Planning Pool

Amity Gardens Shopping Center, 2007 via Groceteria

Amity Gardens Shopping Center was a popular shopping center in Charlotte, NC, during the 1950s. Now, the blighted strip mall is slated to be bulldozed and replaced with a Walmart with the hopes of revitalizing the area.

According to Groceteria:
The Winn-Dixie at Charlotte’s Amity Gardens Shopping Center opened in November of 1958, right in the middle of the most thriving retail strip in the city. The center also included Woolworth’s and a Barclay Cafeteria. By 1961, it also included Charlotte’s first (and only) branch of Clark’s, an early “supercenter” with both general merchandise and groceries.

Mike’s post about silver linings to bad economic times struck a chord in my mind.  One upside, as he pointed out, can be necessary structural change. A second kind of silver lining might be the preservation of buildings or land uses that in good times would be uneconomical.  These could be valuable for cultural, community or heritage reasons.

Maybe I am just feeling philosophical because I spent the evening attending St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Gastown. This well loved heritage district in Vancouver has plenty of character, and is home to architecture dating mostly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This makes it one of the oldest neighbourhoods in an absurdly young city.

Gastown photo by Sea Turtle

From the 1930s to the 1960s, … Continue Reading