Towns sometimes seem to grow all on their own, to become their own people, so to speak, practically independent of the people living in them. This is of course only an illusion, but the way time and culture shape a town, especially a small one, says a lot about the culture at large, and about the people who are shaping it, day by day, through thousands and thousands of decisions large and small. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to make a decision on some big changes.
In the Washington town of Hoquiam do we have a fine example of these potential changes. At the mouth of the Hoquiam River, in Grays Harbor, Hoquiam grew from a lumber town to become a lovely small American town that, like other small American towns, is proud of its past. There’s the annual Loggers’ Playday, there are logging competitions and parades; but is lumber going to be enough for this town?
Downtown Opportunities
The discussion in Hoquiam revolves around what to do with its waterfront. The Hoquiam River courses right through Hoquiam’s scenic downtown, offering up possibilities for tourism and culture with a lovely backdrop. The waterfront-as-cultural spot has been successfully exploited by cities such as San Antonio and Baltimore, and in the right kind of place, a developed waterfront is the perfect place to place a dining and shopping destination.
The Hoquiam waterfront hasn’t seen much action since its heyday in the 1980s, but now there is development interest, and so the community has to think seriously about what kind of town it may want to become. Development is obviously no guarantee of success, nor will it necessarily turn Hoquiam into a metropolis, but decisions need to be made collectively, because of course growth isn’t free — tax money is the ruche fertilizer for civic growth.
A Question of Size
Another consideration worth a moment is Hoquiam’s relationship to Aberdeen, the larger city to the east. This relationship, like probably all neighboring towns, is one of friendly rivalry. And rivalry often does good things for innovation. Hoquiam is at the mouth of the river, right on Grays Harbor, so it has opportunities no other town in the area does.
But Hoquiam must proceed cautiously. It is interested in preserving its past, as is evident in the 2009 revitalization of its train depot. So it knows how to preserve and honor its past; now it must seriously consider how it wants to carry that history forward, what kind of city it wants to become.
Learn more about Wade Entezar.
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