Posted
by Joel Mathis
November 12, 2003 at 2:47 p.m.
You can always go downtown
_ "We have three downtowns," Commissioner Sue Hack said. "We have downtown during the day, downtown during the dining hours, and downtown from 10 until 3." -- Lawrence Journal-World, Nov. 6_Sitting at home on vacation, reading those words in the newspaper, I thought to myself: "How cool is that? Lots of towns our size would kill to have one downtown!"Sue was making a different kind of point -- some people are scared to hit Mass Street after 10 p.m. -- but as we near the conclusion of the Top 10 Things to Love About Lawrence, her words also serve as a good example of why Lawrence's downtown comes in at No. 3 on the list. Simply put, our downtown is alive and vibrant.Let me predict here some of the reaction that will be posted to this news: Yeah, but downtown's getting too corporate! Have you seen the Starbucks? Or the Abercrombie store? Man, I was here when it was all real. Real, dammit!(Yawn.)Maybe there's some truth to that, though I'm not going to complain too much. I bought my first shirts at the Gap last week. (They both cost $7 each; I love bargains). But here's what's also true about downtown:Coffee shops. Live music. Locally brewed beer. Artists and artisans. Cuisine from several different continents. Antiques. Museums. Musicians playing bongos and guitars. The saxophone guy at Seventh and Mass (how cold is it going to get before he moves inside, anyway? I saw him playing in the drizzle the other night). Art-house movies. Bookstores. The library. City Hall. The county courthouse. The list goes on.If there was a grocery store, you could live a very comfortable life -- and one quite engaged in the workings of your community -- without leaving a five-block area of Lawrence. Believe me, I've come awfully close.Don't believe me? Outsiders, people who've traveled around the country, are amazed by our downtown and they say so. My most recent example: David Sedaris took time to offer praise when he read at the Lied Center last month. You don't know how rare it is to have a functioning downtown, he said.So I'm actually surprised that the voters made downtown only the third most-popular reason for loving Lawrence. Because, quite frankly, it is (aside from anything university-related) our city's crown jewel.Other things in my head I've been meaning to mention my belief that Lawrence is a mecca for book lovers. During the month of October, I got to see live readings by three authors I greatly enjoy: Sherman Alexie, Robert Caro and Sedaris. The Sedaris tickets were pricey, but the other two readings were free to the public and all the events were well-attended. It made me happy. "Skin" was canceled on Fox. I guess that no longer means "HIS FATHER IS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY!"* In my attempt to be a properly literate American, I decided to read a Phillip Roth novel. Just finished "Portnoy's Complaint." I hope my mom never finds out.
Comments
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dex (anonymous) says…
the "functioning" downtown is one of the main reasons i chose to move to lawrence over other college towns. i couldn't care less if there's a gap at one end and an einstein bros. at the other.
Shelby (anonymous) says…
that song is horrible, Joel.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Shelby: Don't tell me. Tell Petula Clark.
OtherJoel (anonymous) says…
Thought you might find this entertaining:
http://www.theonion.
com/3944/news3.html
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
I think my mom peeks in on the blog now and then, but not too often. It does keep me from making too many references to heroin orgies, however.
murderama (Rob Gillaspie) says…
Yeah, I'm not the first ot say that downtown has lost much of it's "mom and pop" charm, but it's true... Regardless, every time I walk by Starbucks, that place is DEAD. Everytime I walk by Henry's the place is packed. Most people in this town know where thier priorities lie, even if the city father's keep trying to force another West Lawrence down our throats.
PS: Joel, you shop at the gap? Think about those kids in the sweatshops, you brute.
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Murderama: I HAVE thought about the kids in sweatshops. But moral purity is tough to maintain in the face of a $7 bargain.
monkeywrench (Tim vonHolten) says…
Yuppie hipster friends of mine recently reminded me (and i hate when they're right about anything) how DEAD downtown was back when it was cool. now, at least people are downtown to go to the remaining independent businesses, if you can get them out of the damn GAP.
i've got a friend who, for some reason, really wants me to read philip roth. i've been resistant ever since having my stomach turned by "sabbath's theater." i'm currently trying to muster the courage to read "patrimony." how was "portnoy's complaint?"
jfizell (Jason Fizell) says…
Joel, you must have missed the Janet Reno lecture!
She too singled out Lawrence's downtown when asked how she liked Lawrence and got a nice ovation for it.
While we're on ovations, I find it interesting the Reno was introduced to a *standing* ovation and ended with one as well. Sedaris, however, did not get one at all and I'd have to say I agree with that--it was an enjoyable show, but $40 to be a guinea pig for stories from his next book (which he will then also sell) doesn't seem entirely fair. It certainly had it's high points though, and once the ball got rolling the laughs were fairly infectious.
Jason
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Monkeywrench: I wasn't here, really, before there was anything corporate downtown. I do know the history, though, of people fighting to preserve downtown during the 80s ... I don't know how busy it was then, but it was certainly valued at the time. Or am I wrong?
"Portnoy's Complaint" is a bit dated ... you have to be up on some Rat Pack-era references to get everything. On the other hand, it has some of the funniest writing about sex I've ever read. Tad misogynistic, also. I enjoyed reading it. Not sure if I need to read any other Roth, though.
Jason: Yep, missed Reno. When I'm not reporting about the doings of politicians and government officials, I tend to skip time spent hanging out with politicians and government officials. Bring in an author, though...
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Um, I should mention that I didn't ENJOY the misogyny. I was just trying to put a warning label on it, then move into my overall "thumbs up, thumbs down" review. Bad juxtaposition, that.
thrmonclrblckct (anonymous) says…
I remember walking down to waxman (right after the starbucks opened) and after almost getting run over by two blondes with a&f bags striding blindly from the best coffeeshop in the whole world, i overheard one ask the other, "Do you know where borders is?" ( I wish it were just a blonde joke, but sadly, it really did happen.) Killing them and abandoning my dying downtown seemed like the only option at that point, but i've come to realize one thing. Regardless of the corporations and the types that flock to them edging in on our turf, i still have a place where i can walk two blocks to work from my house, get all of my shopping (except, yes, my groceries, which is slightly more inconvient now that the merc has moved,) eating, banking, socializing, and drinking in one spot, before calling saferide, and going home to start it all over again.
jay_holley (Jay Holley) says…
Corporate or not, I'm glad Borders moved in. I wish it hadn't driven Terra Nova out of business, but it sure is nice to be able to walk downtown knowing there's a reasonable chance I can find a particular book, and not have to wait on special order. Sometimes corporate is better, though plainly that's not the case with coffee.
Jester (Nick Spacek) says…
I go to LPT two or three mornings a week, and there's always a happy hustle and bustle going on there. Starbucks seems to be grab and go... and not much traffic. Hell, there are more people at the Java Break, and that place is usually pretty dead until classes get out.
snowsleep (anonymous) says…
I like the idea of downtown and lawrence as a mecca for book lovers. And when you're ready to wander past downtown, you can walk over the river to mecca for levee lovers.
Sdormat (anonymous) says…
I think the only people that go into starbucks are people who come into town for games or shopping and have no idea what to order when they go into a local coffee shop. i always get my coffee from the pig or wheatfields. although, i too am guilty of shopping at the gap, borders, and... gulp... chipotle.
hodgie (anonymous) says…
Attention! It is now possible to get your groceries without leaving the downtown area. Hy-vee stores now offer a delivery service, if you're willing to pay the $10 fee.
I, too, love the downtown area, but I'm concerened with the amount of people being attacked at night recently. I only live two blocks away from downtown and find myself driving there at night in order to feel safer. What's going on in this town? Why are there some many roving bands of criminals now? Maybe we all need to "Take Back the Night".
blacklit (anonymous) says…
sounds groovy...if only it were a bit warmer...
cheers
rednekbuddha (Kelly Powell) says…
If the attackers were themselves attacked, we wouldnt have this problem...My advise, walk proudly and carry a equalizer(I'm a club man myself, but there is something to be said for the visual impact of a wicked looking knife)
hyphenorg (anonymous) says…
I didn't know who Polymorphic Spree was when you called but I am a fan of Tripping Daisy. We had to sell Elastic Firecracker but it was really good. I was dissappointed one day to find a significant scratch through the middle of my favorite song Motivated. So did you go to the concert?
Joel (Joel Mathis) says…
Didn't go to the concert ... had to work both nights. I was just going to tell you a different story. Good luck this weekend...
CafeSiren (anonymous) says…
I noticed sometime around 2000 or 2001 that the usual summer seasonal downtown slowdown (KU lets out; undergrads leave; townies & grad students get downtown all to themselves) didn't really happen. Any theories on this? Is it because downtown got better? Or more corporate? Is it just Lawrence getting bigger? Or undergrads deciding that Lawrence is a cooler place to spend the summer than Johnson County or Western Kansas? I missed having the town to myself for a couple of months, but I was glad to see some great local places get more business.
horrorgeek (anonymous) says…
Maybe I have my years screwed up, but didn't Terra Nova go out long before Borders?