Life at the top can be lonely and bleak…even more if one lives that life on the upper level of a seemingly completely empty parking deck, even while the businesses below it are abuzz. Take the example in this suburban shopping node: The node in question? Springfield, Virginia, which everyone in metro Washington DC knows
Has anyone out there ever seen a big box store with an entryway like this? Following on the heels of my article about the Bozeman bank entrance, this one is comparatively small and humble: only two doors. In an era of mounting concern for loss prevention, these doors lack the visible security apparatus the customer
Fifteen years ago, when I first started writing articles for this blog, those little yellow or red “doormats” at crosswalks—you know, the ones with the evenly dispersed raised bumps—were still a relative novelty. They were just beginning to become prevalent at sidewalk ramps leading to crosswalks. In 2025, I think most Americans have a vague
Several months ago, I did something I rarely do and took a hard line on a polarizing topic: allowing dogs (or other pets) into private businesses. I believed, and continue to believe, that dogs should not be permitted in coffee shops, gyms, hardware stores, grocery stores, or (God forbid) restaurants, unless they are a licensed
In this nation of abundant strip malls, it should come as no surprise that quite a few of them look pretty drab, underinvested, and plagued with low occupancy. Why expect anything else? As I’ve noted countless times before, America grapples with a glut of retail-oriented real estate: a supply that accommodates the demand almost
Though my articles rarely reflect a hot-off-the-presses event, here’s another exception to that rule, which I feel compelled to publish now (instead of three months from now) because, I fear, waiting that long will cause its significance to fade from collective memory. The event to which I refer is obvious from the title: the demise
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
Hot on the heels of the previous article, in which I explored how an Iraqi bakery (temporarily) replaced an old Quiznos, this time I touch on internationalism with a much, much larger retail footprint—an entire mall. The mall in question is Security Square, a few miles to the west of Baltimore city limits, at a
As unpredictable weather and utilities challenges impede my ability to crank out articles quickly, I offer what might initially seem like a “throwaway”. It’s a reference to one of my favorite topics: not just a labelscar, but one in particular for an eatery I’ve featured way more often than its current national prevalence (or lack
The downtown of Wheeling, West Virginia is quiet on Christmas Day, as one might expect. Over the years, I’ve frequently passed through this battered but sturdy little city, wedged between the Ohio River and a hill that shares the city’s name. It has the architectural bones—and, thus, the appearance—of a city much larger than 27,000,
Life at the top can be lonely and bleak…even more if one lives that life on the upper level of a seemingly completely empty parking deck, even while the businesses below it are
Has anyone out there ever seen a big box store with an entryway like this? Following on the heels of my article about the Bozeman bank entrance, this one is comparatively small and
Fifteen years ago, when I first started writing articles for this blog, those little yellow or red “doormats” at crosswalks—you know, the ones with the evenly dispersed raised bumps—were still a relative novelty.
Several months ago, I did something I rarely do and took a hard line on a polarizing topic: allowing dogs (or other pets) into private businesses. I believed, and continue to believe, that
In this nation of abundant strip malls, it should come as no surprise that quite a few of them look pretty drab, underinvested, and plagued with low occupancy. Why expect anything else?
Though my articles rarely reflect a hot-off-the-presses event, here’s another exception to that rule, which I feel compelled to publish now (instead of three months from now) because, I fear, waiting that long
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
Hot on the heels of the previous article, in which I explored how an Iraqi bakery (temporarily) replaced an old Quiznos, this time I touch on internationalism with a much, much larger retail
As unpredictable weather and utilities challenges impede my ability to crank out articles quickly, I offer what might initially seem like a “throwaway”. It’s a reference to one of my favorite topics: not
The downtown of Wheeling, West Virginia is quiet on Christmas Day, as one might expect. Over the years, I’ve frequently passed through this battered but sturdy little city, wedged between the Ohio River