In a move that was probably a huge shock to about four dozen people, World of Beer (WoB), the craft beer aficionado’s dream chain, closed its Indianapolis location shortly after New Year’s Day 2024. Due in no small part to the devastating effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on the restaurant industry, World of Beer is one
Belfield, a city (per the legal definition) in southwest North Dakota just a brief drive from one of the state’s biggest attractions, has seemingly bucked the trend of similarly sized communities throughout the Great Plains. Specifically, it isn’t dwindling to nothing. Instead of experiencing dramatic population loss, Belfield has largely hovered around 1,000 persons for
Despite some glum predictions on the long-term economic health of college towns, most of the ones that harbor flagship universities still look pretty vibrant, at least if Bozeman, home of Montana State University (largest university in the state), is any example. As recently as 1970, Bozeman was a fairly obscure town that hosted the state’s
Wake Forest, North Carolina isn’t exactly obscure. But it’s better known as the name for a university than for the town that (formerly) called the school home. This might not be the case much longer. It’s the suburb immediately north of the capital to the Tarheel State, and while Raleigh itself has enjoyed tremendous growth
Every little bit of construction counts! And, in smaller municipalities, what might pass as no big deal instantly seems momentous. Case in point: the multifamily development in the photos below would seem unremarkable and barely worthy of mention in a city the size of, say, Indianapolis. (Or even the suburb of Greenwood just to the
In a scramble to meet my quota of articles before the end of November, I offer a simple ponder and an almost 360° view at a single intersection. A series of photos offers all that is necessary to conceive a small manufacturing city’s metamorphosis through the increasing prevalence of the automobile over the twentieth century.
As a person who loves bicycling, I am hardly one to cavil when a municipality installs new bike-friendly infrastructure. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a general rule, most places in the US are still less bike-friendly than they could be. And while we have witnessed visible improvement over the last two decades, and I
Several weeks ago I featured the borough of Wilson, Pennsylvania—a small municipality in the Lehigh Valley region, where Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton are the most prominent cities. Wilson is adjacent to Easton and in most respects is culturally indistinct: at a certain point it incorporated as a separate municipality, but it shares Easton’s street grid,
I’m not exactly making bold a proposition when I assert that, if a community experiences an overall decline in its income levels (and a growth in poverty rate), the economic health of its primary retail nodes is likely to deteriorate concurrently. Such a statement isn’t exactly going out on a limb. Any significant change, in
It’s Flag Day! And it’s kind of remarkable how, given my blog’s fixation with flags over the years (including some very creative flag reimagining), I’ve never really covered this 75-year-old holiday, commemorating the 247th anniversary of a distinct American flag. Yes, it was June 14th in 1777 that the Second Continental Congress adopted an official
In a move that was probably a huge shock to about four dozen people, World of Beer (WoB), the craft beer aficionado’s dream chain, closed its Indianapolis location shortly after New Year’s Day
Belfield, a city (per the legal definition) in southwest North Dakota just a brief drive from one of the state’s biggest attractions, has seemingly bucked the trend of similarly sized communities throughout the
Despite some glum predictions on the long-term economic health of college towns, most of the ones that harbor flagship universities still look pretty vibrant, at least if Bozeman, home of Montana State University
Wake Forest, North Carolina isn’t exactly obscure. But it’s better known as the name for a university than for the town that (formerly) called the school home. This might not be the case
Every little bit of construction counts! And, in smaller municipalities, what might pass as no big deal instantly seems momentous. Case in point: the multifamily development in the photos below would seem unremarkable
In a scramble to meet my quota of articles before the end of November, I offer a simple ponder and an almost 360° view at a single intersection. A series of photos offers
As a person who loves bicycling, I am hardly one to cavil when a municipality installs new bike-friendly infrastructure. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a general rule, most places in the US
Several weeks ago I featured the borough of Wilson, Pennsylvania—a small municipality in the Lehigh Valley region, where Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton are the most prominent cities. Wilson is adjacent to Easton and
I’m not exactly making bold a proposition when I assert that, if a community experiences an overall decline in its income levels (and a growth in poverty rate), the economic health of its
It’s Flag Day! And it’s kind of remarkable how, given my blog’s fixation with flags over the years (including some very creative flag reimagining), I’ve never really covered this 75-year-old holiday, commemorating the