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Volume 115, Number 127 - Tuesday, February 23, 1999
Moving beyond the memories
by John Friedlander
"So how long have you lived here, John? And why are you writing all those nice things about Main Street? Do you have any idea how good it used to be? Do the words "Burger King" mean anything to you?"
The implication of this conversation was, of course, that today's Main Street is a pale shadow of its former self. That the Main Street of the '50s rocked, and that today's Main Street, well, doesn't. That I had missed the best days, and that the current incarnation is bland and lifeless.
I've been here since 1980. I remember seeing the plume of smoke from the Master Supply fire from where I lived in the North End, and walking down to watch the blaze with my first son. I remember long before the Buttonwood Tree added its grace to the first floor of the Arriwani Hotel -- I mean Liberty Commons. I remember when Waldbaum's grocery was in Metro Square, before Stop & Shop came to town. I remember when Thai Gardens started in Cromwell, and how thrilled I was when it came to Main Street. I remember when O'Rourkes was open all night long. I remember La Boca when it was open. I remember Sears.
I don't remember any of Middletown's three movie theaters open. I don't remember ever seeing big crowds on Main Street other than during the Sidewalk Sale. I certainly don't remember when there was a streetcar running the length of Main Street. So perhaps I don't remember the "best" days.
But I've seen Main Street low, and I can see it coming back, despite problems like the lengthy vacancy of the former Waldbaum's -- now mercifully over -- and the design shortcomings of Metro Square and Riverview Center. I can see that foot traffic is lighter than it ought to be, which is why you'll read more in this space about why it's important to take a hard line with car traffic on Main Street.
I've also seen that Main Streets in lots of other towns have gone the way of the dinosaur, and that, despite having had better days, Middletown's Main Street hasn't. Faced with the inexorable pressure from enclosed malls and massive discount marts stocked with more unconscionably cheap foreign-made schlock than anyone should have an appetite for, once vital Main Streets all over America have become boarded-up ghost towns inhabited by feral cats and faded memories. If Middletown had been malled, mauled and highwayed like Meriden has been, I'd be singing a different tune.
So when our downtown continues to attract new businesses, new restaurants like the Costa Del Sol coming soon to the new Police Station, and new people like Economic Development Specialist Rick Kearney, I have to cheer. When the prediction is that the 2000 Census will show Middletown's population has grown since 1990, I figure we're doing many things right.
It may be painful to look back at the Middletown we've lost and pine for the days when it was hard to find an open inch of sidewalk to stand on. Memories of seeing movies in the Capitol Theater may bring back the glories of years passed that the present smoke-filled bottle shop does nothing to enhance. Figuring out what we had then that will serve us well now is an important thing to do.
But I'm not much of a sentimentalist. Today's Middletown lives in the now, and is headed for the future. We need to value the past for what it can teach us, but we must also plan for tomorrow.
The fact is, Main Street is better now than it was two years ago, and it seems to be gaining momentum every day. That is why I'm cheering.
Instead of bemoaning the loss of the bustling Middletown of yore, we should focus on continuing to build a strong Main Street that will keep Middletown strong and unique in the future.
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