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So I made the trip back to McKinney today from Austin. On the way there I stopped in Temple just to see the old downtown and take some pictures. What a sad sight it was. A good half of the downtown is abandoned and what is not abandoned is filled with insurance agencies or businesses not worth remembering. Their was hardly a single person out and about, but then again their was no real reason for them to be. The city was built around the railroad industry and since that collapsed, the city did as well. They do however have a number of beautiful buildings, but once again they are mostly vacant and dilapidated. One old furniture store had a note on the door claiming the city now owned the property dated 1993. Their was an old computer box laying on the floor inside with the multi-colored striped apple logo.


One building really caught my attention. It was a rather large old hotel with an old movie theater right next door.


I can't help but wonder what it is going to take to restore these to their original glory. Sure some rich developer could take a chance on renovating and reopening but with no real draw, they will likely once again fall victim to the more easily reachable suburban megaplex theaters and the cheaper motels. My suggestion is restore the industry that the city once thrived upon, the railroad. Their are already perfectly usable railroad tracks running from San Antonio and maybe further all the way through Dallas. Why not throw a passenger rail line on there or increase its usage. I dream of the day where I can hop a stress free train ride back to Dallas instead of spending 50 or more dollars one way through construction zones and traffic. And with the outrageously steep and still climbing gas prices, I am positive plenty of people are right along their with me. Temple would make a perfect stop in between and I would jump at the thought of seeing a movie or spending a night in a place full of history, rather than a movie theater plastered with purple and lime green checkered wall paper, or a motel where the sheets smell like an ashtray doused in Fabreeze.