Personally I see this as a better alternative to the Providence Place Mall in downtown Providence, RI. because this mall has integrated more shops and restaurants with street level retail space which increases pedestrian traffic outside. There is hope then that these people will want to leave this outdoor type mall area and explore the rest of the city. I know there are some people who venture outside of the Providence Place Mall but there are a lot more people who drive in, park in the garage and drive out two hours later without ever stepping foot downtown.

This being said this area does resemble in some ways Baltimore’s Inner Harbor which I visited. I loved it BUT it was also filled with shops and restaurants that I can get at home. Cities and places with things like the Inner Harbor need things that seperate them from the next development. At the Inner Harbor for example they have the Maryland Science Center, Baltimore Aquarium and the Maritime Museum. If places do not distinguish themselves with locally owned and operated shops and restaurants or attractions there will be no reason to visit them.

I would predict that within 10 years City Place with either be gutted and redesigned to better fit the upscale feel of the surrounding businesses, or it will be torn down to expand the “town center” feel of the Downtown complex.

It was also a shock to me that not only was much of
the original 1930’s art deco shopping center preserved
(at least the facades) but that they also managed to
restore and expand the Silver Theater, which is part
of that complex. It sat empty and boarded up for over
20 years. Most of the time an old single-screen movie
palace like that would have been turned into a church,
drugstore, or off-price clothing store long ago.
Ironically, since the entire area was blighted, the
overall decay actually helped prevent the theater from
being ruined or destroyed since no one wanted to open
anything around there. By the late 90’s, when plans
to redevelop the area were finally coming together,
the preservation and restoration of old theaters was
in vouge, and the AFI and other groups came together
to meticulously restore the place. If the
redevelopment of the area had happened any time before
the mid 90’s, the theater would almost certainly have
been razed.

There had been at least three abortive plans for
improving this area since the early 80’s, with nasty
zoning fights and county political wrangling keeping
things stagnant. Some of these plans were grandiose
and unrealistic, and I will take “Downtown Silver
Spring” any day over the plan that came just before
it. Around 1994 or so, there was a big push to wipe
out the entire area now occupied by this development
(except perhaps CIty Place, which had just opened) and
build some kind of Amusement Park/Retail mix. I think
it was the brainchild of the developers of the Mall of
America. They wanted it to be a super-regional draw,
attracting people from all around the Mid-Atlantic.
The thing was supposed to be massive and dense, and
there were a lot of protests immediately due to some
obvious issues, such as how tens of thousands of
additional cars were supposed to travel to and park at
this place, which has no nearby highway exits or roads
more than 3 lanes in each direction. If this had
happened, almost everything that had any historical
tie to the original downtown shopping district would
have been gone. In the end, the only building of any
real historic note to be lost was the Silver Spring
Armory. It had gone through a “renewal” to become a
community center in the early 80’s, but it never had
anything else around it to support it. When the
“Downtown SS” plans were finally coming together, the
county quietly arranged to have the Armory bulldozed
quickly before anyone could mount a “Save the Armory”
campaign. While it would have been cool to
incorporate it into the “town center” it probably
wouldn’t have worked turning it into retail unit(s) or
continuing it as a community center. It was on the
site of the current multi-level garage.

If anyone wants to see old photos of how this area
looked in the past, when visiting, there are a bunch
of old images and descriptive text in a montage set up
behind glass in a walkway near the Red Lobster.

It was also a shock to me that not only was much of the original 1930’s art deco shopping center preserved (at least the facades) but that they also managed to restore and expand the Silver Theater, which is part of that complex. It sat empty and boarded up for over 20 years. Most of the time an old single-screen movie palace like that would have been turned into a church, drugstore, or off-price clothing store long ago. Ironically, since the entire area was blighted, the overall decay actually helped prevent the theater from being ruined or destroyed since no one wanted to open anything around there. By the late 90’s, when plans to redevelop the area were finally coming together, the preservation and restoration of old theaters was in vouge, and the AFI and other groups came together to meticulously restore the place. If the redevelopment of the area had happened any time before the mid 90’s, the theater would almost certainly have been razed.

There had been at least three abortive plans for improving this area since the early 80’s, with nasty zoning fights and county political wrangling keeping things stagnant. Some of these plans were grandiose and unrealistic, and I will take “Downtown Silver Spring” any day over the plan that came just before it. Around 1994 or so, there was a big push to wipe out the entire area now occupied by this development (except perhaps CIty Place, which had just opened) and build some kind of Amusement Park/Retail mix. I think it was the brainchild of the developers of the Mall of America. They wanted it to be a super-regional draw, attracting people from all around the Mid-Atlantic. The thing was supposed to be massive and dense, and there were a lot of protests immediately due to some obvious issues, such as how tens of thousands of additional cars were supposed to travel to and park at this place, which has no nearby highway exits or roads more than 3 lanes in each direction. If this had happened, almost everything that had any historical tie to the original downtown shopping district would have been gone. In the end, the only building of any real historic note to be lost was the Silver Spring Armory. It had gone through a “renewal” to become a community center in the early 80’s, but it never had anything else around it to support it. When the “Downtown SS” plans were finally coming together, the county quietly arranged to have the Armory bulldozed quickly before anyone could mount a “Save the Armory” campaign. While it would have been cool to incorporate it into the “town center” it probably wouldn’t have worked turning it into retail unit(s) or continuing it as a community center. It was on the site of the current multi-level garage.

If anyone wants to see old photos of how this area looked in the past, when visiting, there are a bunch of old images and descriptive text in a montage set up behind glass in a walkway near the Red Lobster.

I grew up in a “real” village in northern NJ (Westfield) and can tell you that, when I grew up, it was very quaint and traditional…but it is now an outdoor shopping mall. In fact, it is strikingly similar now to Bethesda in terms of shops, restaurants, etc.

The poster who observed that you can’t change the way people shop is 100% right. Silver Spring, my hometown of Westfield, NYC…pretty much any city in the US…they’re increasingly reflections of a populace that favors chain retail to mom and pop shops. I live in Silver Spring (just outside downtown). Don’t criticize the architects of DTSS…criticize the buying preferences and tastes of your fellow citizens.

Matt

And really, Downtown Silver Spring is pretty successful at what it does. The July Saturday afternoon that I was there found the place teeming with activity, and the way it tied in with the rest of downtown was quite nice. I hope the effect continues to radiate outwards, because I like to see downtowns come back as much as I like to see malls come back.

To wax nostalgic about small locally owned businesses is nice, but it wouldn’t have made the old 1950s Silver Spring come back to life. You’ve got to do what works. Sure you can find a center in New York City that can survive on small businesses, but I can’t see that translating to anywhere else.

People vote with their feet and their pocket books and they decide what businesses will work with thier purchases.

One is by Irwin Cohen, the creator of Chelsea Market, a unique urban mall filled exclusively with locally-owned businesses.

http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/fea/20061010/202/1993