The development of a city is continually a touchy act, as much art as mercantilism. A town that has been constituted for one explanation may find the demand to research other options as times transform, which inescapably, of course, they do. How this township goes about remaking itself says a lot about how hardworking the township itself is, but it also serves as a reflection on us and our recent times.
Hoquiam, Washington is an interesting example of these changes. Originally a logging town, it continues to celebrate its heritage with an internationally known event called Loggers’ Playday. And every fall there is a logging competition and parade to remind the people of how their hamlet came to be. But where some traditions are timeless, fundamental to the fabric of a town’s culture, others have to be created anew.
In the town, the waterfront is a likely candidate for change. The stretch of river in the downtown hasn’t been much used since the 1980s. But now that there’s talk of development in that area, there’s also the possibility for it to become a defining part of the local culture. They’ve got to have something beyond just logging and lumber, you know.
There’s ample area on the waterfront for new amenities such as shopping and entertainment, features that make a town a good place to visit. Waterfront development has been a major boon for cities such as Baltimore and San Antonio. For those towns, like Hoquiam, this area becomes a natural place to congregate, to put in shops and dining opportunities. The river itself becomes a major draw, a natural feature that lends the downtown its own special beauty while giving people a place to have a drink.
There’s another reason for them to develop its waterfront. There’s a kind of long-running rivalry with its bigger neighbor to the east, the town of Aberdeen. These bigger towns often get more development opportunities, more tax money, than its smaller sister. Like the older sibling who gets all the new stuff while the little sister has to play with old toys. So it’s in Hoquiam’s interest to develop that downtown waterfront into a place friendly to locals and tourists alike, if for no other reason than it could give Aberdeen something to thing about.
It is important to hang on to heritage and history. It’s also important to reach out to new opportunities. Small towns like Hoquiam should be unafraid of change — the best cities straddle centuries, after all.
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categories: hotels,housing,development,real estate,property
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