Thursday, February 19, 2009

Going downtown

Today's news locally is the closing of the Waynesboro gallery of the Virginia Artisan Center. It's obviously a nice thing to have in your town, but I'm not a big downtown guy nowadays. Downtown will be at least the third thing to come to mind about Waynesboro, after good place to stop on the Appalachian Trail and big box mecca for Western Albemarle residents.
Making your downtown a tourist stop is a trend that has spread widely across the country. But how many spruced up downtowns are too many? I lived in Baltimore when HarborPlace opened. It's a destination with plenty to do.
I lived in Georgetown, S.C. when it started its downtown revitalization. It has 250 years of history and open water views, so it has done well. I lived in downtown Bluefield, WV, but I don't know of many people who find it a destination. That's probably the same fate as downtown Waynesboro.
I'm glad to live close to a city with plenty of shopping choices. Unfortunately it's a few miles west of downtown. But it's a destination in its own right.

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