Just a small aside on the Safeway block today.
It occurred to me that the Safeway store in downtown Astoria has been gone for so long now that we should probably start calling it something else.
There was an attempt a couple of years ago to give the space it's own name but nothing inspiring popped up. Names like Heritage Square or Astoria People Park just didn't resonate.
With this year marking Astoria's bicentennial perhaps it's time to make another attempt.
Calling it the Safeway block is like getting directions from a local that start with" Take a left where Bob's gas station used to be..."
What would you like to see?
"Van Dusen Pond"....An interpretive exhibit commemorating, quite appropriately, where a huge chunk of our public money has been forceably dumped due to years of sandbagging to stall critical improvements to The City of Astoria's crumbling infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteVery symbolic and sadly, all coming to fruition at our 200th anniversary?
A sad legacy indeed.
Prehaps it hasn't been long enough yet. Consider the Alumex site. It was never built and that's what it was called up until last year. What about the Darigold building. How long has Darigold been gone? There are dozens of things here like the Armory that remain in the minds of the old-timers until they are totally redeveloped or repourposed. It's kind of charming when you think about it. It becomes the bones of what is to come next.
ReplyDeleteIt should be called, "Clatsop County's future." The black, empty bleak hole in the ground represents where the community is going since there is no industry, no family wage jobs and no economy of scale.
ReplyDeleteA look at downtown Astoria's collection of restaurants, "Antique" shops and empty store fronts tells the story quite well. Funny how the best prospect for an economic turn around to be offered to the community in decades is getting derailed by a small group of selfish retiree's who want to stop "ANY and ALL" prospects of a better economic future. I guess they figure they got theirs so the heck with anyone else.
How about "the hole" or maybe "Benoits hole"?
ReplyDeleteperfect site for a skate / hockey rink. c'mon magee you lost the dream already?
ReplyDeleteHow about "The Mrs. John Jacob Astor Hole"? I think since Mr. Astor is so remembered for that cement phallus on the hill, then perhaps the Feminists would be delighted to know there's a hole commemorating the efforts of Mrs. Astor?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the county commissioners would be interested in purchasing it? They could then hold their unauthorized, non official meetings below ground, out of sight. The Daily A_ _ could then save gas when reporting on these illegal meetings.
ReplyDelete"Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteperfect site for a skate / hockey rink. c'mon magee you lost the dream already?"
Truth is, it's a great idea to have a multi-use Community Center and major County activity draw right in the middle of Astoria for all area citizens to take advantge of and enjoy plus a revenue generator to boost the City of Astoria out of the "hole" of being a "Beggar Municipality".
See< even a smart-ass unwilling to stand-up publicly, under his/her own name can come up with good ideas.
How about the City give it to the Sheriff for a new jail? I doubt Bergin could do any more damage and it would free up a building for the County.
ReplyDeleteRun a contest to name it!
ReplyDeleteYour a good DJ Tom
it's a great idea to have a multi-use Community Center and major County activity draw right in the middle of Astoria
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not a good idea. With the limited parking compounded by increased traffic in the summer months it is a recipe for an over crowded mess.It's best purpose is being a parking lot. Period.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"it's a great idea to have a multi-use Community Center and major County activity draw right in the middle of Astoria
No, it's not a good idea. With the limited parking compounded by increased traffic in the summer months it is a recipe for an over crowded mess.It's best purpose is being a parking lot. Period."
Parking an issue?
Notice the big hole in the parking lot now?
Traffic problems?
A municipal parking lot under the facilty would not be a good idea as well?
Oh For God's Sake, McGee. For one this town doesnt need a "multi use community center" and even if it did this little town couldnt afford it.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDelete"Oh For God's Sake, McGee. For one this town doesnt need a "multi use community center" and even if it did this little town couldnt afford it."
And who would you be to say that astoria doesn't?
And how do you know we couldn't afford it till we pursue it?
Key word is "Multi-Use" of 20-plus thousand square feet of open space plus periperals.
You got a better idea for that space downtown?
Please, fill us in, I for one am willing to listen.
And yesterday, February 1, 2011, Astoria City Council voted to enlarge that big, seeping hole on that old Safeway property by paying somebody 30-plus thousand dollars to do so and then put a handrail around it.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I find that very amusing.
By the way, the suggested name for that Multi-Use Community Center at the old Safeway Block could be "Astoria Town Centre"
ReplyDeleteIf they ever do something with it then maybe it could be named something that fits its use.
ReplyDeleteUntil then it's "The Safeway Slab".
Tom is a good radio personality and a host asking some valuable questions of our communities.
(A DJ, the only disk he spins is that horrible Hawaiian music on Fridays, it really moves me . . . towards the on/off switch on my Radio.)
BC
You got a better idea for that space downtown?
ReplyDeleteYeah, sell it to a private development concern and get it back on the tax roles.
hi there, not on topic at all but Mr Jerry Flavel did you ever stay on Vancouver Island, BC at all?
ReplyDelete