Downtown Walla Walla

The town of Walla Walla is where my brother John and his wife have lived for over 30 years and raised their family of four children. John had his own law practice for many of those years in Walla Walla but two years ago was elected to be a Walla Walla County Superior Court Judge. Needless to say, our first stop in downtown was the local courthouse. John had some free time to show us his area of the building; two offices, a workroom and his courtroom. We even were able to sit in on a hearing over which he presided. Needless to say, I am quite proud of my little brother! Below is a picture of the courthouse. I found the words over the doors quite meaningful: "Judge thyself with sincerity and thou wilt judge others with charity".

 After eating lunch with my brother, John and I walked around the town. The town seems to be a vibrant active business area with many little shops, cafes, clothing stores, art galleries and wine tasting (Walla Walla valley has over 100 wineries). The streets are tree- lined and on the sidewalks it is possible to see some of the many whimsical sculptures scattered around the town. One interesting sculpture we found, pictured below, is titled "Thoughts Disturbed". The dog has many interesting details painted on him. I am sure many children have climbed him!

Walla Walla's downtown charm also comes from the fact that it has preserved many of it late 19th and early 20th century historic buildings. The old  Liberty Theater was incorporated into Macy's department store. In the ladies clothes department it is possible to view the old rotunda and stage of the theater. And in a downtown park we saw the facade of the Odd Fellow's temple, built in 1902. One side of the building was taken down brick by brick and replaced along the side of another building facing the park.

This morning, Saturday, we went to the local farmer's market in town. Live music was being played in a gazebo near the market. We had admired this interesting structure yesterday in our walk around town. It is titled "Rooted". It has a  bronze plant holder with a weather vane on its roof and its pillars looked like tree trunks. The market had a lot to offer in the way of local produce, honey,jam, craft and bakery items.