Following
up on the commentary from my last entry about all of the fun new
doings in downtown, I thought that I would see what our suburbanite
neighbors have to amuse them.
A
few weeks ago it as announced that the UK HealthCare folks would
occupy the former Dillard's portion of the shuttered Turfland Mall,
while the remainder is to be removed. Once again, Lexington will
experience a partial redevelopment a property which exemplifies the
problems that brought about the EPA Consent Decree. The hundreds of
parking spaces here and those retained by the Southland Christian
Church on the former Lexington Mall site do precious little to reduce
our storm water runoff problem.
At
the corner of Lane Allen and Harrodsburg Roads, on a parcel not part
of the original Turfland Mall, they are demolishing the former
Verizon (General Telephone) building, to be replaced by a new
Walgreen's pharmacy. It does not matter that there is a recently
built CVS directly across the street or an existing Walgreen's in the
former McAlpin's Home store just about 600 yards farther out the
road.
This
area was, at the time that the mall was constructed, a thriving blend
of subdivisions with young families needing a wide range of goods and
services. Apparently, now the demographics say that they are aging
boomers in need of health care and pharmaceutical assistance. I
still believe that a balanced mix of uses directed at the immediate
neighborhoods would do everybody good.
Mayor
Gray, in his statements praising the UK HealthCare decision said “UK
is making health-care services more convenient for Lexington
citizens, while bringing new life to Turfland Mall.” But the mall
is still dead. Similar comments were also made about the Southland
Christian Church and Lexington Mall and until the outlots there
become developed, it too will still be dead.
In
concept, the mall was never entirely about shopping or retailing, it
was supposed to be about interacting with other living human beings.
Victor Gruen, the man who originated the mall concept was a
sociologist, not a merchant. Gruen was attempting to recreate the
feel of the downtown commercial district amongst the spreading
neighborhoods of suburbia, with all of its vitality and human
connections. Lexington, as in most places, chose to segregate
shopping from most other forms of urban vitality so that both the
downtowns and the malls died.
One
of the prime draws of the malls here in Lexington would have to be
the cafeteria style dining places like The Blue Boar, Morrison'sCafeteria and, to a lesser degree, York Steak House. For
the elderly, these mall staples were a place to gather socially and
even get some exercise. As the shift, from a mix of uses toward
strictly retail, neared its completion, the lack of social vibrancy
drove off much of the clientele and many chances for impulse buying.
It is hard for me to understand that
the rival pharmacy companies can justify being located so closely to
each other when all of the stores carry essentially identical product
variety and lines. When did the old style drug store advance beyond
the “over the counter” first aid remedies, cosmetics and candy
counter to the liquor, small hardware and snack groceries of today's
big box pharmacy? What sets Rite-Aid apart from CVS or Walgreen's
when they all appear so similar in building shape and layout?
At one time it was the local drug store
and the neighborhood pharmacist, the image that these big chains want
to project about themselves today, that occupied a prime, central
spot within a residential cluster. It would have been considered an
anchor business along with a barber, small grocer and civic entities
like a school, firehouse or church. I may, ideally, have included a
local centralized streetcar stop in order to connect with other
residential clusters making up an urban area.
Since
the mid twentieth century, after living that way for so long, we
Americans decided that we could not continue and began to shift our
style of living. We can still remember or fantasize about how it
was. We can use images of the past to evoke feelings of
connectedness with our present. We can repeatedly convince ourselves
that our present situation is “so much better that before” while
clinging tightly to those mental images of our parents' childhood.
What we cannot, will not do, is duplicate the conditions which will
allow our future to recreate those fading memories.
Why
do our suburbanites cling so tightly to those images, more tightly
than the in-town dweller, and yet not do anything that would bring
reality to those memories? It may be that those who live within
walking distance of downtown, and for some that varies, believe that
they currently have such memories – as a reality. To them I say,
your lack of action may allow your reality to quickly dissolve into
equally fading images, so be vigilant and active in order to retain
them.
Across
town, Richmond Road has also seen its share of shifting or moving
uses. From the major grocery chains moving farther out of town,
while gaining up to 50% in floor area each time to the smaller
structures designed specifically for fast food retailers, flipping
from one chain to another. It is the rarity that any retailer will
become so synonymous with the road or a neighborhood out there.
I
believe that in no time before the aforementioned shift in our style
of living did the primary roads connecting population centers become
the hubs of commerce. To be sure, in some regions, many small
communities became established and incorporated and, in time, grew to
the point that they adjoined each other so as to become a population
center. It is only now that those connecting roads are commercial
corridors. They do not compare in scale or scope to our recent ones
and often serve to unite neighborhoods rather than separate them.
Subdivisions
of today bear little resemblance to those of a century ago despite
the bucolic street names and the nature related neighborhood
monikers. In the past 50 years we have fallen victim to the silver
tongued marketing specialists not only in our increasingly
dehumanized food supply, but what may be called a similarly
dehumanized residence supply. After giving that game a try nearly 20
years ago, I do not want to play that game again. They do not really
want what they think that they are buying.
