Hoagie Jackson Leads Me To Tour Eastside Wichita Falls Eyesore Infestation

Last May, soon after my arrival in Wichita Falls, I was exploring around my new  town. On that day I had checked out the World's Littlest Skyscraper and then the Wee-Chi-Tah Sculpture.

Soon after checking out the Wee-Chi-Tah Sculpture I found myself heading south on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

MLK Jr. Boulevard turned into Scott Avenue where I soon found myself looking at one of the worst urban eyesores my eyes have ever beheld.

I returned to that particular eyesore on Sunday, for reasons made apparent later in this blogging. Above you are looking at a tree growing from the roof of this eyesore. My previous time seeing this I was in drive by mode. This time I stopped to do some photo documenting.

In drive by mode I had not been able to tell if this was an abandoned school or an abandoned motel. In photo documenting mode it was easy to see this was an abandoned motel and restaurant.

A more expansive view of the eyesore, with the tree growing from its roof. This view is from the south side of the ruins.

The below view is from the north side, looking at part of the eyesore which was a restaurant. I was able to tell such due to a faded sign at the top of the structure, with the only word I was able to make out being "RESTAURANT".

After photo documenting this eyesore I headed back towards downtown Wichita Falls, via Scott Avenue. Soon I found myself surprised to be seeing even more abandoned eyesores. But, before I get to that, first that which prompted yesterday's return to the above ruins.

Recently I posted a post on the Wichita Falls Rants & Raves Facebook page about the quick cleanup of litter on Sikes Lake after a HUGE storm. That posting prompting multiple comments including the following exchange between myself and Hoagie Jackson...

Hoagie Jackson: The litter pickers have not been to North side or east side or in the avenues. Thay want the rich folk to look good and hell with the other parts of town. Hell we see a street sweeper maybe 2 times a year. Ya my tax dollars don't mean as much as there's do, but never the less I still pay taxes to have the same services delivered less often.

Durango Jones: I dunno Hoagie Jackson I've been all over Wichita Falls in the past few months and I have remarked more than once that this town is the most litter free town I've been to in Texas. Then again, I've not been to all that many Texas towns, with my sampling weighted way too heavily to the DFW Metroplex towns....

Hoagie Jackson: Well go through the Eastside hell, there's more grass growing in the cracks in the streets than there is in yards. Storm drains have trees growing out of them.

Durango Jones: I see what you mean. When I have driven in the Eastside zone I have opined more than once that the streets need some serious upgrading. But I have not made note of much litter. I liked the community garden at the MLK Center. Thought that was impressive.  I recollect seeing what looked like a bombed out former school or motel, looking like something from WWII and wondering why the city does not have ordinances in place which require such be cleaned up.

Hoagie Jackson: They do have.

Durango Jones: Hoagie Jackson But no one enforces these ordinances?

Hoagie Jackson: Right.

Durango Jones: Hoagie Jackson I think maybe I will take a drive through the Eastside zone for blogging purposes, focusing on that bombed out school or motel or whatever it is. Sometimes towns ignore stuff til people start making a fuss about it.

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Like I already said, yesterday I took  that drive through the Eastside zone which I told Hoagie Jackson I would take.

I really did not see all that much litter as I drove around the Eastside of Wichita Falls. But, I saw plenty of what Hoagie Jackson mentioned. Roads in dire need of being worked on. A lot of urban blight. Businesses long out of business with their buildings falling apart. Lots of weeds. I don't think I saw any sidewalks. The only paved trail I recollect seeing was the Circle Trail as it circles through the Eastside of Wichita Falls.

The lack of sidewalks in the Eastside of Wichita Falls is very similar to the lack of sidewalks in the Eastside of Fort Worth.

After the close up look at the above abandoned motel eyesore I wondered why the city does not have who ever owns this property clean the mess up? Soon thereafter I headed west on Scott Avenue to find myself asking that same question multiple times.

That above abandoned motel eyesore I saw yesterday was the only one I saw without a name.

The  La Posada Motel on Scott Avenue looks like it may be open. But it is not. It was in the best condition of any of the abandoned motels which I saw yesterday, but still appeared to be an unfixable ruin in need of being torn down.

And then there was the OOO Motel. That is the best I can come up for the name, via the sign. As you can see this abandoned Scott Avenue motel is surrounded by cyclone fence with barbed wire at the top, just like the first ex-motel eyesore I saw yesterday.

The closed and crumbling Bel-Air Motel on Scott Avenue is not surrounded by cyclone fence, but instead a wooden fence which made it more difficult to see that it was also a deteriorated eyesore needing to be demolished.

The Budget Inn on Scott Avenue did not need a cyclone fence to keep anyone from trespassing. A solid wall and boarded up windows did the job.

Now, what is going on here? I don't get it. In so many ways so many things are so well done in Wichita Falls.

The Parks.

The Directional Signage.

The Road Landscaping.

The Festivals.

The Circle Trail.

The Multi-Purpose Events Center.

So, why does Wichita Falls allow a collection of ruins which creates the illusion that some sort of disaster occurred here?

Very perplexing....