Category: Downtown Living (Page 11 of 11)

I moved downtown three years ago and found that I really had no use for a second car so I sold one car and kept the other.  I now find myself using the R-line or walking around downtown during the week for dinner or just going to the bank and post office……………..I know very urban of me.  It really is amazing how much you notice while walking versus zooming around in a car.  The past several months, I’ve been walking down to Glenwood South for dinner or walking toward Fayetteville Street for the banks and post office.  On my walks I’m always amazed what I see and most of the time I think “hmmmm, why did that happen” or “hmmmm, who would ever have thought about doing that” or “hmmmm, I’ve never noticed that before”.

Have you ever wondered why people park on the sidewalks and you, the pedestrian, now have to walk in the street to get around to the other side?   The other day while walking I had to walk around three motorcycles parked on the sidewalk.  The best part, two parking lots are directly across the street.  Are they really that cheap they don’t wont to pay the $3 bucks for parking? How about the fire trucks from station #1 on Dawson Street?  I was walking to Fayetteville Street and heard the fire trucks in the distance and the sirens got closer and closer and I found myself holding my ears while they passed me.  Don’t get me wrong; I understand why they use the sirens.  What I don’t understand is why all of the fire trucks went out on a call and before I reached Fayetteville Street on my walk I saw all three coming down the road……..no sirens and back in 5 minutes. Have you ever walked down Fayetteville Street and noticed the detailed architecture? My favorite building is the old Briggs Hardware, which houses the Raleigh City Museum.  Did you know that Raleigh has its own museum on Fayetteville Street? Take a look <www.raleighcitymuseum.org>.  One thing that I enjoy the most about Fayetteville Street is walking at night and taking in the views from the Capital to the Progress Energy Performing Arts building.

So park that car and take a stroll downtown. I think you will also be amazed how many hmmm’s you will find while making that hike to dinner or just running errands.  Look forward to hearing more hmmmm stories.

My adage is that every room needs a focal point.  That includes outdoor space.

While we do enjoy the city views from our terrace, what really entertains us as we drink our coffee each morning is the sparrows who tussle on the perches of our feeder like teenaged girls fighting for mirror space in the school bathroom.

We notice how the female cardinal seems braver than the male, as she shoulders her way to the feed; and I like the mourning doves whose calling reminds me of waking in my childhood bedroom.

Though we lived in the suburbs for many years, it took living in a fourth floor condo for me to fall in love with birds.

How to do it without a mess?

I recommend the wrought iron arms (available at Logans and Wild Birds Unlimited) that you can easily attach to your railings, allowing you to extend your feeder outward from your porch.  We also like our birdbath that adds interest to a corner of our porch, though it seems to provide more of a drinking trough than bath.

To our friends who ask if we don’t miss nature living in a downtown setting, we say, No.  We’re closer now than ever.

Always coming and going, entertaining us with their antics, these birds are our favorite focal point.

You can have it your way! Our DLA website is one week old and already showing modifications you’ve suggested.

Our objective is to build a website that provides a comfortable place where you can read and post blogs about topics of interest to all of you who live, work or play downtown.

You’ll see that we’ve added a feature to allow you to easily add or start your own blog.  Prefer not to write a blog, but have ideas on topics?  Please share them with us.  There may be downtown shops or businesses that you find unique.  Or maybe you want to spotlight interesting people who have stories to tell about life in downtown Raleigh.

We will also be adding a section on our website that provides a convenient way for those interested to find out about issues or projects that impact downtown that are currently circulating through the various councils, committees, and commissions of our city government.  To keep up with the pulse of downtowners, we also plan to create linked forms to conduct special surveys or polls on important downtown issues.

Tune in to see what’s happening.  Make a difference.  This is your space.

My husband and I sit in a busy restaurant that spills out onto sidewalk tables looking over Rittenhouse Square in Philly.  We notice as a waiter casually passes a biscuit off his serving tray to a bent over, elderly man who shuffles by.  When we comment, he shrugs it off and says he sees the man all the time.  He lives nearby.

What we love about cities is the way people come face to face.  Random acts of kindness abound.

Recently on the paper good aisle at the Cameron Village Harris Teeter I find a coupon someone has neatly placed on the exact size and brand of paper towels that will take $.50 off the price.  The anonymity of the gift makes me look at every other customer with eyes of gratitude.  It might have been that young mother who was the donor, or that grandmother…

These small kindnesses spread good will in a way that eclipses the effort taken.

Please write.  Share your own examples of unreasonable kindness that make downtown Raleigh an unexpectedly generous place to live.