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

[http://users.livejournal.com/_earthshine_/]

I'd love to study not only the comparison between Ann Arbor and comparable scenes, but also just the overall history. How, for example, has the number of music venues changed over the years? What were the histories behind each -- rise, fall, etc.? I sometimes think i could write a whole book on it, or as you said, it'd make a great column in a weekly or monthly paper. But also as you said, who has the time?

Wow... i never knew there was a Denny's where CEW is now. Hilarious! That may have been before my time. I do miss places like the Ann Arbor Theatre very much, tho, speaking of spots near there. I also bemoan the dirth of late-night eats, which you'd think would be a major thing in a town like this -- thankfully, there are still some decent options out there much of the time.

...the local music scene, like the detroit film and music scenes next door, is largely unsupported.

Absolutely. I know that, in general, indy music isn't widely supported, but there are many things about Ann Arbor that make one thing that the scene would be "above-average" here... not average or below-average.

More than once i've considered getting involved in initiatives and/or politics about this (and/or starting my own). I'll definitely keep Ron in mind. Sadly, my own life has changed a lot since my days of greater involvement in the music scene, and i don't have much time to devote to such ideas anymore.

Thanks for posting this, and for the discussion! More people need to know and talk about this...

[chowbok.livejournal.com]

Ha, yeah, that Denny's inherited a liquor license from the previous tenant (The Pan Tree). It may have been the only Denny's in the country that served alcohol. You could get a Grand Slam and a marguerita. Too bad they were long gone by the time I was 21...

[http://users.livejournal.com/_earthshine_/]

WOW! Now that's a piece of history! Amazing...

[judyyu.livejournal.com]

What about the Denny's on Washtenaw?

[chowbok.livejournal.com]

What about it? It has a liquor license?