I took these first three pictures on our most recent 2008 Christmas trip to my hometown of Tifton, Georgia.
Here is the sign out in front of the complex on 12th Avenue. This is NOT the original sign apparently, as the
Tifton Gazette article that I linked to in the original post seems to indicate. I don't know when the original sign was replaced with this one, but this is the only sign that I remember throughout my lifetime. And yes, most of the bulbs do work at night. (Sorry, I should have thought to get a nighttime shot.)
Here is a view of the complex itself. The distinctive angled roof awnings are original, I believe. If I did more research, I think I'd find that this triangular design was typical of when this motor court was originally constructed. I personally love the spherical lights surrounding the pool. (More on the pool below.)
Here is another view of the sign, giving you it's full shape and design. The small houses in the background are also part of the complex and were, I think, intended for more long-term residential rentals. To the right of the picture, you could get to the Office area where Mrs. Van Gundy lived and rented out the rooms.
Yeah, that's right. I lived here for a summer.
When Lynda and I were first married, it was the summer of 1995. I was one year removed from graduating from college at Georgia Southern and one year into my Masters degree. We needed a place to live and the Town Terrace was the right size for us. Plus it was affordable. We stayed there for half of July (once the honeymoon in Charleston was over) and most of August, before I had to return to Statesboro to begin year two of my graduate school work and Lynda started her first math teaching job in Burke County.
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These pictures are from when Lynda and I lived there as newlyweds, in July and August of 1995. As you can see, not much has changed.
This was the view of our front door--the one on the right, I think. You walked in the front door and saw the "living area" directly in front of you--which consisted of a couch that pulled out like a futon to become the bed. Right beside the door, to the immediate left was the bathroom.
When you walked to the couch/bed, you turned left at the dinette table to see the hidden kitchenette. I'll show that in a different picture.
Standing in the doorway, looking back towards the pool. As you can see, nothing has changed between 1995 and 2008. Such is the charm of the place. The blue car is the Chrysler Lebaron that we inherited from Lynda's dad and we drove it until the paint started peeling. (It was a common problem with Chrysler's of that era. There was something wrong when they developed that batch of paint.)
After working for my dad in the corn fields all day in the hot Georgia sun, I would drive home to our newlywed pad, take a quick shower to clean off the sweat and dirt, and then relax at poolside while the sun went down. (Lynda never let me wear my shoes inside the door and probably would have made me strip naked at the door to avoid tracking in all the dust I collected on me all day.) The best thing about doing this was that Bing Crosby (no lie!) would be playing over the speakers mounted into the lights that illuminated the pool. The Van Gundy's did their best to maintain a Fifties illusion to this place. I suppose I should have unwound poolside with a stiff drink to stay in character. But I was younger then . . .
Here is my lovely bride at work in the kitchenette area. I am standing at the couch/bed and the room doorway is to the camera's left. The kitchenette is hidden behind the louvered doors and consists of a very small stove/oven and a sink with maybe two feet of counter space. In the mornings before I went off to work, Lynda and I ate cereal and drank coffee at the table while the sun came up. We were so proud of our new china (still using it), our new coffee maker, and our tiny little summer home.
Yeah, that's me rocking out to Nirvana back in college.
