suddenly at the age of 47. He was one of the best bosses I had in my working life.  He was cremated and the funeral service was held in this church.

This is the lovely little walk through next to the church.

Not too far beyond the church in the couryard of an office building was the statue of a mother bear and her cubs.

Of course none of this looked like a courthouse.

I took a shot up up Tenth Street. The gray building on the right is the old courthouse, but it isn't a courthouse of any kind anymore.

I was still wondering where the new courthouse was.

There is a government building ahead, but it turned out not to be a courthouse.

I was having some deja vu nervousness taking these photos. A few years back, 2003 to be precise, I had a security guard question me as I was taking photos on these streets.

I didn't want another such encounter.

This whole area is government. The building here is the County Building. I once interviewed here for a job as county auditor.

It was a job I really didn't want because it would have placed me squarely in the middle of the political feuds between the council and the executive.  No thanks.

There is an interesting statue here, a display of public nudity.

I think it depicts the government squeezing the last penny out of the taxpayer.

There is a pretty garden here so I went wandering back through it.

The downtown area where the government buildings are sits above much of the city. You can stand up in that garden and view the hidden city.

These are the stairs that lead down to the hidden city where people actually live.

I have alway gotten caught up in the patterns such structures as these make.

This isn't finding me the courthouse, though, so I turn back to the downtown streets.

There are a couple of ladies sitting on a park bench. I approach and ask them where the courthouse is.

I am a bit leery about approaching wondering if they will think me a panhandler. here I am in shorts, T-shirt and baseball cap wandering about. Why would some bearded old geezer dressed this way want the courthouse?

But they kindly tell me the address and one stands and directs my path, although once I heard the address I really knew where it was and how far off I had been.

I follow her directions anyway and cross the street and cut through another little park.  I have to go up several stairs to the next street, which is King. It is hard to believe for some that this city is built up the side of a pretty steep hill.

A fact I will regret some later.

I gaze down King Street. The new courthouse is about three blocks further along.  I am beginning to remember the building now. I had to drop my daughter off at it when she was on a jury not long after it was built.

I begin walking down King.

There is a hotel, where I have attended differenting fuctions when I worked for that big bank, even put on a show there once.

The hotel has changed hands over the years. I'm not even certain which chain it belongs to. I think it is the Wyndham Garden now.

Just behind it is the Wilmington College.

This is the front of the Wilmington College.

The main campus is in New Castle. I know they have another campus in Dover. The student body is around 12,000 and the mascot is the same as my old high school, the Wildcat.

And just past the college building is the new courthouse where I must report next Wednesday (9/8). So it is nearly three miles from where I parked. I guess I could do that.

I really hate the parking situation downtown and want to avoid it if I can.

Time to head back to my car.

I'll show that next time.