Small Town Art & Architecture – Book One: Alley – The Hidden Places of Iowa City

< “Small Town Art & Architecture” is the first book of three. Book One, entitled “Alley”, depicts the forgotten and hidden images of Iowa City, Iowa. Buy the book! $14.95 (plus $7.00 shipping)

Excerpts:

Communication Hub

From Linn Street to Gilbert Street
Paralleling Iowa Avenue and Washington Street

She was maybe eight years old, thin, pale with beautifully straight dark hair. She stood next to me and watched my sketching and the magic of ink take form and shape. She shivered slightly. Her trembling lips asked, “Do you get cold?”

-Jim Schoenfelder

Home Run

From Dubuque Street to Linn Street
Paralleling Iowa Avenue and Washington Street

No one knows how long the window had been broken, nor how it was broken. Maybe some kids were playing stickball, or as the bars closed a few drunk patrons were throwing stones. Whatever the reason, it remains broken.

The kid who hit the home run can walk the alley years later. A smile runs across her face as she remembers that hot afternoon and the wild swing that won the game.

Or, the drunk who threw the stone will stumble down the alley, years later, and laugh thinking, “Awwww, somebody beat me to it!”

-Shannon Schoenfelder