Upstairs Downtown

This weekend, our little town of Noblesville had their annual Upstairs Downtown tours. For a charge of five dollars per couple, Ed and I were able to tour the upstairs of eight historic buildings in town. The tickets even included free hot dogs, drinks and chips. What a deal! Our town is the county seat, and host to this historic courthouse that once saw the trials of Dillinger and Charles Manson (yuck!) just to name a few. I shot this photo from one of the upstairs locations.



The architecture in town is so pretty, and many of the buildings have beautiful features highlighted by contrasting paint colors.



The third story of the building behind this tree once housed the boys club...there's a complete basketball court on the third floor! If you look closely, you can see The Wild ( black awning), a very cool children's book store that reminds me of the one Meg Ryan owned in "You've Got Mail."


Isn't this the cutest store sign ever? Martha Jane's is a women's purse/jewelry/accessories store. The interior has the prettiest original hardwood floors and tin ceilings.





And here's the sign from my favorite local cafe, Noble Coffee and Tea. They sell the funniest bumper stickers in their shop that say "Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks." ha ha! They sell a wonderful caramel macchiato, and they have a big bay window with chairs for some great people-watching near the sidewalk! Lots of outdoor cafe tables, too.


Here's the entrance to one of my favorite shops, A Corner Cottage. Their window displays are always adorable, and they were just getting their autumn decorations on display when I took this photo. Can you see the window boxes on the right of the building? They fill them with flowers and old china plates and cups...it's so adorable!



Here's a photo of my husband, Ed, waiting for me to finish with my photographs. The lamp posts, benches, and garbage cans are all painted the same shade of green, and the hanging flowers and basket planters always look so pretty! On this evening, the town was even featuring outdoor jazz concerts on the square. When we finished our tour, we popped in to the local Italian restaurant, Matteo's, for a glass of wine and appetizers. What a fun way to enjoy a stroll through town and experience a perfect end-of-the-summer evening.