Quote:
Looking south and west from the roof of the Ector County Courthouse, 300 block N. Grant . Odessa certainly didn't look too bad for that time period. A wooden building in the foreground was the Odessa telephone company , strategically located so its operators could see everything that was going on downtown.

{G. Pollard: 'Correction to the quote'; Look at Charlie Whites store and see if that building doesn't look like his. Note the tank is missing from the platform by the wind mill, and many of the vanes are damaged on wind mill. My thoughts, possibly the smaller white building in the photo is the phone co. Note the telephone pole almost directly in front. Also note something on the roof that could have possibly been a sign or rack for a specific purpose. Any one have complete history details on this photo? This is one from the archives of Doctor Headlee.}

The two story sandstone building across Grant street and to the south is the Citizen's National Bank, founded by Henry Pegues in 1906. ['First National Bank' when I had an account there in 1938] Behind the bank, facing Second street, is the Ratliff Feed Store, and important business in a town still dependent on ranching for its survival. [This data doesn't jive with the comments on the Ratliff Photo. Look at this Store and Barber shop. Could this be the one quoted? {Which is correct? Remember this has been a long time ago.}]

In the Background, you can see a train pulling from the station. The Odessa Band often greeted the train at the Depot. [Looking at the shadows on the buildings; my guess it is the 11:45 East Bound.]

Seemingly katty-corner from the Bank is the Henderson Drug Store, the only building from this picture still standing in Odessa,Texas. A momument not only to Odessa's early business district, its preservation is a monument to Odessans who care enough about the future to preserve the past.

1998 view at 1000 feet or so instead atop the courthouse.

Henderson Drug is at same lower left [complete view here]. Citizen Natl. Bank replaced by Odessa Police Station. A short train on the rail road track. [good timing there]. A portion of the present Court house roof is visible in extreme lower part of photo. What else can you identify?

[Your editor will attempt to duplicate the original photograph, with a 1998 photo from the Court House location when he receives permission to access the roof.]

Please email comments and correction and help document the old photograph!

Courtesy, Permian Historical Society Archival Collection.
Thank you for your outstanding collection.