Is it just me?

I Feel Lucky

For all of my life, except for 5 years, I have lived in or near Lafayette/West Lafayette. I took many things about my community for granted. The appearance did not change much through the first twenty years of my life. In 1973 a large enclosed shopping mall was built at the south edge of town. New housing additions were being built in both towns. Those additions were all being built at the far edges away from the centers of town.

At first the changes where not noticeable. In most ways the town continued to have the same feel and look. When the Mall opened it took J.C.Penny from a downtown location. It also took Sears from near downtown. By the mid 70's many of our old downtown buildings were beginning to look tired and worn, a lot of them were a hundred years or older. Gradually other businesses began closing, many of them having been long time downtown businesses. Loebs Department store which had been a downtown institution for almost a century closed. Reifers Furniture, another long time downtown business closed. The whole downtown from Ferry street to Main Street to Columbia Street and South Street was beginning to look tired, sad, and worn out. Downtown was well past its prime.

So what makes me feel lucky? It sounds like a sad story, and it would be a sad story had it ended in 1990 after 20, and more years of decline. Instead, like a human who beats cancer, or someone who gets a heart transplant...the downtown began to grow healthier following a series of changes and it continues to improve in health every year.

A large part of the credit for downtown's comeback goes to the Lafayette Railroad Relocation project. Removing the trains that bisected town was a huge benefit for both traffic and safety through downtown and into West Lafayette. The first railroad was relocated in 1994, ending 142 years of train traffic down the middle of 14 blocks of Fifth St. The second Railroad was relocated in 2001. It was a project that had taken about 30 years from developing and talking about the idea through funding and construction. Two new bridges were built, the old Main Street bridge was turned into a pedestrian bridge between Lafayette and sister city West Lafayette. A third bridge also saw improvements also. Two underpasses were installed under the new corridor at Wabash Avenue and North 9th. and finally the old brick railroad depot was moved to a new plaza that anchors the west end of Main street next to the new corridor which now runs next to the Wabash.

Almost immediately you started to see that change was happening. Empty store fronts were no longer empty. Outdoor art appeared in many locations around downtown. New buildings, including nice condos were added along 2nd street and along Main street filling up space that had become parking lots 50 years ago. People were living downtown again. Today on a walk along Main street from 11th down to 2nd street you see almost no empty buildings.

Perhaps one of the most positive results of all this new excitement about downtown is that a lot of interest has been created in support of historic preservation. Much of that excitement has been created by one talented and dedicated young man who has a passion for preservation. Because of that new interest, many of the old buildings have had facelifts that not only preserves them but does so in a manner that is sensitive to the style of the buildings.

One of the fun changers downtown that I love is the appearance of what I call "alley art" which are murals painted on available wall space by some very talented young artists. Each mural is different but they could be described as enchanting, dazzling, intriguing, ironic, or silly but every one of them is fun to look at and they add both color and excitement to our downtown. Once again downtown a fun place to go shopping, to eat out, or to simply walk along and enjoy the views. As I said, I feel lucky to live in a town that was able to pull itself up by the bootstraps, even it it has taken the better part of 50 years. I'm excited to see what's next.