What About Main Street, USA?

A thanksgiving visit home to Tonawanda, New York brought a nostalgic trip down Main Street for my sister and me. Except for the absence of the Twin-Ton store, the main street looks about the same as it did when I left home for college 40 years ago. Parson’s drug store is now a Laundromat, but the American Legion still anchors the south end of the two-block downtown, and the buildings on the east side of the street haven’t changed since I was a kid.

That’s rather surprising, since in the 1960’s, urban renewal was all the rage in that community, primarily defined by the demolition of buildings.  At that time, the Salvation Army operated its church and community center in a building on Main Street, and had to scramble to find another location when their site was targeted for urban renewal. I’m not sure why, but that planned demolition never occurred, and the building and its neighbors are still standing.

I found an excerpt from the editorial page of the Tonawanda News, written in 1963. “While the urban renewal program holds tremendous promise, the extent of its success can't be predicted accurately now. But one thing can't be denied: It has led Tonawanda into some practical planning for the future, and this is certain to produce benefits.” Looking at the decrease in population and the economic challenges that city has faced in the intervening years, the tremendous promise has struggled to be fulfilled.

Recent travels across the Lincoln Highway reveal similar stories in many Ohio cities and towns. Massillon has a changing landscape with the addition of the new Shearers headquarters, with the Massillon Museum and historic Lincoln Theater welcoming many people to the downtown center. Our former home of Canton has little retail left in its downtown streets, but has reinvented itself with the First Lady’s Museum and the Classic Car Museum, as well as a number of restaurants, galleries and the ever-popular First Friday events. Further to the east, the small towns of Minerva and Lisbon looked inviting, and I may just plan a day this spring to visit with the lovely Madelyn Simone.

The city of East Liverpool was our final destination, as Larry and I did some interim work there for the Salvation Army. It’s the hometown of some amazing people, including football’s Lou Holtz, but downtown East Liverpool has fallen on especially hard times. Signs of its grand architecture and prosperous history are still visible, but its empty storefronts are evidence that it is only a ghost of its former self.    

So what about Ashland? Our family responded to the open invitation from Ashland Mainstreet to talk about what our downtown could look like in the future. I’ve seen pictures of downtown Ashland in its heyday, and know there are many who look on days gone by with a yearning for a return to a thriving downtown. It is also easy to look at neighboring Wooster and Medina with a tinge of envy, wishing we could be more like them. But we are Ashland, with our own heritage and our own vision for the future. As Popeye declares – “I am what I am.”  

As the work group discovered that night, we’ve got lots of strengths as well as some clear challenges. Fortunately, today’s world of urban planning doesn’t start the discussion with a bulldozer – instead, it looks to strengthen and preserve, to build on successes and dream of what could be. There’s no one answer, and no magic pill, but over the next few months, Ashlanders of all ages and interests can join in the discussion of what our downtown can be in the future.  I’m chiming in on live music, a few eateries, a bakery that you can smell from a block away, a comfy bookstore, and (thanks to Amy D.) maybe even a Shawshank Redemption-themed restaurant in the Huntington building featuring mouth-watering desserts (that’s my part of the idea)  – “Andy’s Sweet Revenge.” Ya gotta dream!