The Awakening of Coeur d'Alene - 1981 Vs. 2011

The Facebook group "Old School Coeur d'Alene" can be massively entertaining for folks like me who are fond of yammering on about a time long ago when our town was less prone to artsy-fartsy foofaraw, touristy rattleclap, and those pesky trees and flowers making everyone's allergies flare up. Call me old, and I'll smack you with a Hall & Oates record.

The "THEN" images posted below were swiped from that group's page and landed there Saturday courtesy of Dave Bellamy, who writes, "My dad was on the plannng commission and this still and these pictures were gathered as part of a proposal looking at putting up a cover over the downtown area of CDA. It never panned out but the planning did lead to the downtown we have now." The image on the left is the cover of the proposal pamphlet - love that totally hideous graphic design.

I was nine years old in 1981, and I spent a lot of time riding my bike downtown to waste time looking at records and comic books or hanging the arcade that was next to the Donut Shop on 2nd between Sherman and Lakeside. These pictures sent me into a fiercely aging but highly enjoyable time warp, as they will for anyone who is old enough to have been around at the time. The nostalgia is a ton of fun, but I still rather think that overall our downtown is better than ever here in 2011. What do you think?

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Looking east on Sherman Ave from 2nd Street. The JC Penny's block is now the CDA Resort shopping plaza and the new Splash nightclub seems to be located exactly in the same spot where I watched my  mother pick out  bras and shoes before I'd run of to ride the city's only elevator up and down all three stories just for kicks.

The much-beloved, long-kaput Wilma Theater is front and left, now a patch of grass which sits emptier than empty and occasionally showcases expensive boats for one of Hagadone's marine outfits. Notice in all these old pics the complete lack of trees and greenery in 1981 - it's so much more lush now compared to the barren storefronts of back then.

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The Iron Horse is still the Iron Horse, but they've significantly improved their facade - the fake train motif was seeming retro and way fugly even in 1981, if I recall. At this point, presciption dolls were the hot thing on 4th and Sherman, since two buildings which sat on that corner held pharmacies, but tastes have apparently changed and now booze served by the Moose Lounge (formerly Wilson's Pharmacy) and coffee served by Java (formerly Hart's Drug) are the mood-altering substances of choice.

Additionally, Mariposa was a woman's fashion store now occupied by Icon night club, which leads me to wonder if any of the fashion styles peddled there thirty years ago, possibly modeled by the lovely gals trying to cross the street on the left of the photo, have managed to cycle back into vogue for the place's modern clientele (mot likely, yes).

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In 1989, the Duane purchased this entire block and turned it into "the Shops", a distinctly not-for-bargain-hunters shopping plaza, that is literally attached to his ever-expanding Resort situation. In 1981, the land held, among many other things, JC Penney, Fischer's Western Wear, Marie O'Briens Clothing Store, and the legendary Fore-n-Aft cocktail lounge, which everyone remembers for their faaaabulous ice cream drinks and alluringly dank and smoky, cave-like atmosphere.

I do vaguely remember that odd little covered bench on the corner that was just kind of plopped there for no apparent reason (looks kind of like a bus stop, but there was nothing even slightly resembling CityLink back then). I guess it was just a nice little place to plop down, relax and enjoy a gorgeous view of Lake Coeur d'Alene, a view which is no longer visible now that the concrete grey north wall of the Resort parking garage is the only thing one can get an eye full of from that particular vista.

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The place on the lower left is exactly the same, except for a paint job or five. In fact, I think it was a real estate office or something then and it's a real estate office or something now. Long gone is the crumbly little yellow building that held (I think) a print shop, replaced by a wildly imposing bloc of windowless, brick condos. The quaint Chevron gas station at 7th and Sherman has been gone since around the time the gas "inflation" crisis meant that you paid slightly over $1.25 a gallon. Somehow, they managed to fit the Red Rose Hotel on that tiny corner after the gas station was razed, which still exists as the comfortable and severely under-rated Resort City Inn.

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Looking west from 6th/5th on Sherman, many of the buildings now are structurally the same as then (although any changes we could see are blocked by trees in the "now" shot), but of course all of the names have changed, the sole exception being the trusty old Camera Corral, which will likely outlive us all.

A few names are visible by zooming into the 1981 image that bring back some warm fuzzy fond memories: Total Eclipse record shop (located in the "5th Avenue Mall"), the Craft and Hobby Store, the Bookseller (corner of 5th and Sherman), the Diamond Shop, Commercial Printing, and Burts Music (the latter two have survived to the present in new locations).

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Click and enlarge this one to see what Hudson Hamburgers looked like back when it was a mere 70 years young. "Middle Age Crazy", the lead attraction at the Wilma Theater, was an impossibly obscure romantic comedy starring a late-career Ann Margaret and Bruce Dern with the tagline "There'll be a hot time in the hot tub tonight!" and a not-quite-classic Jerry Lee Lewis theme song. Murder mystery "Eyewitness", with Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt, rates a bit better, but not by much. Still, I'm sure there were worse ways to waste a Saturday afternoon than spending a whole dollar for a double feature, and another dollar on a large, buttery bucket of popcorn.

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Corner of Front Street and 4th Street, Facing North. Okay, Bank of America - you look exactly like you did 30 years ago, which for many people is a rare and wonderful blessing, but it really is time for an exterior face lift. I seem to recall that Ace Hardware was maybe a more fun place to shop back then, carrying not just hammers and nails but also toys, gadgets, rubber flip-flops, and hot electronics such as portable 8-track tape players for you to take with you to your favorite hidden Tubbs Hill beach.

Jonesy's Breakfast and Lunch

Jonesy's Breakfast and Lunch
816 Sherman Ave., Coeur d'Alene
(208) 666-1641

Personally, I've never really had a nickname that stuck with me. When I was just a wee moppet, my mother would occasionally refer to me fondly as her little "Stinky McGooberkins", but if anyone called me that now, they'd most likely get shanked in the spleen with the business end of a broken bottle of Jägermeister. On the other hand, Tim Mitchell, owner of downtown Coeur d'Alene's newly opened Jonesy's restaurant had a childhood nickname that he thinks still rocks. According to the Jonesy's Facebook info, the name on the sunny yellow sign out front is what has always made Mitchell's head turn and say "huh?" every time someone says it. Kind of like how I usually respond when someone says "hey, bitch".

I've already spilled a ton of pixels on this blog about the black luck voodoo curse that seems to hang over this particular downtown building. Last September, the disastrous Sherman Junction was just opening its doors for a sad two and half month flounce, and I wrote optimistically, "Welcome Sherman Junction, and thanks for providing the chance to return to an old favorite place so we can once again enjoy a relaxing meal and take in that iconic, comforting old view of Sherman Avenue from behind those enormous picture windows."

It wasn't a complete surprise when they went tits-up. At least a dozen good intentions have been laid to waste over the years within the corridors of 816 Sherman Avenue since it was constructed in the mid 1970's. My recent visit to Jonesy's did give me a serious case of deja vu all over again, but I'm a positive kinda guy, so I'm going to repeat myself (literally) and say, "Welcome Jonesy's, and thanks for providing the chance to return to an old favorite place so we can once again enjoy a relaxing meal and take in that iconic, comforting old view of Sherman Avenue from behind those enormous picture windows." 

It may be too early to get a good feel about whether or not Joney's is on the right path to betray the hex, but I will say that as far as I can tell, they're off to a generally fine, if a bit jittery start. While I can't come up with anything to be directly catty about, my Sunday morning solo breakfast there didn't necessarily compel me to perform ecstatic delectation rituals for Ganesha either.

Jonesy's might be smart not to have invested in any renovations or major redecorations right off the bat. I've seen way too many places fail epically because the owners invested nearly their entire wad of cash on making their place all Fancy Nancy, then going out of business because they have no money to keep running the show.

It might just be me, but I can't really see where Jonesy's has really done anything different with what Sherman Junction had going on interior-wise. The 4000 square foot eatery kept the same ho hum pale yellow walls, washed-out moss green valances and generic grey berber loop-pile carpeting.

It's not uncomfortable at all, in fact in a way, the space's simplicity and lack of hype is somewhat refreshing,  it just seems slightly devoid of personality and could seriously use some magic swishery from David Bromstad, host of HGTV's makeover show "Colorsplash", who often proves that it doesn't take a lot of cash to create a unique interior. However, Jonesy's still wins bonus flair points for the huge, colorful chalk mural of their menu that greets diners upon entry.

The nifty wooden counter is also a holdover, and that's where I chose to land rather than wait the approximately 15 minutes to get a booth by the window. The place was pretty hopping and it was entertaining to watch the cook and his prep guy scamper about quite effectively directly across from me in the open kitchen. I ordered the Country Fried Steak and my order arrived fast, landing on my rooster place mat with a reassuring thud.

"Alright, here you go, and I'll grab your toast in just a sec", said my waiter and walked away, out onto the floor to take a few long orders from other diners. A bit odd, especially since I saw a small plate of sourdough toast (they type I had ordered) sitting across from me under the heat lamp looking quite lonely. With my tummy all a-rumble and a plate of steaming breakfast in front, I noticed another minor problem right away: I had no utensils to eat with.

I sat there looking at my food forlornly and a little bewildered until after a few minutes, the guy sitting at the counter next to me, a total stranger, noticed my dilemma and offered to give me his rolled up napkin full of knife, fork, and spoon. Charitable indeed, and I nearly felt like handing him my waiter's future tip for his troubles, but I resisted asking him if I could have his toast too.

My waiter swooshed by behind me at one point and I asked to my toast, please. He disappeared back into the kitchen and made a few fresh slices himself, leaving the rejecto toast withering under the lamp. He was friendly enough, and once I started digging into my food, I was in a forgiving state of mind.

Not that the my breakfast was overly divine, but it was winning for the most part. Everything was quite obviously home made from scratch, no frozen hash browns or mysterious eggs poured from a carton here. Some might call the country steak a bit on the wee side, but personally, I don't always like having some huge monster in front of me that makes me feel like I have to finish it all and end up feeling Kirstie-Alley-at-the-Chinese-Buffet full.

I didn't leave hungry, let's put it that way, and it was doing the job of hitting the spot - tender cube steak, not at chewy, a thick, crispy coating of deep fried goodness, and a dollop of rich gravy smothering it like a creamy puddle of love (that sounded way wrong, but I'm keeping it). It's hard to mess up scrambled eggs, and they didn't.

My only beef was with the hash browns - I always prefer the option  of O'Brien style action, and these were the shredded kind, a bit too on the un-crispy side with a bit that stringy, soggy, par-hard texture in the middle that I just can never really get with. Like the decor, my meal was agreeable and un-fussy, but lacked a noticeable amount of jazz and personality. Will I be back? Most likely, yes.

The menu itself, printed in a plain black font on plain white paper, covers the typical waterfront of reasonably priced breakfast and lunch diner items, but also suffers from an absence of anything dynamic. Denver Omelet, Western Scramble, Biscuits and Gravy, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Tuna Melt, Club Sandwich, Fish & Chips, Chef Salad.  Classics all, but quite bare bones, although in a way I do admire the direct approach to naming items, contrary to many places which cause eyerolls galore with their flowery approach to naming the basics.

The one place where they do strike gold on this front is with the burgers, which according to the menu were "named after some of our favorite people". I've no idea who Rooster, Nae Nae, Best Bud and the "Veg-a-nater" (I'm not touching that one) are, but at least they've inspired some fun in an otherwise overly basic production.

Jonesy's is open for business from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily (closed Mondays).