ALLEY TOWN

Rad Rux told me he had been working on a town, and I pictured a few shacks with a wide road between them. Alley Town in Burning Springs is quite the opposite. He has packed its stalls and shopfronts along narrow scrap-lined passages, with lanterns and neon signs making every turn feel occupied.

There is a coffee sign overhead, food laid out at the counters and a black cat keeping its own schedule near the steps. Stairs and raised walkways make use of space most builders would leave empty. Nothing looks fresh from a factory, but a great deal looks repaired, reused and worth keeping.

That suits Rux better than a tidy row of identical houses. He builds the way he writes music, finding room for another detail without losing the whole arrangement. I took my time walking through, because a place this closely put together deserves more than a glance from the road.