The Other Guy
Spam King
WARNING: RANT/EXCESSIVE BACKGROUND INFORMATION
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Well, today (well I guess it's yesterday now) I went to the liquidation sale of City Center Mall in downtown Columbus, the last sign of living things in the downtown area sans government offices and banks. The mall was built in 1989 as an attempt to pull people back downtown and to get rid of several large empty buildings (once occupied by department stores). It was also designed to be centered around one of a dwindling number of downtown flagship department stores-- in this case the F&R Lazarus Company. A bridge, complete with stores, was built across High Street to connect the million square foot mall to the multimillion square foot Lazarus HQ. The mall put some sophistication downtown, and really did extend the life of the flagship Lazarus, which probably would have closed in 1991 or so had it not been for the mall. The mall also featured world famous Marshall Field and Company as an anchor along with Detroit-based Jacobson's, two stores that could scarcely be found in Ohio, much less Columbus, and two chain sit-down restauraunts, something never found in shopping malls. It even had an ampitheater in the center, which held free concerts, not just for local bands but for national pop stars. For customers used to shopping at JCPenney, Sears, and Lazarus, this was a huge upscale step that brought a TON of people downtown. For the next 12 years, Columbus almost looked like a real downtown again.
Then, in the 5-year span from 1997-2002, the City of Columbus built 3 new malls, all in up and coming suburban areas. These malls featured, of course, Sears/JCPenney/Lazarus, like every other mall in the area save for City Center, but also featured the likes of another Marshall Field's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor. People flocked to the 'burbs, leaving the other suburban malls for dead, only one of which still stands today, on the east side. City Center managed to hold its own despite this until 2002, when the wheels fell off. Jacobsons went bankrupt, and Marshall Field's became Kauffman's, found eveywhere.
Then came Macy's, of NYC. They bought out Lazarus and closed the flagship store within a year. Shortly after they bought out Kauffman's. By this time there was a Macy's in all 7 malls in Columbus. With nothing left to distinguish it, City Center was left for dead. It took an amazingly long time, but this February the Mayor of Columbus finally announced plans to close the mall on March 5. It will be demolished this summer and replaced by a park with shops surrounding it. This may not seem too bad, but combine an unstable economy with the abject failure of the Mayor's "Northland Project" (which involved the destruction of an entire city block to build new stuff in 2003. The only current inhabitant of said city block is a Taco Bell) and you have a recipe for disaster.
My question is: Why is everyone scared to death of Downtown? I LOVE downtown! Everyone has fled to suburbia and sees downtown as a place to go to work and then go home. I believe that the decrepit cities are hurting this country mentally. I mean, I go downtown and see boarded up storefronts, along with failed attempts to revitalize the area (City Center) and I feel extremely cynical. What, there are 2 million people around the city, all comfortably, but no one in the heart of the city? The only downtowns that aren't decrepit and abandoned at this point are New York and Chicago. I believe that a project to save downtowns everywhere could do this country a favor; give them something to rally around.
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I know this is a rant that no one really cares about, but take note of my question about cities. And this place really meant a lot to me. Every pair of shoes I owned for about 6 years was purchased at Jacobsons.
Thoughts?
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Well, today (well I guess it's yesterday now) I went to the liquidation sale of City Center Mall in downtown Columbus, the last sign of living things in the downtown area sans government offices and banks. The mall was built in 1989 as an attempt to pull people back downtown and to get rid of several large empty buildings (once occupied by department stores). It was also designed to be centered around one of a dwindling number of downtown flagship department stores-- in this case the F&R Lazarus Company. A bridge, complete with stores, was built across High Street to connect the million square foot mall to the multimillion square foot Lazarus HQ. The mall put some sophistication downtown, and really did extend the life of the flagship Lazarus, which probably would have closed in 1991 or so had it not been for the mall. The mall also featured world famous Marshall Field and Company as an anchor along with Detroit-based Jacobson's, two stores that could scarcely be found in Ohio, much less Columbus, and two chain sit-down restauraunts, something never found in shopping malls. It even had an ampitheater in the center, which held free concerts, not just for local bands but for national pop stars. For customers used to shopping at JCPenney, Sears, and Lazarus, this was a huge upscale step that brought a TON of people downtown. For the next 12 years, Columbus almost looked like a real downtown again.
Then, in the 5-year span from 1997-2002, the City of Columbus built 3 new malls, all in up and coming suburban areas. These malls featured, of course, Sears/JCPenney/Lazarus, like every other mall in the area save for City Center, but also featured the likes of another Marshall Field's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor. People flocked to the 'burbs, leaving the other suburban malls for dead, only one of which still stands today, on the east side. City Center managed to hold its own despite this until 2002, when the wheels fell off. Jacobsons went bankrupt, and Marshall Field's became Kauffman's, found eveywhere.
Then came Macy's, of NYC. They bought out Lazarus and closed the flagship store within a year. Shortly after they bought out Kauffman's. By this time there was a Macy's in all 7 malls in Columbus. With nothing left to distinguish it, City Center was left for dead. It took an amazingly long time, but this February the Mayor of Columbus finally announced plans to close the mall on March 5. It will be demolished this summer and replaced by a park with shops surrounding it. This may not seem too bad, but combine an unstable economy with the abject failure of the Mayor's "Northland Project" (which involved the destruction of an entire city block to build new stuff in 2003. The only current inhabitant of said city block is a Taco Bell) and you have a recipe for disaster.
My question is: Why is everyone scared to death of Downtown? I LOVE downtown! Everyone has fled to suburbia and sees downtown as a place to go to work and then go home. I believe that the decrepit cities are hurting this country mentally. I mean, I go downtown and see boarded up storefronts, along with failed attempts to revitalize the area (City Center) and I feel extremely cynical. What, there are 2 million people around the city, all comfortably, but no one in the heart of the city? The only downtowns that aren't decrepit and abandoned at this point are New York and Chicago. I believe that a project to save downtowns everywhere could do this country a favor; give them something to rally around.
-----
I know this is a rant that no one really cares about, but take note of my question about cities. And this place really meant a lot to me. Every pair of shoes I owned for about 6 years was purchased at Jacobsons.
Thoughts?
