Monday, August 22, 2005
Fake-street shopping/lifestyle plaza dealies
"Santana Row is one of those fake-street shopping/lifestyle plaza dealies. They're all over the place here. See, it's like a thriving downtown, without all the poor people and non-chain stores!"
Going Jesus hit the nail right on the head there. When I went to eat with my family at the Atkins Park in Smyrna Market Village, out in the suburbs west of Atlanta, it was charming, but something just seemed sort of Disney, like it was just a facade of a downtown, a hollywood set. Every single building in the Smyrna "downtown" was brand new, and if you got to the end of it it was just field beyond. Very surreal. I don't know what they did with the old downtown Smyrna. Bulldozed it all? I think the main difference (besides the lack of poor people) is the lack of historic buildings, memories, family owned businesses. Coming from small towns, when a charming (or even slightly run down) downtown has those things, you can actually feel the difference. That's what makes a downtown different than a mall. Dressing a mall up as a downtown is just putting lipstick on a pig.
Going Jesus hit the nail right on the head there. When I went to eat with my family at the Atkins Park in Smyrna Market Village, out in the suburbs west of Atlanta, it was charming, but something just seemed sort of Disney, like it was just a facade of a downtown, a hollywood set. Every single building in the Smyrna "downtown" was brand new, and if you got to the end of it it was just field beyond. Very surreal. I don't know what they did with the old downtown Smyrna. Bulldozed it all? I think the main difference (besides the lack of poor people) is the lack of historic buildings, memories, family owned businesses. Coming from small towns, when a charming (or even slightly run down) downtown has those things, you can actually feel the difference. That's what makes a downtown different than a mall. Dressing a mall up as a downtown is just putting lipstick on a pig.
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I absolutely have to link to this post! A friend and I met for lunch at the nearby "lifestyle plaza" things the other day and I was explaining to him how the developers actually wanted us to think it was just like a thriving downtown. We were both horrified but you said it best. Just like putting lipstick on a pig.
“I don't know what they did with the old downtown Smyrna. Bulldozed it all?”
Pretty much; I don’t think Smyrna (I live in Smyrna, a stone’s throw from the Smyrna Village) ever had much of a downtown; if you want a nice downtown in the ATL metro area, you should go to Marietta’s square, Roswell, or try a smaller place like Buford. There are tons of areas in town of course, like little five points, or the highlands. Vinings, which is Smyrna’s Simese twin, is also very nice to drive around though you won’t find a downtown, just lots of beautiful tree-filled neighborhoods.
Pretty much; I don’t think Smyrna (I live in Smyrna, a stone’s throw from the Smyrna Village) ever had much of a downtown; if you want a nice downtown in the ATL metro area, you should go to Marietta’s square, Roswell, or try a smaller place like Buford. There are tons of areas in town of course, like little five points, or the highlands. Vinings, which is Smyrna’s Simese twin, is also very nice to drive around though you won’t find a downtown, just lots of beautiful tree-filled neighborhoods.
You know, I did a little research and it appears that Smyrna did have small downtown, but it was destroyed by factors beyond their control, like road expansion, and the railroad closing the route that went to the depot and tearing it down. So, I guess they had no choice if they wanted a downtown area but to build one from scratch. But it still feels fake, and I don't hold it against them.
I guess it can't be helped-you just can't make new feel old. Lesson: If some government or big corporation wants to remove your downtown, don't let them, even if it's real small. Because even a diner from the 1970s and an old rickety depot mixed in with some new buildings would have more atmosphere than a new disney-esque lifestyle plaza.
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I guess it can't be helped-you just can't make new feel old. Lesson: If some government or big corporation wants to remove your downtown, don't let them, even if it's real small. Because even a diner from the 1970s and an old rickety depot mixed in with some new buildings would have more atmosphere than a new disney-esque lifestyle plaza.
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