{"id":5327,"date":"2015-01-26T08:23:21","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T15:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=5327"},"modified":"2015-01-27T11:14:17","modified_gmt":"2015-01-27T18:14:17","slug":"photo-gallery-a-stroll-through-a-downtown-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2015\/01\/photo-gallery-a-stroll-through-a-downtown-neighborhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Photo Gallery: A stroll through a downtown neighborhood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"slides-5327\" class=\"navis-slideshow\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slide-nav\">\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"prev\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"next\"><\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slides_container\"><div id=\"5327-slide1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-truck-1-of-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-truck-1-of-1-771x477.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>I'm not sure whether this truck has been winterized or put out to pasture.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-stickman-1-of-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-stickman-1-of-1-771x543.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Interesting graffiti, significance unknown.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide3\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-wine-1-of-1-771x498.jpg*771*498\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-wine-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Still life: Loading dock with wine bottle. Good times were had by all, no doubt.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide4\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-wolf-1-of-1-771x478.jpg*771*478\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-wolf-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Urban wildlife.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide5\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-boat-1-of-1-771x493.jpg*771*493\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-boat-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Dry dock. You've got to park it somewhere, right?<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide6\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-private-1-of-1-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-private-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>An unusually high percentage of houses in the area are adorned with \"No Trespassing\" signs.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-dog-1-of-1-771x643.jpg*771*643\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-dog-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Or not.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide8\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-data-1-of-1-771x473.jpg*771*473\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-data-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>The old sign says \"Data Cash Register.\" The log building has been vacant for many years.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide9\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-AC-shovel-1-of-1-771x521.jpg*771*521\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-AC-shovel-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A window air conditioner and a snow shovel: ready for anything in Montana.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide10\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-camo-1-of-1-771x540.jpg*771*540\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-camo-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Talk about ready for anything...<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide11\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-bigmess-1-of-1-771x487.jpg*771*487\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-bigmess-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Scenes like this remind me why we decided to give up home ownership and move into an apartment a couple of years ago.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide12\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-window-1-of-1-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-window-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>The same goes for this scene.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide13\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-hi-density-1-of-1-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-hi-density-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>High-density housing.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide14\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-ice-1-of-1-771x555.jpg*771*555\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-ice-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>It was so warm Sunday that this looked pretty inviting,<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide15\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-kids-1-of-1-771x512.jpg*771*512\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-kids-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>It was T-shirt weather for these neighborhood kids.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide16\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-refinery-1-of-1-771x506.jpg*771*506\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-refinery-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A rail spur runs through the middle of the area. That's the Phillips 66 refinery in the background.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide17\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-xmastree-1-of-1-771x492.jpg*771*492\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-xmastree-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>I guess the holidays are over.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide18\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-treefort-1-of-1-771x514.jpg*771*514\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-treefort-1-of-1.jpg\" \/><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>This was a remnant of a tree fort, apparently.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"5327-slide19\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-mural-1-of-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Neighborhood-mural-1-of-1-771x514.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>Ed Kemmick\/Last Best News <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>The barrel is real. The rest is part of a streetside mural.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><script>jQuery( document ).ready( function() { loadSlideshow( 5327, 'https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2015\/01\/photo-gallery-a-stroll-through-a-downtown-neighborhood\/', 19 ) } );<\/script>\n<p>A little east of downtown Billings, there is an odd little neighborhood that is not really quite a neighborhood.<\/p>\n<p>The area I\u2019m thinking of is bounded on the east and west by 15th and 22nd streets north, and on the north and south by Fourth and First avenues north. It is a hodgepodge of houses, industrial businesses and vacant lots.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of thriving businesses, but also many empty storefronts, weedy parcels and a few huge parking lots no longer used by anybody. The residences are scattered throughout the area in twos and threes and fives, and there are a few old-fashioned high-density apartments that have seen better days.<\/p>\n<p>In the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fbpartnership.com\/cp-projects\/east-billings-urban-renewal-district-master-plan\">East Billings Urban Renewal District Master Plan<\/a>, a blueprint for redeveloping the entire area between Montana Avenue and the Rims, from the downtown to MetraPark, each section of the area is given a descriptive name, apparently meant to suggest its potential.<\/p>\n<p>The neighborhood in question takes in parts of three such sections, described as Rail Spur Village, Green Workforce Center and Downtown East. For now, I\u2019d say Forlornville about covers it.<\/p>\n<p>Having walked through the area with my dogs so many times, I decided to walk it again Sunday, with a camera, to capture some of the oddities and little scenes that always catch my eye.<\/p>\n<p>And though it is customary to say exactly where a photograph is taken, I thought I was being intrusive enough taking photographs at all, so I won\u2019t be any more specific than saying they were all taken in Forlornville.<div class=\"well\"><div class=\"dfad dfad_pos_1 dfad_first\" id=\"_ad_652\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/mjhWkW\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/201703_capeair_variable.jpg\" alt=\"CapreAir_Variable\" width=\"510\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18069\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A little east of downtown Billings, there is an odd little neighborhood that is not really quite a neighborhood. The area I\u2019m thinking of is bounded on the east and west by 15th and 22nd streets north, and on the north and south by Fourth and First avenues north. It is a hodgepodge of houses, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,18],"tags":[2001,918,2002],"class_list":["post-5327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-billings","category-diversions","tag-downtown","tag-east-billings-urban-renewal-district","tag-phillips-66","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}