(click on pics to enlarge.)
For manymanymany months, The Clan of the Cave has suffered the loss of convenient parking. OK, it was always a bit dicey with the steep, narrow driveway and the rarity of parking cooperation from neighbors, AKA, the good ol' days.
Almost everyone has taken our lapse in generous stride, and over the months many cases of wine have been rolled up and down that driveway into the secondary, free parking in the lot above. It's not horrible really. Call me from up there, I bring you a hand cart, I happily roll your wine up and down and up again. It gives us all a chance to catch up on the state of the nation. I even have a pile of courtesy quarters for the meters.
The first appearance of a bit of history, since removed, was this hunk of cement sticking out from the trench.They went down a ways to get it out of there.
Once this was a radio tower - you can see the skeleton of it along the right side of this photo - circa early '80's. Then it was a square of cement. You can see the footprint in it of the remaining anchor.
For the first two years of the Hotel, the radio station here was KGFH. It was in 1930 that KIEV took over the basement, for the next thirty years. You can read more about that here. For years the sign remained on the back of the basement door and then the door disappeared one day, the sign with it. Bummer.
Up the stairs some more digging gave up a few other bits and shards - a super heavy old glass fragment, a piece of tile, the top of a milk bottle, and a beautiful jar that remained intact. The jar went the way of the digger - well-deserved. The fragments came to The Cave.
Part 2.