This is the main street of Lewes, Delaware. It's about three blocks of shops, restaurants, small bars and my friend Amy's bakery and coffee roastery.
That's the Rose and Crown across the way, there in the Walsh Building. It's modeled after a traditional English pub. It reflects our ties with Lewes, in England (our sister city, I think).
Second Street represents that small-town, mixed-use ideal that planners are trying to regain. Those are apartments and offices upstairs from the restaurants and retail. It is possible to live on this street and work here, eat here, and get a cafe mocha too.
I had the pleasure of living in a small apartment above a store down at the other end of the street in the year before Karen and I got married. When we maried, we moved into an apartment above a store the next street over.
I do sometimes regret that my State job, in Dover, keeps me from spending my days here. When Cafe Azafran installs their WiFi system, I may try to establish a Lewes branch of the State Planning Office.
Just a thought.....
2 comments:
The place I grew up is like that. The whole main drag is all these little, mostly privately owned (save for banks and the like), shops with apartments above. Everything from candy to sporting goods, clothing and pets. It's no wonder most of the kids outta hs never get out of town. :) Matter of fact, nearly the whole county's like that. It's quaint and nice to visit, but I don't think I'd fit well into such a scheme long-term.
Mike, you're killing me!
In my teen years my cousins and I would always ride our bikes to Second Street to enjoy some King's Ice Cream. Likewise I always found myself perusing through Books by the Bay (is that still the name?) as well as the antique shop looking for old books (I forget the name of the shop, which had one down an alley and another one on Third Street, I believe). And Rose and Crown. Such fond memories of me going there at the age of 11 and ordering an awesome taco salad in an edible shell!
Ahh, I'm rambling. What a perfect town.
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