Downtown life

When I walk down Fourth St in Winston Salem, or drive through the small towns around North Carolina, I am saddened to see so many boarded up store fronts and empty streets. Obviously, it was not always this way. Downtowns were once the heart of these cities and towns but like most elsewhere in America most of the businesses migrated to the office parks, strip malls, big box stores and the shopping mall. In larger centers like Winston, there is some life to the downtown if you know where to look but in a town like Statesville with its early 20th century architecture lining its streets, there is nothing there.

Wherever I traveled, I am invariably drawn to the cities more so than anything else. Beaches, mountains, small towns, sweeping vistas also have their attractions for me but it is the cities that fascinate me. The older the city with a distinctive history, the more I am interested in it. A student of history, I sometimes get a thrill or chill when I touch a building or artifact that has been around centuries; to tread upon the path of those came before me. There is certain grandeur about older cities especially those in Europe that appeal to me.

Growing up in the small towns of Newfoundland, I never knew what it was like to be caught up in the dynamic energy of a city. Choices of where to go to shop, eat or be entertained were quite limited. It was not until I moved to St. John’s for university that I had some inkling of what drives a city though in retrospect, St. John’s is more like a really big town in its attitudes and pace. I could do more there than before and the availability of historical sites and museums were quite a draw. It was not until I went to Toronto that I really knew what city living was all about.

Living in Toronto in the late 80’s through the mid 90’s brought me into contact with so many new things in music, art, food, fashion. Cities are a magnet for the arts and Toronto was no different. Walking through the neighbourhoods, you could not help note how diverse they were in contrast to the bland sameness of suburbia. One of the striking things about downtowns is that tucked away into little nooks or obscured by an overgrown garden you will find little shops, unique decorations and mind provoking banners/signs that you will not find in a strip mall or industrial/commercial area. In a way, downtowns are an expression of individuality not suburban conformity.

Downtowns that are truly well-developed provide much in the way in choices: movie theatres, fine arts theatres, museums and galleries, shops of all kinds not just fashion and crafts, dining with cuisines that range from local traditional to exotic experimental and after hours establishments for those like partying late into the night. Naturally, a downtown should reflect the social mores of those who live there but by their nature they tend to be more open-minded than other areas. In a way, downtowns provide a destination for those who want to escape and perhaps live a little before settling down.

When I lived in Europe several years ago, I came to realize how a city could survive just fine without needing a sprawling mall. Cities are compact and much of the buildings extended several stories high but you never felt really enclosed as the sidewalks were broad and greenery abundant even if it was a planter or two. People were drawn to the downtowns and being Europe, they much preferred to walk around the downtown than drive there. One of the keys for a vibrant downtown is that it must be well served by public transit. If people can leave their house and be downtown be a minimum of fuss then an important accomplishment has been attained. In Toronto, there are two main subway lines that intersect downtown and all of the bus routes feed into the various subway stops. In Frankfurt, a ten minute walk brought me to a subway station and when I disembark, a five minute hop to my work or I would be in downtown or would be at the airport. But I have always likes trains for more than their convenience. Trains even a subway have a romance factor to them, a sense of history. Taking the trans-continental train from the Hauptbahnhof station in Frankfurt to Gare d’Est station in Paris has been one of my most memorable experiences.

In Paris, London or even of the many small cities around Frankfurt I found many of the same attributes. Walking along Champs Elysees to the Louvre was majestic but darting around in some of the side streets was also thrilling. When I interacted with the locals, I felt a sense that they like being where they are with no desire to get away from it all. In Jacksonville or in Winston, people could not wait to leave the downtown to get back to their homes not daring to stay around when the sun goes down.

So in the past twenty years or so, I have come to develop an appreciation for downtowns that many others fail to have. So it is always with great interest that I take in news on the redevelopment of downtowns and the events that take place there even in a small city like Winston. For many years, the downtown of Winston has been on the decline but it appears that I have come at a most opportune time as Winston is making strides in returning the downtown as it once was, the centre of civic life.

The renovation of the Nissen Building, the redevelopment of Trade Street as an Arts community, the soaring height of One Park Vista tower, West End Village, the new downtown ballpark have all contribute to the restarting of the heartbeat of downtown Winston-Salem. But it is only a start. There are still far too many empty storefronts on Fourth Street and Liberty Street is a wasteland waiting to be rediscovered. Of course, this economic downturn is not helping as it will put the brakes on new any development and probably was the factor in why a few announced projects have collapsed.

But I can sense a change for the good now when I am downtown, much more so than 5 years ago when I first came to Winston-Salem. Just takes time, money and people with some vision and hope that downtown Winston-Salem is worth investing and living.

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