[Zippy, October 14, 2018.]
In the final panel of today’s Zippy, Griffy proclaims Main Streets “th’ antidote to strip mall America.” I love it. As Elaine will attest, I still fantasize about coming across a thriving downtown in some long-lost midwestern city. The closest we’ve ever come to it was in Jackson, Ohio, though that wasn’t close enough for me. Not downtown-y enough. Not Twilight Zone-y enough.
There’s a clue to location in today’s strip: the yellow sign reads “Waureg . . . otel.” That’s the Wauregan Hotel in Norwich, Connecticut. Here’s a view of Broadway from Griffy and Zippy’s perspective. Sigh.
Related reading
All OCA Zippy posts (Pinboard)
Main Street, Hackensack, New Jersey
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Main Streets
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comments: 6
I think you would love Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. I came upon it accidentally during my visit to that area, and didn't get to spend nearly enough time there. Just enough to get Hershey's ice cream at a little shop. (Hershey's ice cream is unrelated to Hershey's chocolate.)
https://uncoveringpa.com/visiting-wellsboro-pennsylvania
I wish I had taken photos.
That diner! It might be possible for me as a leisurely detour from I-80.
More, albeit from a "places to live" perspective: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/realestate/greathomes/30havens.html
Old article so not sure how much has changed. I liked the houses on Main Street.
Beautiful. The only thing that puts me off is the tourism: I’d like a town that time forgot, more Twilight Zone. But in that case, nobody would know about it. :)
I wasn't there that long, but I didn't get much of a touristy vibe. We tripped over it after, IIRC, going to Pine Creek Gorge. I didn't realize until much later that it's on the list of PA's most picturesque towns or something like that. There's really not much in the Pennsylvania Wilds except outdoorsy and roadside attractions. It does remind me of an article I read eons ago about a charming Amish town in Ohio that tourists loved so much they started moving in. The Amish quietly left, and it became Just Another Town.
Amish flight!
I noticed a photo online of a tour trolley going by the little movie theater. There’s also a train to tour the area. I found this sentence on a Pennsylvania website: “Overwhelmed tourists in search of civilization can stroll the gas-lit streets of Victorian downtown Wellsboro.” What I don’t understand: Wikipedia gives pretty modest median incomes — $30,169 for a household, $39,898 for a family — but the Times article has someone (in 2005) buying a $305,000 second house in Wellsboro. A tale of two towns, the locals and the more affluent part-time residents?
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