While I am organizing and you tubing my video clips of the parade on Douglas street on Friday, I decided to pop in and post some other thoughts on what I noticed this past week.
First of all, while I was on vacation here in town, I wanted to eat at Akina’s…they were closed down. I imagined myself wandering the streets of downtown Elgin but there was nothing to see. My daughter and I went to Bangkok House for lunch and it was delicious (review to come), then we saw a gift shop across the street (it wouldn’t be fair for me to mention the name after I make this comment)….and it was almost empty. It was filled with stuff you can get anywhere but for a much higher price and “filled with stuff” is an understatement because we walked into the middle of the store and turned 380 degrees and saw all there was to see……and left. There was nothing staged, no interesting vignettes, no little cubbys to explore. In short, it was boring and there was nothing in it I could bring myself to even force myself to buy to try to support the fledgling business. It was pretty sad.
Thursday I went to the farmer’s maket…..there was hardly anything there. I managed to walk the entire place, make a purchase and was out of there in 10 minutes. A disappointment to say the least.
The 4th of July parade was fantastic. I really enjoyed myself. I read somewhere that there would be a band at City Hall and that there were events downtown and all downtown shops would be open and offering specials. OK….great. “This will be our hang around in Elgin day” , I told my husband.
I was a little surprised that there were not more people listening to that band. We went to lunch at Al’s Cafe and although we intended to have a Burns Malt, we were too full from our sandwich and fries (review coming on Al’s…great place)…so we decided we’d eat light on Saturday and return Saturday evening for the malt.
After lunch at Al’s we went walking around downtown…..but there was nothing there. There really aren’t any interesting old shops….giftie shops and antique shops and fun little places to find “gotta have-em” little things. Downtown was D.E.A.D!!!!!!!! Dead as a doornail. We drove past City Hall and by 2PM all festivities were over and the few people left were packing up to go home.
We did not go to the Elgin fireworks. It is just too hard to get in and out of there and there is no parking within a mile of the place unless you go way early. We went to Sleepy Hollow instead. So…I will make only one comment about Elgins fireworks program.
The FoxFireFest proved that a supreme fireworks show could be held at Festival Park. If any of you were unable to go to the last FoxFireFest….it was spectacular. Especially the fireworks. With all the parking garages in this city, why can’t the fireworks be held at Festival Park? Imagine….4th of July’s in the future. The wonderful parade on Douglas stopping at City Hall where there is entertainment.
Perhaps the streets of downtown could be given over to artists…..artists selling their wares and street performers. Open restaurants could supply lunch and do some good business. Walk your way through the arts and crafts and street performers…eat lunch at a great restaurant…stop for an afternoon coffee at Ravenheart then head to Festival park for more entertainment culminating in awesome fireworks. Afterward, one could stop in the Elgin Public House or Martini’s or Prairie Rock for some adult entertainment. Families could stop at Al’s for icecream then go home and tuck the little ones into bed.
The above is just a dream scenerio….I wear rose colored glasses so it’s easy for me to envision.
Last night (Saturday) we were disappointed in another down town excursion gone bad. Since Al’s did such a good job serving us lunch on Friday, we decided to eat a light, early dinner and go for that Burns Malt on Saturday night. The website said Al’s closes at 9PM on Saturday….PERFECT. NOT!!!!
We got there a few minutes after 8PM to find them closing down and no longer serving. The bus boy who turned us away said that business was slow so they were closing early. There was a huge table full of people eating outside. Through the windows we saw a few patrons inside. We came and another couple were just walking up to find them closed early as we drove away. While not a “packed house” they were doing business and now what to I think for the future. If I want ice cream at 8PM on a Friday or Saturday night, I can’t count on Al’s to be open when they say they will be.
I don’t know but for a city that needs all the help it can get right now…..it just is NOT HAPPENING IN ELGIN.
This has to be turned around folks.
This is just an idea I’m throwing out……perhaps those in charge of such things could sponsor Saturday evening/night street fairs. Give the sidewalks and nooks and crannies to crafters and artisans (for free)….imagine little art galleries and crafty things to browse while a guy with a sax plays over in a corner with his “tip box”out….or young people drum on buckets for tips. Imagine these being set up hodge podge, helter skelter all up and down Spring, Douglas and Grove and in that little court off of Dupage between Spring and Douglas.
Imagine people wandering here and there….browsing….listening to street performers….eating at the restaurants…..having a drink or a coffee.
Imagine this being heavily advertised outside of Elgin. Imagine this happening EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND.
Imagine Elgin becoming popular for Saturday night…..look at East Dundee….heck it’s all happening on Saturday Night in East Dundee….but Elgin…instead of being a Bar Hop scene…would become an art scene….arts and party….music and culture….Maybe it could all culminate in a street dance at Festival Park. It could be family freindly too.
Imagine, because people are coming in from all over to experience the street fairs….that business start opening up…..little artisan shops…little gift shops.
Imagine…that those condos start to fill up with young professionals ready to stay in town instead of hitting the trains and heading downtown. Imagine a string of art galleries and small theaters opening up.
The possibilities are exciting but before anyone is going to invest in Elgin…..there has to be something there to draw people.
Offering free space to artisans is a cheap way to do it. All it would take is some advertising dollars (not a huge amount either…strategically placed news paper and cable TV ads….press releases…..web sites….and a little bit of extra law enforcement to be on hand. I’ll bet a whole lot could be coordinated by volunteers.
Anyone out there listening???? If something doesn’t start happening here…we might as well change Elgin’s slogan to “IT TRIED TO HAPPEN HERE”.
Filed under: Downtown Renovation, Festivals
Great post, Paula.
I think moving the fireworks downtown is definitely worth considering if it’s logistically possible. And I love the idea of busking and street vendors, etc.
Hopefully ArtSpace will be a catalyst for that vision…
I agree. I live within walking distance to downtown and would LOVE to support local downtown businesses – if there was anything worth supporting! I understand that any business owners take a risk being among the first to move into a revitalizing downtown, and it’s tough to justify moving in – and having lots of convenient hours – if there’s not enough traffic to justify it. It’s easy for me to say, “If you build it, they will come,” when it’s not my capital on the line. But more festivals might be the right vehicle to get people into downtown to discover everything there. Plus, if potential business owners knew that every weekend between May and October there was guaranteed foot traffic, they might be more willing to take a chance.
And plus, for my own selfish reasons – having fireworks downtown (like for FoxFireFest) is AWESOME. It’s right on the bike path – encourage family biking. Heck, on Independence Day or other festivals, light the whole bike path a mile north and south, encourage families to bike or walk, and voila – your parking problem is dissipated.
I too live very close to downtown. I find that local businesses are not open when I want them to be. Most of the restaurants downtown are closed on Sunday. I am never able to make it to the farmers market because it is only during the day on Thursday.
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