In Greensboro

Went up to Greensboro today to see my parents, rummage through assorted Christmas decorations, grab old photos for a holiday project I’m working on, and have dinner with my friend Jeff who I disturbingly hadn’t seen in more than a year. It was a good day, except when my mom got all freaked out thinking she’d lost her box of old and sentimentally important ornaments…

And boy, did I have fun at the grand opening of the new Staples this morning. There were tons of freebies and dirt cheap stuff and I also got my mom’s Christmas present at a 40% discount…

I rarely ever heard about grand openings in San Francisco, and even if I did hear about them, they were usually so mobbed that non-masochists like myself wouldn’t bother attending. Here, on the other hand, I’ve been to three in the past week (a Lowes Foods and a Compare Supermarket in addition to the aforementioned Staples) and it’s been pretty danged cool…

I think I’m becoming a 1950s housewife, and it both frightens and excites me. When I start contemplating a career in Tupperware, I hope someone will please have the presence of mind to kill me…

Only a week until I get my hubby back, a concept much more exciting than Tupperware…

Adaptive Reuse

Here’s a view you can’t really see anymore. They’re tearing down most of the Ambassador Hotel in LA. The school district plans to build a new 4000-student high school which will integrate some parts of the old hotel, but not all. The famed Coconut Grove nightclub will be restored and will serve as the school’s auditorium, while the old coffee shop will be a teacher’s lounge, but most of the structure will be removed and replaced with new construction designed to “suggest” the appearance of the former occupant…

There was something of an uproar over the demolition of the Ambassador. Architecture aside, it was also the site of Robert Kennedy’s assassination in 1968. It’s no secret that yer humble host is a fan of old buildings, but in reality, what could they have done with this one? A big hotel building of this sort isn’t useful as much other than a big hotel building, and if a hotel were really essential at this spot, the Ambassador would probably still be one…

I love this building and I’m really sorry to see it go, much like I was sad to see Carolina Circle Mall in Greensboro go. But there’s almost no realistic way to adapt massive structures like these once they’ve outlived their original puropse. And even if there were a way (usually involving an astronomical public subsidy), the buildings would have to be so significantly altered that there would be little if any historical context left anyway…

I have a similar problem with the “restoration” of Charlotte’s Carolina Theatre. The auditorium has been gutted, the lobby and all surrounding structures have been demolished, and frankly, I question whether there’s enough left there to make it worth the investment to “save”, particularly when that investment is financed through tax dollars…

It’s much more prudent to talk about “adaptive reuse” when it involves buildings that can actually BE adapted for some useful and in-demand purpose. That’s one of the reasons I’m a big fan of Jane Jacobs stern rebuke of the “make no small plans” method of urban planning, which led to so many urban renewal suberblock monstrosities, most of which will also be impossible to adapt or re-use in the coming years…

Again, adaptive reuse is a great thing in appropriate circumstances and when there’s a demand and realistic use for the sapce. Spending a fortune in public money to build something inapproriate from scratch inside the carcass of a big old building reminds me of stuffing and freeze-drying a dead pet and plopping him down by the fireplace. It’s just a little bit creepy…

Malls and McRibs

I made my annual trek to the mall today. I hate malls, which is why I generally only visit them as needed around ~~Christmas~~ ~~the holidays~~ December. But as malls go, Carolina Place isn’t a bad one. It’s more mid-market, not all pretentious and foofy like Southpark. And people aren’t getting shot there on a weekly basis like at Eastland…

I got some of my shopping done, but the best find of the day was that the McDonald’s inside the mall has its McRib combo for about thirty cents less than any of the freestanding locations around town…

Body Mod

I’m sorry if it detracts from your “goth cred”, baby, but if it’s any consolation, that whole hardcore tattoo and piercing thing is rather a turn-off for me, so at least I’m happy about your decision, even if no one else is…

Not, mind you, that I could ever find you to be a turn-off…

7 December

A date which will live in infamy:

Twenty years ago this week, I was contemplating my first move to Charlotte, not realizing that it would be delayed by several months and would aldo involve a four month detour in Myrtle Beach…
Eighteen years ago today, I had a runaway skate rat living under my roof…
Six years ago today, I was excited about Cinderelmo…
Five years ago this week, Duncan and Rick were visiting, and I did naughty things with two boys I picked up at the Powerhouse…
Four years ago today, I was suffering through a prolonged absence from my boy, just like I am now, and I was expecting to see my mom over the weekend, just like I am now…
A year ago today, it became semi-official that we were moving to Charlotte soon. And some people didn’t believe it…