* Morse Avenue... Before Liquor Stores, Thrift Shops & Gangs

The architectural piece pictured above wasn't found in an antique store, rather in a dumpster on Morse Avenue. Amidst the plaster and rubble of what was once Morse Pharmacy, lie pieces of what was obviously an architectural gem in the community.

I grew up in the south and never had the priviledge of seeing this community in it's hayday. I truly wish I could say I witnessed Morse Avenue when it was a bustling commercial area. But bits and bobs like this, now destined for a landfill, tell the tale of what Morse Avenue used to be before liquor stores, thrift shops and gangs.

Without realizing what was behind the facade of the Morse pharmacy, I was against the teardown of the building. First because changing zoning laws in exchange for affordable housing units is playing into the developers hands. Second, because I object to developers speaking to the viability of Morse avenue's rebirth as a thriving commercial district. Third, because I fail to understand why anyone would pay 300,000 for a condo that overlooked a Family Dollar and the Ganster Disciple drug cartel doing business. Fourth, because the retail space provided will also go for a higher lease and there are far to many vacancies on Morse as it is. Seeing what the building really was makes me angry. To what extent are we going to allow our alderman to sell out the neighborhood before we say enough is enough!

I grew up in a small South Carolina town with a population of 60,00 people when I moved. (that was a county, not city figure) I have vague memories of what our downtown looked like when I was very young. There was a movie theater, (where I saw The Sound of Music), lovely womens and mens clothing shops, furniture stores and a three floor department store. By the time I was a teenager, malls had overtaken main street as the place to be. Stores on Main street were rented to dollar stores, thrift stores and cheap clothing chains. Facades were erected to update the buildings and to reduce expenses incurred by regular tuck pointing and power washing. During the evening, the street was a drag area where any horny teen could pick up a willing girl. Prostitutes roamed constantly and crime was out of control.

Finally, the City of Greenville said enough! They decided to revitalize the area as a bustling commercial area once more. They pressed, but also finacially assisted building owners, into restoring their buildings to their original splendor. They made it possible for independant businesses and start ups to open. They actively sought for established businesses who would be interested in space. They sponsored art festivals and music festivals to increase foot traffic. It took a few years, but now when you go downtown it is thriving once more. There are more restaurants than you could sample in a year, galleries, fine antique stores, a performing arts center that is state of the art, coffee shops, clothiers, specialty shops. Everytime I go home, I take a day to walk down main street and stroll the shops.

Point is, they never devalued the area as a potential retail corridor, rather they embraced it while adding upstairs condos to what used to be upstairs storage place. They embraced the character of the existing structures and revitalized them instead of tearing them down. They made sure they were making the area a viable space for new business They actively sought for business owners who would be interested in opening in the area. In the time the Gateway center has been open, they took a flagging, crime ridden downtown area and reformed it into a thriving city center.

It is time that we demand that our city officials take stock and value our commercial corridors instead of allowing developers to have a say in the future or the community. Although they control the purse strings, we have a say in their political future.

After all, they should be representing us.

Margot