Thursday, July 02, 2009

Scene This Week In...

After grabbing a cup of coffee at the Lakeside coffee shop this morning I walked around the American City Building enjoying a breezy July morning. While it was far from the vibrant downtown envisioned in General Growth Properties redevelopment plan it still has a certain charm.

Standing in front of the mother bear and cubs sculpture, I recalled the observation of Columbia Town Center made by Yves Morard-Lacroix, a visiting French business executive on a similar beautiful day four years ago. When I told Yves that this was the “downtown” he looked at me and said, “but where are the people?”

Fours years later I think he’d ask the same question.

I also noticed the missing mailbox in front of the ACB was still missing. How long does it take to repair a mailbox?

Perhaps it will never be replaced. In the latest issue of The Week, I read that “the volume of U.S. mail plummeted 14.9 percent, thanks to both the recession and electronic communications. The U.S. Postal Service now stands to lose up to $12 billion this fiscal year.”

Driving down Mary Catherine Cochran’s new favorite road, I saw this billboard and it made me smile. It also got me thinking about just how few billboards there are in Howard County. With the notable exceptions of Route 40 and Route 1, you just don’t see that many of them around here.

I wonder if these slices of "Americana” will be on Preservation Howard County endangered sites next year.

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