Sidney, Ohio City of Beautiful Buildings

Fun!Truly fun, and not in Paris or Rome, no not even close. Yet, the three buildings on the southwest corner of the Shelby County courthouse in Sidney, Ohio, are definitely worth seeing. They are because they are so striking and so beautiful.
As far as beauty goes, the Peoples’ Savings and Loan Building has to be one of the most beautiful buildings in all the US of A. It was designed by architect Louis Sullivan, (1856-1924), and all you have to do is look at it to appreciate this man’s skill not only an architect but also as an artist. You can find quite a lot about him on the Web, and you can even find pictures of the many buildings he designed. Yet, when you do, you will have to conclude that the one in Sidney was one of his masterpieces. And, by the way, one of his early students or employees was Frank Lloyd Wright.
Anyway, go to Sidney, and when you do you will want to take your camera.
You can look at that beautiful buildings from several different locations around courthouse square, but if you stand right across the street you be standing right next to another famous building. It is the “Spot” restaurant, an art deco structure, that has served food that people love (and not food inspired by a focus group or advertising agency) since the early 1900's. People in Sidney flock there every day for a good hamburger and fries or to buy a pie. It is a wonderful place to eat.
Then across the street from the Spot to Be and the Peoples Savings and Loan Building is the Monumental Building, another wonder on the courthouse square.
The significance of this building is that while other towns all over Ohio have their monuments to the Civil War, the statue of a soldier or a spire, the monument in Sidney is an entire building.
The building was erected to honor the men from Sidney and Shelby County who fought and died in the Civil War but also to serve the community.
The cornerstone of the building was laid on June 24, 1875, and it was occupied in 1877. When finished, it included an opera house on the third floor. The rest of the building went onto serve as a center of government and culture in Sidney for well over a century.
Most recently it was renovated and is occupied by the Veterans Service Commission and the Sidney Municipal Court.
Whatever its use, it is a Gothic masterpiece, a tall, imposing building that is truly beautiful to behold.
There is an apse way up high in the building occupied by Civil War soldier who is said to be a Sgt. Bailey. Yet, none easily reached seemed to know exactly who Sgt. Bailey was.
Oh, and by the way, those three are not the only interesting buildings just to look at and think about as you sit feeding the pigeons some beautiful summer afternoon. There is also the Shelby County Courthouse on the square itself. Built in “Second Empire” style, it is imposing, well maintained and beautiful.
So, no matter where you are in Ohio, if you want to do something you will enjoy, go to Sidney, Ohio to see and marvel at the beautiful buildings.
You will enjoy them.

Special Elevator for FDR's Air Force One--though It was not called Air Force One then

There are hundreds, if not thousands of interesting military airplanes or military airplane-related things to see at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, but this may be one of the more interesting ones.

It is an elevator, an elevator made especially to lift President Franklin D. Roosevelt into his Presidential Aircraft, a C-54. It is on display with the C-54 in the Presidential Hangar at the Air Force Museum. And, you can actually see a wheel chair in the elevator just as it would have been when FDR used it. He used a wheel chair, of course, because of polio. The elevator was installed so he would not suffer the indignity of having to be carried up a stairway to get into the airplane.

The elevator beneath this C-54 is special in that it was made just for him and just for this aircraft. People who work with it say the president used that elevator only once.

You may wonder what happens to the elevator structure once it has been raised into the aircraft? If you should ever see it in person look closely, and you can see latches at the back of the elevator frame. They allow the whole structure to fold up once it has been lifted into the aircraft. If you look at the back of the elevator, you can see a tread. So, when the structure is folded, the back side of of it actually merges, if you will, with the rest of the deck to become part of the walk way inside the airplane.

Something you always wanted to know, right? You laugh?

Well, believe it or not tourists who look at the elevator always want to see the latches and like to hear how the whole elevator system works.

Fun!