Postcards bring city's past into focus

Juxtaposing historical pictures of Greencastle with modern scenes of the same locations, a new set of four postcards is on sale as a fundraiser for Main Street Greencastle. One scene gives a look at Prevo's department store from the 1980s with the current Starbucks store as a backdrop. (courtesy photo)

If downtown facade work hasn't provided enough of a glimpse into the history of the buildings in downtown Greencastle, some new postcards commissioned by Main Street Greencastle could provide an even better look.

The four postcards juxtapose old scenes of life in downtown Greencastle -- including views of Prevo's, Steven's Drug Store, G.C. Murphy Co. and the Putnam County Courthouse -- with their modern counterparts as a backdrop.

DePauw Bonner Scholar Mary Xiao undertook the project for Main Street, choosing from a number of old photos taken around downtown Greencastle, and comparing them to modern street scenes in the same location.

In each photo, the old print, along with the hand holding it in place, is in perfect focus, while the background remains fuzzy -- recognizable yet taking a back seat to the views from the past.

Tami Van Rensselaer, who is overseeing the project for Main Street Greencastle, is delighted with the results, ready to turn this into a fundraising opportunity for the organization.

The postcards are available for $1 each or the full set of four for $3.

The backs of the postcards provide a brief explanation of each scene, including the address and the "then" and "now" depicted in the scene.

Additionally, each original photo provides small clues as to its date. There is the signage on the businesses, but there is the background of the Steven's Drug Store, in which South Vine Street fades into tall trees that look more like the countryside than the northern edge of the DePauw campus.

Juxtaposing historical pictures of Greencastle with modern scenes of the same locations, a new set of four postcards is on sale as a fundraiser for Main Street Greencastle. G.C. Murphy stands in contrast to the empty storefront more recently occupied by Bright Futures. (courtesy photo)

There is also the car parked in front of G.C. Murphy, which appears to be a late-1970s Oldsmobile Cutlass. The "school sale" signs in the window also give a clue as to the time of year.

The courthouse photo comes from a singular day in its history, as the bunting, banners and large crowds are all there to celebrate its July 5,

1905 dedication.

The Prevo's picture is the gem of the bunch, as Xiao manages to find the perfect vantage point to match up the original, undated photo (the USA Today box in the foreground indicates it was taken since 1982) of the department store with the current-day Starbucks, and even this summer's Indiana Street construction project.

Filled with small details of the past and present of downtown Greencastle, the postcards are available at Eitel's Florist and at the Partnership Center, 2 S. Jackson St., which houses the Main Street office.