St. Joe downtown gives us look at history, nature and art

We recently made our third trip since July to St. Joseph, Missouri. It amazes me that we have found new things to do each trip. I’ve even mentioned to Lisa a couple of attractions we need to stop back to visit.

This time, we decided to take a different walk around downtown. We’ve visited the area previously, including taking the city’s sculpture walk during the summer.

We stopped by the Buchanan County Courthouse. We’ve always been intrigued by the domed roof on this building. Since we were visiting on a week day, we thought it’d be interesting to take a look inside. It’s an older building, built in 1873. The seal on the first floor is pretty cool for a county courthouse.

The courthouse’s historical claim to fame is that it’s the site of the trial and conviction of Robert Ford and his brother Charles for murdering famed outlaw Jesse James. Ford shot James in the back while he was adjusting a picture frame inside his St. Joseph farm house.

A short walk away from the courthouse is the Lucky Tiger. It’s a vintage store, offering lots of shoe choices, clothes and other items.

Outside the store is Pecos, a turtle sculpture that was included in the sculpture walk.

With the autumn colors as a background, I was drawn to a set old of old Greek-looking columns in the city park.

Since St. Joseph is a river city, the Missouri River butts up next to the downtown area. We took a leisurely stroll on the paved walking path. The view of the river was nice. The walk was truly enjoyable.

A mural painting consumes six buildings between 5th and 6th streets, along Edmond downtown. The mural – “Queen of the River Town, King of the Trails” – depicts pioneers crossing the river and looking back on their journey through the area. The mural could be the anchor for more downtown art.

I noticed a photo project going on, as well. Some downtown window fronts displayed full-length black and white historical photos.

We love downtown areas. They are the heartbeat of cities. St. Joe leaders are working to get more the area more vibrant during the weekends. Restaurants, stores and entertainment venues should be dominating the area. Any downtown development takes time, but it seems like art enthusiasts are taking a lead position.