Lincoln native would be both pleased and saddened
Luke Lavender was one of the
first people to settle in the village of
Lancaster, Nebraska. He built a log
cabin there in 1864, the same year
the village was founded.
At that time, Omaha was the State
Capitol and the production of agri
cultural products was the primary
economic role settlers chose to play
in Nebraska. The citizens of Lan
caster, however, hoped to develop
their village into the center of the
world’s salt industry by exploiting
the abundant salt marshes west of
the village.
Now, Lancaster is called Lincoln,
and is the seat of the state govern
ment. In the late 1860’s, when Lav
ender was building his reputation
in Lancaster as a baker and an
amateur historian, recording a great
deal of western history, the ques
tion of moving the capitol from
Omaha to Lancaster was a big issue
around the state.
Nebraska folk lore buffs say there
was an unofficial reason for the
state capitol change of locus. Civic
and business leaders in Lancaster
offered state senators prostitutes
and ice cream when they came to
find out what qualities the city
provided that would make it espe
cially conducive to good govern
ment.
You won’t find that little tidbit of
local history in too many history
books. But I bet you a dollar of
doughnuts that Luke knewabout it.
But that’s not what this column is
really about. It’s about local poli
tics, money, suspense and intrigue,
so keep reading.
Today, a record store stands on
the corner of 14th and O, where
Lavender’s log cabin used to be
one hundred and twenty some years
ago. Some wise people put a his
torical plaque there when the cur
rent building was constructed in
1928. You can look at it and try to
imagine what it was like back then,
if you want to . . .
History. That’s what we’re made
of. When you begin to forget it,
you begin to forget who you are
And you can easily loose site of
your original direction too.
ai any raic, u uvtuu^i
back today, I think he would be
surprised and pleased about how
the city has grown and changed.
And saddened by the direction the
city is currently taking.
I’m talking about downtown re
development.
Over the past few years, impor
tant city officials and planners have
thought that it was about time to
destroy a major portion of down
town, at great expense, and con
struct a new and improved down
town.
Never mind that many of the
buildings are structurally sound and
merit preservation for their archi
lectural and historical value, as well
as that most of them are being
occupied by businesses, merchants
and residences.
My favorite bar was forced to
move from its quaint and historical
location (my dad used to eat chili
there when he went to the univer
sity in the ‘50’s) to make way for a
parking lot the city doesn’t really
need. . .
Both the restaurant where my
dad proposed to my mom as well
as the restaurant where I work now
are scheduled for demolition for a
parking lot and a 10 screen movie
theater the city doesn’t really need.
I used to live in an apartment
downtown that will be torn down
to make way for a mall leading
from the Lied Center to the Ne
braska Bookstore.
But the current dow ntown rede
velopment plan is not just an in
convenience. It’s a mistake. A big
one.
I believe that the city officials
h who dreamed up this grandiose
plan have their constituents best
interests in mind. They want a robust
downtown that residents would be
proud of and visitors would be
attracted to.
After all, it's good for the econ
omy.
And I realize that the downtown
area wasn’t keeping up economi
cally with all of the retail and busi
ness areas that were developed in
other parts of the city over the past
10 to 15 years.
But the point that city officials
have failed to see, and it is a crucial
one, is that it is not the physical en
... ^V'/
that hurt downtown economically.
The business environment of the
area (cost of rent, competition from
the plethora ofshopping malls built
in the suburbs, etc.) is the real
problem
The most recent problem with
the business environment down
town is the uncertainty of the fu
ture of structures currently intact.
Who wants to start a business,
move a business, or remain in
business downtown when you can’t
predict what the future really holds
lor you and your downtown busi
ness?
Business people make decisions
and take risks by evaluating what
the future consequences of their
business behavior would be. Es
sentially, if they can be assured a
high probability of growth, they
may take a chance, if not they
won’t. It’s as easy as that.
And the city of Lincoln hasn’t
given businesses downtown very
reliable odds. Many businesses have
left or are in the process of leaving
their current locations downtown
to locations that offer more security
for their investment.
The redevelopment plan has hurt
more than it has helped. It may
have even killed downtown. If it
weren’t for the university’s dose
proximity, 1 believe many more
Businesses would have left the
downtown area like rats jumping
off a sinking ship.
Three years after politicians started
talking about downtown redevel
opment, and about a do/cn pro
posed plans later, the redevelop
ment project is currently a partially
completed abstract concept that still
raises more questions than it an
swers.
About all that has really been ac
complished is that some buildings
have been torn down. And many
businesses have been forced to
move, many away from downtown.
That’s a hell of a way to run a
railroad.
I was in Boulder, Colo, last No
vember The town has an attractive
and vital downtown area full of
retail space and restaurants. The
area was a throbbing hub of activ
ity where people spent money at
almost all times.
Their civic and business leaders
made an intelligent decision when
they decided to renovate existing
structures instead of demolishing
them to build new ones. It was a
See LAVENDER on 11
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