More Gustav Damage: Christian Book Store and more

This is one of many businesses on Florida Boulevard whose freestanding roadside sign, as you'll see below, took a beating from the winds of Gustav.

 
But more interesting to me was that instead of all the usual crap being left inside an abandoned, er, closed for repairs business, it was standing out in the lot for the world to see.

The next Gustav update

Remember Rome Cleaners?

I guess that sawhorse means "don't go under the beat-up awning" but of course I did not listen.

Remember the sign announcing that Rome Cleaners was having a sale on unclaimed wedding gowns, that made you want to kill yourself? Well, how would you like to see those gowns? You would? Me too!

Ahhh...nothing like a yellowed wedding gown, on display at a dry cleaner, with an obvious stain on it.

How many horror movies does this photo remind me of? Let me count them...

Post-Gustav update

Two sites I've featured before have become more accessible thanks to Gustav, as I suspect many other undiscovered sites have as well.

First up is the Shell Station on Government near Acadian.
 

Uninhabited River Road, part 2

See part one of this excursion here.

It's only after our River Road trip happened that I'm becoming more aware of how rich it is in historic sites and plantations. Without that previous knowledge, this next stop, J.N. Barthel General Merchandise store, was so perfectly Olde Tyme America, I kind of doubted its authenticity.

Why is the lettering on the sign such a crisp, bright white? Has this been restored, and/or is this part of a movie set? If this is a real site, you'll see below that we can date it to 1880. (But then why is that lettering in such fresh black paint?)

Here's one benefit of having a tall fiance: he was able to reach up and take this shot through a high window.

 

See the brand-new wood in the right foreground--? Movie set?

Clearly, this Jersey girl by-way-of Brooklyn is not accustomed to having such quaint antique buildings just casually hanging out unattended at the side of the road.