Use AI to Create a Charming French Village | Betty's Kitchen and the Elma Theatre

Growing up in Elma, Washington, a small town where everyone knows everyone, has left me with many memories. The population is modest, and most residents trace their roots back to English or Swedish ancestry. Elma's downtown has always been humble, reflecting the low-income status of its inhabitants. Since I left in the early '90s, the town has unfortunately faced a downturn, with issues like black tar heroin and meth becoming more prevalent. It saddens me to see the place I once knew struggle so much.

Elma's only theatre (Originally named the Graham Theater, it opened on October 1, 1927) was a cornerstone of the community, serving as both a movie house and a venue for high school plays. I vividly remember the grouchy old man who ran it, a fixture in the town until he passed away. Now, the theatre stands empty, its roof charred and buildings around it boarded up. The old bank has disappeared, and the overall state of downtown is rundown, a far cry from what it used to be.

Betty's Kitchen, a beloved homestyle restaurant, was a staple in Elma for decades. As a child, I spent early mornings in late August picking wild blackberries, developing a system to gather them quickly. I would then sell them to local restaurants, including Betty's, as well as to a few families. Sadly, Betty's Kitchen has long since closed its doors, just another piece of my childhood that has faded away.

Elma, to many, is just a dot on the map, but for me, it's a place filled with both nostalgia and sorrow. Though some families I knew are still there, I've been away since the days of Kurt Cobain, and now the town feels empty to me. The connection I once had is gone, leaving a void that is hard to ignore.

Despite this, the artist in me often dreams of what I could create for Elma if I had the resources. I envision tearing down the old buildings, buying up properties, and transforming the town into a charming French village while keeping its natural beauty. I see architecture inspired by Elma’s agricultural roots—cows, chickens, turkeys, dairy, cornfields, rose bushes, and the smell of fresh blackberry desserts and coffee filling the air. To bring this vision to life, I turned to AI to create images of what Elma could be, though now all I need is for someone like Elon Musk to make it a reality.

If you are interested in those beautiful Paris buildings, they are called Haussmann Buildings.  Some of the images below are inspired by Haussmanian architectural elements.

Enjoy these AI generated images of Elma Washington - or perhaps what she could be.....

Those are some great images, but for the restaurant it wasn't really what I wanted. My prompt was: "Create a two story french restaurant for the town of Elma in Washington State. As it rains often, there must be a black and white awning covering outdoor seating on the ground level as well as the second floor balcony. The awnings must have marquee lights under them, so patrons feel warm on cloudy, cold days. The restaurant is called "Pat's Kitchen". The architecture is Parisian, colors are blue, yellow, mustard yellow, black, white, and burgundy. Place restaurant in a French village"

The problem is that I want the second floor seating area to be on a much larger balcony. I want the second floor balcony to be large enough to seat at least ten tables. As the weather in Elma is crappy, it must be covered either partially by the third floor and roof, and also by the black and white awning. 

Speaking for myself, I always get cold and I really dislike wind blowing on my skin. It is one of the reasons I do not like outdoor seating. So for a spectrumy person like myself that cannot tolerate cold breeze, there sound be some plants that can block wind and a few fire places spread out on the open second floor seating area to give a real air of warmth, and actual warmth.