In an older part of town at the center of the industrial heartland, it’s no surprise when we stumble upon an aging eyesore of a commercial building.It’s hard to imagine this brittle old man has been put to work at all in the last quarter century. Not only does he appear to be missing a
For those who haven’t been there, my words can at least serve as a testimony to the vibrance of Asheville, North Carolina. The heart of the city, along Patton Avenue near the triangular Pritchard Park, is teeming with local establishments, resulting in sidewalks packed with visitors from mid-morning until late at night. The older, less
I can comfortably assert that cities are cooler than suburbs without providing any evidence to back it up. In 2018, it’s basically an axiom, so why bother explaining? Isn’t part of the mystique behind “cool” its tendency to evade easy definition? Few suburbanites would ever make any reasonable effort to argue that their municipalities are
On a quiet corner in a mostly residential area, a modest little gas station offers a visual time warp to the 1950s.Where are all the digital numbers? And how much would it cost just to keep those dinosaur gas pumps working in this day and age? Normally, when we encounter a service station with infrastructure
Whether we measure it in square miles or a single street corner, the average American downtown is enjoying an unprecedented new life. Century-old commercial buildings—underutilized at best, mothballed or abandoned at worst—have comprised the most visible beneficiaries of this revitalization, since investors have reassessed their value as critical signals to the municipality’s historic origins, determining
Most of us who have spent any time in a city have come across at least one of these before, even if it didn’t necessarily stand out. It’s a building (or cluster of buildings) with an aged façade, concealing a much more contemporary structure behind that wafer-like sheath. The preferred label (morphologically incorrect though it
Here’s a vote of no confidence in pedestrian infrastructure if I’ve ever seen one.Not sure what I’m talking about? It’s undeniably a dark photo, but some context should help clarify things. We’re looking at the old mining town of Deadwood, South Dakota, a place that, in most respects, should venerate the pedestrian. After all, the
The typical American city experienced such social upheaval after World War II that it’s almost impossible to find one—regardless of size—where the midcentury cataclysms did not exert at least some change upon the urban form. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania appears to rank among those that I can find with the least amount of scar tissue: bisected by
The average Midwesterner will probably recognize the icon visible through this smudgy windshield. But he or she might not be so familiar with the aesthetic.As the white-and-black sign indicates, it’s a Steak ‘n Shake—a leading candidate for the most Midwestern restaurant out there…right up there along with Bob Evans. The chain, which survived numerous ups
Capitol Hill in Washington DC touts itself as one of the nation’s largest and most intact historic districts. Parts of it rest under the shadow of the dome of the U.S. Capitol (at least when the sun is setting), and the entirety of the neighborhood is a quick walk or subway ride to the National
In an older part of town at the center of the industrial heartland, it’s no surprise when we stumble upon an aging eyesore of a commercial building.It’s hard to imagine this brittle old
For those who haven’t been there, my words can at least serve as a testimony to the vibrance of Asheville, North Carolina. The heart of the city, along Patton Avenue near the triangular
I can comfortably assert that cities are cooler than suburbs without providing any evidence to back it up. In 2018, it’s basically an axiom, so why bother explaining? Isn’t part of the mystique
On a quiet corner in a mostly residential area, a modest little gas station offers a visual time warp to the 1950s.Where are all the digital numbers? And how much would it cost
Whether we measure it in square miles or a single street corner, the average American downtown is enjoying an unprecedented new life. Century-old commercial buildings—underutilized at best, mothballed or abandoned at worst—have comprised
Most of us who have spent any time in a city have come across at least one of these before, even if it didn’t necessarily stand out. It’s a building (or cluster of
Here’s a vote of no confidence in pedestrian infrastructure if I’ve ever seen one.Not sure what I’m talking about? It’s undeniably a dark photo, but some context should help clarify things. We’re looking
The typical American city experienced such social upheaval after World War II that it’s almost impossible to find one—regardless of size—where the midcentury cataclysms did not exert at least some change upon the
The average Midwesterner will probably recognize the icon visible through this smudgy windshield. But he or she might not be so familiar with the aesthetic.As the white-and-black sign indicates, it’s a Steak ‘n
Capitol Hill in Washington DC touts itself as one of the nation’s largest and most intact historic districts. Parts of it rest under the shadow of the dome of the U.S. Capitol (at