As some of you know, a new Borders bookstore at the mall has replaced the local one, Thackerays, which closed its doors in early April.
On my drive to the mall, I passed by what is left of Westgate Plaza, a place that has suffered from businesses relocating to the nearby mall.
What once was Thackeray's at Westgate
Some places, like Boogie Records, have been replaced by a similar store, like the Allied Record Exchange...
...while other stores, like this former Dillards Home Store, sit vacant.
Just up the road...
It has been a few years since FoodTown, after opening this brand new sotre in 1997, went out of business. Home Depot, in the far right, is still in business. Their store, built in 1998 sits on the site of a former apartment complex. Home Depot, at that time, claimed that the room was needed to accomodate parking.
Yet another casualty, Showcase Cinema on Secor Rd. ...both this cinema, the Franklin Mall Cinema, and the Franklin Park Cinema in front of Target on Monroe St. have been closed to make way for the new Franklin Park Mall Cinema.
It's not that the neighborhood has gone downhill, or these businesses were losing money...
...as the types of cars parked outside these businesses profess, such as this Porsche...
The place has just gotten a little rusty. Its Newness has worn off...
A few miles northwest, and I reached my destination:
...The Westfield Shoppingtown at Franklin Park. I parked just outside the new Borders bookstore.
This place has "newness" written all over it. From the shiny mirror-like polish on the marble floors to the open, airy 21st century architecture...
The place is alive and bustling with people.
I sat down for a bite to eat at the Food Court, right next to this wonderfully extravagant fireplace...
Burning away on a bed of ice.
After eating, I wandered up the escalator leading to the top of the mall.
where they have built the new Franklin Park Mall Cinema De Lux.
This cinema has everything, 16 screens, ATM-style ticket terminals, an arcade...
...even a bar, er... I mean lounge.
I visited many of the new shops... Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Borders, but this one really surprised me...
Dick's Sporting Goods... They're new in this section of town. The other stores in the area are over in North Toledo and out in Holland.
...and this store is HUGE!. Granted, they do carry many items the other sporting goods stores around the area do not, but they are also at least 3 times the size in square footage of any other sporting goods store in town.
...and the activity at the mall... people everywhere, children running through stores and down halways, people talking on cell phones, oblivious to others as they meander through the crowds chatting away. The "newness" was definitely drawing the people out of their homes... and the money out of their wallets...
...it's an interesting condition in our culture how we so readily discard what we already have in favor for All Things Bright and Beautiful. But, in contrast, the way we treat the rusted and homely is far more telling of cultural values. We need to stop this cycle of neglect and waste. It is a plague on our society.
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3 comments:
It is so hard to swim upstream in our culture and you have hit the nail on the head. On a personal level, it is hard to resist the temptation to buy that new gadget. Not that there's anything wrong with new gadgets, but I find myself wanting them not for their utility, but for their "cool factor". Gotta get beyond that, as people and as a society. Nice photo essay.
Hmmm...for better or for worse marketing has made us think "bigger is better" then the bigger than life corporations said that we have to downsize. We have an easily manipulated market society made into throw away society. This is capitalism at its ugly best. Really, how many people go out of their way to buy recycled goods? How many cities try to revamp older areas?
All said, things grow and shrink all the time. The best you can do is support the little guys as much as possible. When the new guys start swapping out quality for quantity to cut costs, the little guy will come back into the picture. Just beware of Walmart sydrome. Walmart can kill a community if people ignore the little guys.
That was a good essay. Brought back memories.
Dno
Though it's been over a decade since anyone came back here, I just like to say they kinda turned Westgate into a hipster trap!
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