Downtown

Walking through the mall in Strongsville to meet a Cleveland friend this week, I was humming a song learned in my preteen years, released by singer Petula Clark in 1964. “. . . so go downtown, things’ll be great when you’re downtown.”

Composer Tony Hatch was inspired to write the tune and the words when, he explained, “I wandered down to Broadway and Times Square [in New York City] and, naively, I thought I was downtown. . . I loved the whole atmosphere there and the [music] came to me very, very quickly.”

New Yorkers know that Times Square really isn’t downtown, but it made for a great song, one of the first I owned on a 45 record. More than fifty years later, I still can sing most of the words, especially the do-so of the title phrase. Music sticks with us, often more deeply than we know.

Was I subconsciously humming this in the mall, yearning instead for the eclectic charm of a true downtown? Over the course of my lifetime, the malls of America have attempted to replace the downtowns of our cities, both large and small. For many years, our downtowns crumbled, even as the unrealized promise of Urban Renewal claimed to be their salvation. While the mall in Strongsville appears to be flourishing, the curse some of the early malls bestowed on Main Street USA has now overtaken their own corridors, and like the Canton Centre Mall, Akron’s Rolling Acres Mall, and the Summit Park Mall of my childhood, they are gasping for life – or beyond resurrection.

Yet little by little, the downtowns of our communities, both large and small, are finding new life through people who are seeking out an alternative to the uniformity of big box stores and malls. It’s happening in Wooster and Medina, Ohio, where the streets surrounding the town squares offer a variety of shopping choices, food options, and entertainment possibilities. It’s happening in downtown Mansfield, as the music of the Carousel wafts on the breeze, and folks of all ages check out what’s happening in town. In Loudonville, some wonderfully restored buildings offer an alternative to the outdoor fun of the Mohican area, the old-fashioned ice cream parlor my favorite. A similar rebirth has been quietly happening in downtown Ashland, where nearly all the storefronts are filled, ready for Ashlanders (and visitors) to seek out the treasures of Main Street and its side streets (no surprise I’m partial to the new book store at 2^nd and Orange Streets).

It’s obvious there has been an ebb and flow to the life cycles of our downtowns. In Ashland, Gilbert’s Furniture Store stood as the venerable anchor to retail business in the downtown for many years. When it closed its doors shortly after we immigrated to Ashland in 2006, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth by its faithful furniture customers. Those in the downtown business arena worried that its closure was a sign they should pull in their awnings and leave town as well. For those wondering whatever might be done with the building, the wheels of progress have turned slowly, but with the upcoming opening of the Uniontown Brewing Company and the other small businesses already opened, the Gilbert’s building will have successfully claimed a new lease on life.

It’s taken a lot of hard work, a strong dose of perseverance, and a vision of what Medina, Wooster, Mansfield, Loudonville, and Ashland could be, even if that identity didn’t mean a return to their glory days. Local merchants have stayed even when financially strapped because they’re committed to our downtowns. Main Street organizations and Chambers of Commerce have provided invaluable support. And new investors and entrepreneurs have taken a risk as they recognize how it’s possible to earn a living in a way that builds community, not mall monotony and internet isolation.

Petula Clark wasn’t singing directly about the downtowns of mid-Ohio in 2017 when she crooned, “Downtown, everything’s waiting for you,” but I’m excited for what awaits us in Ashland and our mid-Ohio sister cities when we take the time “to go Downtown.” Hope to run into you soon.