Guess you're one of the many too young to remember a time before malls and Amazon. Long ago, we had these establishments called stores that had individual locations and addresses on named streets, distinct personalities, and honorable histories. They occupied vibrant places called downtown where after shopping neighbors gathered in places like Taylor's to buy something to read, meet friends, and linger over a coffee. I never lived there, but would guess that's what planners remembered when they built Charleston's downtown mall. Darned shame what became of it from the looks of that photo. The failure of small-city downtown culture may be where the decline of America began.
Guess you're one of the many too young to remember a time before malls and Amazon. Long ago, we had these establishments called stores that had individual locations and addresses on named streets, distinct personalities, and honorable histories. They occupied vibrant places called downtown where after shopping neighbors gathered in places like Taylor's to buy something to read, meet friends, and linger over a coffee. I never lived there, but would guess that's what planners remembered when they built Charleston's downtown mall. Darned shame what became of it from the looks of that photo. The failure of small-city downtown culture may be where the decline of America began.