Good morning, all of you fine, lovely people!

According to their website, Dothan, Alabama is “one of the region’s most progressive cities.” I drove in from Florida, and I can tell you it is probably true. Of course, this is mainly because it is one of the ONLY cities in the region.

However, the art deco-ness of the high school makes me very happy.

Perhaps Dothan is progressive because they have THE SMALLEST CITY BLOCK IN THE WORLD- N. Appletree and Museum St., Dothan, AL.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking what my buddy Brian was thinking when I told him about this place: aren’t city blocks a standard, regulated size? To quote Brian, “that’s like claiming to have the world’s smallest centimeter!”

I did some research, and it turns out this is not true. According to http://www.land4ever.com, city blocks differ in sizes. Engineers have a typical city block size, but an actual city block is not required to be a particular size. To quote the website, “Portland Oregon’s downtown city block is 68,000, while Chicago’s uses a double block size of 217,000. The average city has from 15 to 20 blocks per mile, which range from a 264′ to 352′ frontage which is usually a square, or about 69,000 to 123,000 sq. ft. or 1.60 to 2.84 Acres.”

Sorry, Brian.

I know what else you’re thinking… “it’s a chunk of land in an intersection, that does not make it a city block.”

… six of one, half a dozen of the other, some might say.

In any case, this is the area that has claimed the title “Smallest City Block in the World.” Go take a picture, and go see the art deco high school building.

Until next time, dahlings…