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Anyone doing perhaps a bit of their holiday shopping on Westminster? There aren't tons of shops but several are fun and unique -- stuff you surely won't find at the PPM. I think Westminster is such a great model for Washington Street and perhaps a variant of it would work on side streets, as well.
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Well, yes. I am fond of perusing the stacks at Symposium Books. I also like to visit Craftland when I need to find an interesting gift for a friend.
Those who drive can park free in parts of DownCity this holiday season; details at this link. The area businesses also offer validated parking; details here. There's also great public transit access.
Weird. I walked down Westminster last night. It didn't quite look like that. Something is different but I just can't put my finger on it.
Weird. I walked down Westminster last night. It didn't quite look like that. Something is different but I just can't put my finger on it.
Why, what a coincidence, of sorts! I was at the skating rink last night doing some folllow-up shooting and, well, something was different there also. Can't put my finger on it but I had a similar sense. Huh.
Well, yes. I am fond of perusing the stacks at Symposium Books. I also like to visit Craftland when I need to find an interesting gift for a friend.
Those who drive can park free in parts of DownCity this holiday season; details at this link. The area businesses also offer validated parking; details here. There's also great public transit access.
Weird. I walked down Westminster last night. It didn't quite look like that. Something is different but I just can't put my finger on it.
I do make a trip there to support the locals every holiday season. I find the newly invented Westminster Street to be a visual joy as compared to my youth when most buildings had facades of plastic, aluminum and neon. The removal of these made the of the street architecture shine and for me appealing. There was a time when all bus routes between Broad Street and Atwells Ave went thru Westminister Street between Dorrance and Empire. The sounds of shoppers, starlings and the smell of diesel could place you on no other street other than Westminster. It was truly the shopping mecca of SE New England for years.
I do make a trip there to support the locals every holiday season. I find the newly invented Westminster Street to be a visual joy as compared to my youth when most buildings had facades of plastic, aluminum and neon. The removal of these made the of the street architecture shine and for me appealing. There was a time when all bus routes between Broad Street and Atwells Ave went thru Westminister Street between Dorrance and Empire. The sounds of shoppers, starlings and the smell of diesel could place you on no other street other than Westminster. It was truly the shopping mecca of SE New England for years.
Ah Ha! Another Rhode Islander who struggles with the proper name -- it's Westminster, not Westminister! Of course, everyone from Rhody knows that. I think friends, frenemies, and... especially enemies, do it to anger me, hoping I'll "take a heart attack," another great RI expression.
That's fascinating. Loved the part about the starlings -- very nice touch.
But the street is not particularly wide, it's one parking lane and one travel lane. Were there less cars at that time? Did more people take buses? And with the big department stores taking up big fat parcels -- a couple of them from Westminster clear over to Washington, did Washington Street act as a relief valve for Westminster? Last, Holly posted a couple of years ago that there were two supermarkets downtown. Know anything about that? Where were they and who used them, as so few people historically have taken residence downtown? I would very much appreciate a history lesson, if you've the time at some point.
Ah Ha! Another Rhode Islander who struggles with the proper name -- it's Westminster, not Westminister! Of course, everyone from Rhody knows that. I think friends, frenemies, and... especially enemies, do it to anger me, hoping I'll "take a heart attack," another great RI expression.
That's fascinating. Loved the part about the starlings -- very nice touch.
But the street is not particularly wide, it's one parking lane and one travel lane. Were there less cars at that time? Did more people take buses? And with the big department stores taking up big fat parcels -- a couple of them from Westminster clear over to Washington, did Washington Street act as a relief valve for Westminster? Last, Holly posted a couple of years ago that there were two supermarkets downtown. Know anything about that? Where were they and who used them, as so few people historically have taken residence downtown? I would very much appreciate a history lesson, if you've the time at some point.
bus traffic was the dominant traffic on Westminster from about 3 pm to 6:30 pm. Auto traffic was as fast as the buses moved. Parking was not allowed on Westminster street. Lots and side streets had parking. Most shoppers until the early 60's took the bus. I am correcting myself here; Buses from Olneyville (Westminster and Broadway), Cranston Street, Dexter Street (no longer in service) and Atwells Ave came into the city on Fountain and left the city on Washington Street, both one ways. Buses from Union Ave, Broad and Elmwood came down Weybosset onto Dorrance and up Westminster St to leave the city. There was no major exchange of bus routes at KP until the late 70's. Both Broad and Elmwood ran every 8 minutes during the day and as often as every 3-4 minutes between 3-6:30 pm. So yes, buses were highly used until the suburban flight out of the city both in middle class and retail.
Westminster Street also had its short-lived period where it was a pedestrian only mall with no vehicle traffic (Westminster Mall). It was similar to Church Street in Burlington, VT. As the suburban indoor shopping malls opened, the Westminster Street stores started to close. The street became desolate with neither foot or vehicle traffic. It was then decided to return it back to a street with traffic. If my memory serves me right, it was a pedestrian mall format from the 60's to the 80's.
Westminster Street also had its short-lived period where it was a pedestrian only mall with no vehicle traffic (Westminster Mall). It was similar to Church Street in Burlington, VT. As the suburban indoor shopping malls opened, the Westminster Street stores started to close. The street became desolate with neither foot or vehicle traffic. It was then decided to return it back to a street with traffic. If my memory serves me right, it was a pedestrian mall format from the 60's to the 80's.
Pedestrian malls were a nationwide fad during that time, and the great majority of them failed just like Westminster did. I still remember that when I moved to Chicago in the '90s, the big news story was the reopening of State Street to traffic. More recently, I happened to be visiting Las Cruces, New Mexico, which was in the process of converting its downtown pedestrian mall back into a through street. It's a shame, because when pedestrian malls work, they really work, but for whatever reason they typically haven't like they do in Europe.
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Another Rhode Islander who struggles with the proper name -- it's Westminster, not Westminister! Of course, everyone from Rhody knows that. I think friends, frenemies, and... especially enemies, do it to anger me, hoping I'll "take a heart attack," another great RI expression.
