Read this story in the Dispatch:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/08/20/20060820-F1-00.html

 

A few gems:

 

Columbus architect Stephen S. Schwartz called Easton the city’s new downtown.

"It’s where we go out to dinner, it’s where we take walks, it’s where we shop," he said.

 

"Easton is really a crown jewel for the city of Columbus," said Morris, a partner with Asset Strategies Group, a Westerville firm that helps retailers negotiate leases. "People don’t come from Dayton to go to Polaris. They come from Dayton to go to Easton."

 

Strange because I would have thought German Village or the Short North or the Arena District would have been the city's crown jewels. I'm out of touch, I suppose..

Well, now people in Dayton have their own "Easton" so that article is irrelevant.

"Crown jewel"? I'm not upset, the guy's obviously insane. Sure people do go to Easton to shop and dine, but people also do that in a number of our urban neighborhoods and then some. And these are places unique to Columbus, not places you'll find in every other American city. You'll never find places like the Chamber in Easton or Polaris, EVER :lol:. Granted, these districts (like the Short North & Brewery District) are disjointed, but not for long!

Schwartz is a putz.  Sure, Easton's nice when everything's open and crowds are meandering from store to store to restaurant, etc.  But it is nothing more than the facade of a downtown.  There is no residential presence, aside from some apartments and condos that are separated from this "downtown" by a six lane road.  When the shops close down at night (around 10 pm).... the place becomes a ghost town anywhere outside of the movie theaters and a few restaurants.

 

The ultimate irony to me is that the main building in the center of it all was built to resemble a train station.  Yeah, a train station in a "downtown" where the best they can manage for a trolley is a loud, diesel beast with a trolley body bolted on top.  They had the opportunity to integrate transit into Easton during the design and construction phase, but they shoved COTA's "transit center" way off across Morse Road, leaving anyone using transit a near 1.3 of a mile walk to even approach the endge of this "downtown". 

The ultimate irony to me is that the main building in the center of it all was built to resemble a train station.  Yeah, a train station in a "downtown" where the best they can manage for a trolley is a loud, diesel beast with a trolley body bolted on top.  They had the opportunity to integrate transit into Easton during the design and construction phase, but they shoved COTA's "transit center" way off across Morse Road, leaving anyone using transit a near 1.3 of a mile walk to even approach the endge of this "downtown". 

 

To keep the "bus people" away, of course.

To keep the "bus people" away, of course.

 

You hit the nail on the head.  If Easton was on the bus route you'd see quite a different element hanging out there.