Murphys

About nine or ten miles east of us on Hwy 4 is the small town of Murphys. It has a delightfully shaded main street with lots of old buildings still standing. Some, like this hotel are even still used for the the original purpose.

The most common business in this town is a winery tasting room. These are all wineries that you've likely never heard of before. It seems that the bulk of wine sales here is very local.

You will notice on the building above there is a plaque. In a close up of this plaque, below, we find an interesting story. 

Even here, 10 miles away from Angels Camp, there is an affinity for the rfog. I think the whole region benefits from the economics of the jumping contest each May.

Even though most of the buildings are repurposed from the original intent to sell items that attract monden tourists, the outsides are still made to look as they might have in the 19th century.

The hotel is a good case to look at for the restoration/continuation of the old look. Even though there are modern windows in the openings, the old style shutters remain on the rooms.

The local Rotary have placed benches about town. This one is sitting in front of door closed with shutters similar to the window shutters.

The front of the hotel also has these shutters.These are pretty common in lots of the towns in the region. I suspect they were the thing to do to provide security in addition to blocking the winter cold when the buildings were built. Interestingly, the neon sign out front has as style suggesting the 60's and the twists and turns these businesses have taken in the last century and a half.