Dan Antion

Thursday Doors – Downtown Ames

Downtown Ames

During our recent visit to Ames, Iowa to visit my brother, Faith was on a mission to find a store that she remembered shopping in earlier this year. As we tried to figure out which cross street would give us the best coverage, my brother was quick to point out doors that I may or may not have seen before. You know how it goes with doors. If you see one or two, you become interested. Then you see a historic building, then a group of small shops, and you feel like you’re watching a clown car of doors.

If you don’t understand, you must be new to the circus that is Thursday Doors. Each week, Ring Master, Norm Frampton puts up the big top in Montreal and by Saturday, the jugglers, trapeze artists and tightrope walkers have arrived with their doors. If you have a door, or just want to catch the act, point your big floppy clown feet in the direction of Norm’s place. Once you stumble onto the midway, check out Norm’s doors and look for the blue frog. Click him to gain admission to the doors – come one, come all, everyone’s a winner.

One not so doorsy thing that we saw while walking around, is a little park that includes benches that were designed by local artists. One of the artists is my niece, and Faith made sure to point out Sara’s bench. As we were walking out of the park, I noticed a banner in honor of The Dinkey, the train I mentioned in an earlier doorscurrion in Ames so please, attend the opening act of today’s post:

This is the little park. That’s my niece’s bench
My niece’s bench
my niece’s bench

The doors in the main gallery include those of an old school that has been repurposed as municipal offices, a couple of shops in town, a brew pub and a coffee shop.

I have to tell you about the coffee shop. I’m not normally a fan of fancy-schmancy coffee that’s brewed from beans harvested by the Mars Rover and water imported from a melting glacier in Tibet. In addition, I am not usually a fan of iced coffee. That said, the coffee shop whose doors are featured, along with a couple interior shots, was excellent. I ordered an iced coffee, that I thought I would probably have to choke down. It was so good that I complimented the owner. He explained that the coffee is cold-brewed, overnight from a special blend that he selected just for iced coffee. Now I wish it wasn’t 1,200 miles away.

As always, you can click on any photo to start a slide show.

Brew pub is open for business.
The inside of the coffee shop is a little bit of an art gallery
Our coffee shop – very nice!
I like this sigh (in the coffee shop)
The coffee master.
This is the store Faith was looking for.
Door to the Pumpkin Patch.
Coffee shop restroom – too much fun.
Swanks
Brew pub.
Brew pub
One set of doors at old high school.
The Corner Pocket
Police station – also part of the old high school.
Part of the old high school.
Gymnasium of the old high school.

64 comments

  1. Good morning Dan! What a great doors post. This place reminds me so much of Lincoln Nebraska. They have several coffe venues like this one that also serve organic and homestyle breakfasts. I drink cold brew coffee all the time. Mix it with a bit of cola and/or club soda. Especially in Summer I don’t care for hot drinks. I love the decor inside the cafe. And your neice’s bench is beautiful! I love the little park. I love parks. Great doors and so many of them. (I have my train postcard in a place of honor)

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    • Thanks Cheryl, I thought of you as soon as I saw the Dinkey banner. It was so nice to see a historic section of town still laced with businesses and activity. I love finding little parks. We were running several errands that day, so we didn’t have time to sit a bit, but I was glad my daughter knew about the bench.

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    • Thanks Judy. The bench is very cool, and it reminded me of so many of those old western on TV in the 60s. That coffee shop will be on my list of places to stop during future visits. I can still remember how easily that iced coffee went down. It’s amazing, when you don’t like something and then you find someone who makes it right, and it’s really really good!

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  3. Wow, Dan, you’ve got quite a collection here today. Lovely! I love the dancing (or dashing) figures on the toilet door, and the bench… and the sign on it made me smile because every time I see ‘Wells Fargo’ I think of the TV show. :) Do you remember that?

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    • I do remember that – thanks Val. I’m really glad I included the photos of the bench, it seems to be more than a family favorite :) My niece isn’t old enough to remember those shows, but she captured the spirit really well.

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  4. Your niece does wonderful work as an artist, Dan! Thanks for sharing her bench and the many doors in Ames. The coffee shop intrigues me, although I am the sort of person that seeks out the fancy schmancy or new-on-the-block shops. Their coffee tastes better to me (and better than Starbucks), plus the atmospheres are always unique. I have a question, though. What was in The Pumpkin Patch other than maybe pumpkins?

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    • Thanks Mary! My daughter has a knack for finding coffee shops like this. I remember her dragging me about 6 blocks out of our way, in the rain, to a coffee shop in New York City, but it was worth the walk. The Pumpkin Patch is a toy store. Faith had found a stuffed bunny there to give to her mom earlier this year, and this time, we found a stuffed chipmunk. You could spend a thousand dollars in that store on adorable stuffed animals.

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    • Thanks, I’m glad to hear people liking the sign. I was very glad to see it displayed. The Restroom door sign is pretty cool. The high school seemed to have different doors at each entrance, almost like they built it for Norm!

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  8. Loved the bench and the doors. When I think of Ames Iowa I remember an old shovel I had that was made in Ames. I spend many an hour with that shovel. The brew pub and coffee place look like places to visit for sure. Thanks.

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    • Thanks John. I haven’t been inside the brewery, but I might get a chance on my next visit. I will definitely visit that coffee shop again. Maybe get an iced coffee and sit a spell on that bench – unless my next visit is in January.

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  9. I was taken by the sign in the coffee shop. I have not seen one like this, but our general area is covered with yard signs saying, hate has no home here (I have one in my front yard, so I notice). It made me feel at home to see this sign so far away from my own neighborhood and yet saying the same thing. And, to change the topic, a good coffee shop is a find wherever it is! I will remember Ames.

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    • Thanks Claudia. I explained to someone above, that I saw a similar sign during our visit to Pittsburgh. I will include that in a future post. I was very happy to see these signs. It’s a little sad that we have to say it, but I’m glad to see so many people and businesses doing so. I will be back to that coffee shop.

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  11. The restroom door is a riot! So your family is kind of artsy, eh? Photography and painting. Nicely done. Those gymnasium doors…..truly old school. No pun intended. They just don’t build them like that anymore.

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    • Thanks Lois. Yeah, there’s a bunch of creativity circling this little group. I love those old school doors. I like the Police Station the best. I have to check the comment, but it’s also in that same building. You’re right, they don’t build them like that anymore.

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  12. Ooh, what a great doors post! Little bit of all good things!
    I’m all about the coffee shops, the chains, the independents, no matter! Cold brew is super easy and definitely what to drink in the summer. I love the art in the coffee place, the art of your niece’s bench, the pub doors and the lamp posts outside the police station.

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    • I was going to guess that you would like the lamp posts. When I was cropping that photo, I thought “you have to leave the lamps in for Joey.” It was a fun little drive/walk and very good coffee. I’ve tried what some chain coffee places call “cold brew” but I’m not sure it really is. This stuff was the best! I’m glad you liked the bench, too.

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  13. Love the brewpub doors! And, as loisajay says, the restroom door IS a riot! Love the school doors. I miss the beautiful detail on older buildings. Why can’t things be functional and beautiful at the same time? Eh? Eh?

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  14. Love those cool benches!.And you found a couple of nice doors! Unlike you, I/’m one who has to try every kind of coffee, and am especially interested in the iced ones. My new favorite is the coconut Javiva from Peets. Thank you for your regular like on my posts – am hopelessly irregular now since I’m squeezing my computer time in between other things.

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  16. A nice collection of doors and that bench is very special too.
    You outdid yourself this week with the circus comparison Dan. Just don’t expect me to start wearing a funny wig and floppy shoes myself ;-)

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  19. I like cold pressed coffee! I like iced coffees and usually ask for a flavor shot, leave room for cream. My goodness! I’m excited you tried something you didn’t think you would do anything but choke it down and you Liked it, Dan! Yay!
    The bench with the wagon and horses was beautiful art by Sara. The Swank shop and the Olde Main Brewing company doors were very nice in their unique ways. One is arched brick frame with white tiles and the other had a long, side glass window panel with nice brown painted door. :)
    The school doors with “gymnasium” spelled out on a marble or white stone was a gorgeous trio of doors.
    So glad you had time to spend with family in Ames, but not for the reason you were there. xo

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    • Thanks Deborah. The high school was such a treasure chest of doors. Three entrances and each a little different. It turned collecting a few doors into a doors post! I’m glad you liked the bench.

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  22. Great doorscursion! Almost seems like you got the entire town; but the coffee shop was tops! Cold brewed coffee is the current trend (not as harsh and I drink coffee black) but Starbucks started selling nitro brewed coffee (if you add a slightly sweet cream it tastes great).

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    • Thanks! Between the university and this historic section, Ames has brought me enough doors for several posts so far. I have never been able to develop a taste for Starbucks coffee. It always seems bitter to me. This was really good. It had a strong flavor, but not bitter at all. I drink way more hot coffee than iced. I almost never order iced, I just make some at home with the last cup of coffee in the summer.

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  24. Wow! It looks like a wonderful visit! The design on the bench looks lovely, and the sign in the coffee shop is presented in multiple Languages. What an inclusive community there! Loving these doors too!:)

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  25. Damn, I just tried posting a long comment and it didn’t stick. :( I hate it when this happens. Let’s see if I can bring it back.

    What a great post, I love everything about it. The bench is so beautiful, not at all because you’re related to it. I’d love to sit on it and read. First the vinyl sign and then the “no hate” sign would make me immediately feel 100% better. And then come all the doors. Never a fan of either school or police (at least Slovenian), but here they’ve got the best door.

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    • Thanks – yes, the signs are my favorites, and when I felt I had to reduce the number of images, I refused to delete those, even though they aren’t doors. I really do like the Police doors, but I think it’s actually the lamp posts that I like. I like the image on the restroom door.

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