Ax Man

The Ax Man stands at the window, looking out at the alley behind Station 4 Bar near Wacouta Street between 4th and 5th Streets. I don't remember when I first noticed him, is he a guard or cheap bouncer for bands like Through the Eyes of the Dead that will be performing there tonight. Do you need to have a name like that to perform during Halloween week? The yellow brick building to the right is the back side of the Straus Lofts renovated in 2005 from what once housed the Straus Knitting Company. Several years ago close to Halloween I saw a small notice in the paper inviting the public to come and explore the empty Palace Theater (once called the Orpheum?) in downtown at 7th Place. The folks like us who showed up were given a flashlight and and hardhat and could enter once we had signed a release to hold no one accountable for anything that might occur while inside. Our hosts included members of a local ghost hunting group who gave us the short story of who had performed in the theater during the vaudeville years of the 20's and who we might meet...those not wanting to leave the theater even though they were long dead. M and I made our way up the dark staircase to the balcony and hid in the projectionist room and waited for something to happen. Nothing did, but what I noticed in the dark and cold is that although in need of a good dusting, the theater was beautiful and seemed mostly in good shape. I heard about some efforts a few years ago to renovate it to its former glory, but that takes $$$. What the status of it is now I don't know.