Question to ponder for a Sunday evening...

You only go to my downtown (Fall River, MA), if you need to a) go to city hall b) the police station or c) a lawyers office... There are no stores anymore, there are no restaurants, there are empty shops. In my mom's youth, it was a vibrant town where everyone went to. Now it is a sad reminder of what used to be.

this is so true of most of the downtowns nowadays. what happened?

hi scamp! so haopy to see you! i see you have an icon now...very nice. you should post some pics of where you live.

Another ghost town in my hometown. The downtown area used to be a bustling place. All of the stores, fast food restaurants, pharmacies ect.. are now on the main highway that does not pass through the downtown area. I think we have became a society of convenience. It is more convenient to have all the stores on the one main highway. It is really sad. The local pharmacy that sold the ice cream has been replaced by a chain pharmacy. :(

The downtown area in my town is only busy during the weekdays during business hours. There's a great coffee/restaurant and specialty shop people frequent there. They're open Monday through Saturday and it does bring some business downtown. We've got a bookstore and some diners that generally cater to the offices around the area. It's a small town and the downtown area is one you can drive through in about a minute, though.

I rather like it a lot better than the end of town with the Wal Mart, Meijer, Home Improvement Depot and other chain stores and restaurants. Most of the banks are still downtown as well.

I guess our downtown is nicer than most you all seem to be describing.

I live in DC and our downtown is going gangbusters. Particulary in the K. St. area. The lobbying industry seems to be doing really well in recent years. But other parts of town don't look so good. Whole blocks are all boarded up. There's nothing wrong economically. They're just trying to make us feel safer by constructing barricades everywhere. I guess where I live is somewhat unique.

I live in a tiny town in southern Vermont (after years in New York City). Our downtown consists of a library (in a 200-year-old former hotel and tavern), a general store, a post office, a historical society, and a couple of Bed and breakfasts. There is a great Farmer's Market every Sunday with about thirty vendors, a neat old feed and grain store where you can buy ANYthing, and an old church that regularly has church suppers,rummage sales, exercise classes, and quilt raffles to raise money for the steeple that never got built. It is a great town, cozy and friendly. No deterioration here, no malls for miles, but you do give up a few conveniences like a nearby dry cleaner or shoe repair. No complaints, though.

downtown Los Angeles has some good and bad points. I do not go out of my way to get there, but have gone there. Last time was for jury duty last summer and I hit a mall daily for my 1.5 hour lunch break.

Two Words: Walmart & The Mall

For any of us that have shopped at those two places - we killed downtown.

and Europe is ever so different because it's normal to have shops where ever people live and there is no real "downtown" In Vienna every district has a high street which carries major shops, but the squares are really important because its usually where the fresh markets are and little shops thrive in European towns. It's very cosy and intimate. Now unfortunately malls are in, but usually banned to the outer edges of the town or districts.


and there are small malls, but they are filled with small boutiques and maybe one or two larger grocery stores or a hypermarket. but very different atmosphere and way of existence. the small mall near to me has a two story aquarium-- no kidding--and the mall is built for specific family center with kids play area and fishy theme all through it. really nice place to go to relax! It's buillt as a rotunda with very small boutiques and one large hypermarkt-- main shops downstairs and restaurants and entertainment upstairs and fish aquarium is double-storied. escalator and aquarium are in center of building so you can walk in one side and exit opposite side by cutting through to visit the fish.

just below it is the reservoir-- which seems to be the district center of activity. In winter it's the hockey arena and in summer the swimming pool, sun-bathing area and local campground -- so is very different.

hi guys! i am just so fascinated reading about all of your towns. i don't travel much so i get to "visit" through your descriptions. i do miss the downtown of my childhood. i suppose one has to adapt to change but i don't have to like it.