Changes in the city of trees.

[netmouse]

In a response to Mrissa from an earlier thread I go on a bit about ways that Ann Arbor has changed that makes it less fun these days for me to show people around town. I grew up here, and find it much less the comfortable, casual, ideosynchratic and hippy college town it was when I was a kid. Borders has changed from a deep and interestingly unique store to a chain clone. I didn't even go into how the Art Fair has gotten less artsy and fun and more commercial. Even Zingerman's sandwiches are not as good as they once were, since they shrunk them a few years back to keep competitive in the face of Amers and other sandwich cafes.

Would you agree that Ann Arbor is changing for the worse?

What changes do you like? (having Trader Joe's and Whole Foods come in could be counted as positives, for instance).

What do you miss?

Comments

[chowbok.livejournal.com]

I moved out of Ann Arbor after Drake's closed; there seemed to be no point in staying after that. That's the big one. I do kinda miss Mickey Rat's, Jason's Ice Cream, the Stage Door, Maneka's (sp?), Kresge's, and all the campus film groups (when I was a kid, there would be 5 or 6 great revival films playing every night—if anyone's curious about this, they should go down to the public library and check out back issues of Cinema Guide, Current's old name).

Things I still like about Ann Arbor when I come back to visit: Washtenaw Dairy, Krazy Jim's, Frank's Restaurant, Old Town, Property Disposition, and the music from the clock tower.

[shekkara.livejournal.com]

Drake's. (sigh) I always asked for extra sugar in my limeagd because they made it so sour, and sometimes I'd get it. And grilled split cinnamon rolls. Mmmm... And the cute white bread sandwiches named after the Big Ten schools.