Eagleridge Shopping Center: rockstar parking…in strip mall suburbia?
Salvaging the subject of strip mall soulfulness for a second study, I present a regional shopping center of no great distinction. Much like the suburban structures of the previous article, Eagleridge Shopping Center is unusually coy about its name; the massive sign facing Interstate 25 forces the title to the absolute bottom. Most people probably
A strip mall can house a tapestry of tenants. Including once-mighty churches.
About eighteen months ago I explored an isolated example of a trend that has become increasingly common: the vacating of old church buildings by their original founding congregations. In some cases, the old church benefits from monumental architecture, making it suitable for adaptive reuse, particularly as an events planning or catering facility that can capitalize
Fort Worth Water Gardens: when a splashy downtown feature rests on a slippery slope (literally).
Let’s face it: it doesn’t matter how big or vibrant your city’s downtown is. Generally speaking, the civic plazas immediately outside the major municipal buildings are dead on weekends. There just isn’t any magnetism, given that these buildings host city government functions, which typically operate during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. (Emergency and corrections
The skeletons of West Virginia’s film industry finally come out of the storefront.
The streetscape of downtown Martinsburg, the largest municipality (population 17,500) in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, doesn’t exactly boast an occupancy level one would rate as thriving. But it’s hardly plagued by persistent plywood in the windows of the commercial buildings, and the majority of them look like they benefit from regular maintenance and upkeep. I
Food trucks as an ethnic pastiche: are they the new emblem of the American dream?
For the last decade or so, it’s been not too difficult to spot a specific type of vehicle parked on the street or driveway in residential neighborhoods. Here’s an example in a quiet lower-middle class part of Alexandria, Virginia: Yes, it’s the formerly ubiquitous (but hardly obsolete) food truck. Before its explosion in popularity about
Bars on the windows in comfy little Malvern, you say? Have we come this far?
In these economically fraught times, it’s not always easy to find an urbanized restaurant/retail district where one can comfortably kick back a burger and a brew and feel safe, either from crime, civil unrest, or inconsistent enforcement of COVID precautions (depending on what you perceive is the greatest threat). In 2021, the suburbs of large
Maryland House: a posh new travel plaza is already running on empty.
By this point, we’ve all encountered the legions of business closures induced by COVID-prompted shutdowns of commerce and travel over the last year. I’ve tried to avoid too much of the cynical coverage of vacancies, instead focusing on clever strategies that various storefront retailers have deployed to generate sales from a carryout vantage point, when
Breezewood revisited: a more graphic assessment of America’s first rest area town.
So it’s not quite the great Evelyn Waugh novel—in fact, sociologically it’s about as far as can be—but it’s the closest I can come up with on this side of the pond that offers a proximal pun. It’s rare that I revisit an old post so shortly after the first time around, but I found
Building back a better bike rack: do the creative ones keep your two wheels safe?
Over the last three decades, as bicycles have become a more commonly accepted means of getting around—especially in areas where they previously were a rare sight—the need to accommodate them when “docked” is more important. Sure, it’s usually perfectly reasonable to lock a bike to anything that’s already bolted to the ground: a parking meter,
Conowingo Dam: where clean energy is not just for the birds.
It’s rare that a major effort in environmental engineering, no matter how noble the intent or how solicitous the conception, yields absolutely no negative environmental consequences. It’s probably more than rare. I’d wager that such a feat has never occurred. It’s all the more unsettling when one considers such vast civil undertakings as the canal
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Eagleridge Shopping Center: rockstar parking…in strip mall suburbia?
Salvaging the subject of strip mall soulfulness for a second study, I present a regional shopping center of no great distinction. Much like the suburban structures of the previous article, Eagleridge Shopping Center
A strip mall can house a tapestry of tenants. Including once-mighty churches.
About eighteen months ago I explored an isolated example of a trend that has become increasingly common: the vacating of old church buildings by their original founding congregations. In some cases, the old
Fort Worth Water Gardens: when a splashy downtown feature rests on a slippery slope (literally).
Let’s face it: it doesn’t matter how big or vibrant your city’s downtown is. Generally speaking, the civic plazas immediately outside the major municipal buildings are dead on weekends. There just isn’t any
The skeletons of West Virginia’s film industry finally come out of the storefront.
The streetscape of downtown Martinsburg, the largest municipality (population 17,500) in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, doesn’t exactly boast an occupancy level one would rate as thriving. But it’s hardly plagued by persistent plywood
Food trucks as an ethnic pastiche: are they the new emblem of the American dream?
For the last decade or so, it’s been not too difficult to spot a specific type of vehicle parked on the street or driveway in residential neighborhoods. Here’s an example in a quiet
Bars on the windows in comfy little Malvern, you say? Have we come this far?
In these economically fraught times, it’s not always easy to find an urbanized restaurant/retail district where one can comfortably kick back a burger and a brew and feel safe, either from crime, civil
Maryland House: a posh new travel plaza is already running on empty.
By this point, we’ve all encountered the legions of business closures induced by COVID-prompted shutdowns of commerce and travel over the last year. I’ve tried to avoid too much of the cynical coverage
Breezewood revisited: a more graphic assessment of America’s first rest area town.
So it’s not quite the great Evelyn Waugh novel—in fact, sociologically it’s about as far as can be—but it’s the closest I can come up with on this side of the pond that
Building back a better bike rack: do the creative ones keep your two wheels safe?
Over the last three decades, as bicycles have become a more commonly accepted means of getting around—especially in areas where they previously were a rare sight—the need to accommodate them when “docked” is
Conowingo Dam: where clean energy is not just for the birds.
It’s rare that a major effort in environmental engineering, no matter how noble the intent or how solicitous the conception, yields absolutely no negative environmental consequences. It’s probably more than rare. I’d wager
Recent Comments
Recent Comments
- on Eagleridge Shopping Center: rockstar parking…in strip mall suburbia?: “yikes, you’re almost as much a nerd as I. I’m a self-appointed, self-righteous member of the Grammar Police, Spelling and…” Jun 17, 07:44
- on A strip mall can house a tapestry of tenants. Including once-mighty churches.: “You are once again referencing a region near to my heart (or at least to my realm of awareness). One…” Jun 16, 07:43
- on Eagleridge Shopping Center: rockstar parking…in strip mall suburbia?: “You prompted me to dive through my entire blog to catch instances of word misuse in this instance. Throughout the…” Jun 15, 22:21
- on Eagleridge Shopping Center: rockstar parking…in strip mall suburbia?: “fair enough. You’re welcome.” Jun 15, 21:55
- on Eagleridge Shopping Center: rockstar parking…in strip mall suburbia?: “Am aware. And, much like inter alia, it’s usually italicized in the US English so that it is clear what…” Jun 15, 21:52
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