The 1916 Plankinton Building is on fire, fueled by the first creative venues taking space to do their thing. I recently visited floor two to attend the opening of the Parachute Project, located for two days in the space where I once shopped for fat clothes. This is the floor where thirdcoastdigest.com is busy refurbishing a space for their daily online magazine, set to move from Walker’s Point in late August. Their next door neighbor is Daly’s Pen Shop. Good company no matter which tool you use to write stuff. A few doors from that is a shop that promises comfort while you sweat and toil.
I’m thinking of taking a 300 sq. ft. space myself, moving in with my desk and one computer and setting up a “Writers’ Camp.” Living in a condo and working in same has some drawbacks. It’s too easy to roll out of bed, boot my machine and spend the day writing and smoking too much. Methinks it would help if I had other “creative” types around me. But not too many. I also need peace and quiet.
Anyway, this building is the latest in years of attempts, mostly misguided, to revive the Shops of Grand Avenue and the Plankinton. There’s a Chocolate Factory on the same floor, but I don’t want to go back to wearing fat pants again, so I’ll need to avoid stopping in for a double super whopper sundae. In an ironic twist, a new business that specializes in dry cleaning and alterations is nearby, and should I slip into a sundae, they’re standing by to alter my rags back to XL and beyond.
Bruce Murphy, editor of Milwaukee Magazine, has an Endgame piece in the magazine’s current issue which addresses problems and possibilities for the buildings. Gone are the days of mall glory, and according to Murphy they’re gone for good. Below floor two, at T. J. Maxx, the last of the retail clothing stores hangs on, and you’ve got to wonder how Boston Store at the other end of the mess is going to survive. I will never forgive T.J. Maxx for showcasing their stuff on the elegant staircase winding down from floor two to their space. It is tacky tacky tacky, but well, they do pay rent and money talks no matter how tackily. That’s what it’s come to downtown. Of course, here and there on Wisconsin Avenue are pockets of class, but mostly the west end of the Avenue is dirty, dismal and distinctly derelict.
But it could change. There is hope in the energy of young people with fresh ideas and, yes, even in the thoughts of this old warhorse of a writer who hopes hopes hopes.
As I strolled around the Parachute Project, I envisioned a really great restaurant somewhere in one of the many spaces for rent/lease. Hear tell the space is very reasonably priced. Rock-bottom perhaps. If you’re thinking of moving in, you’ll have a fabulous view of the glorious detailing in the building. I noticed that the gull shit had been cleaned off the exterior of the multiple panes of glass detailing the magnificent ceiling. Even the statue of Plankinton himself looked pleased.
The big problem downtown is, of course, parking, though there is plenty of it and plenty of parking structures if you care to spend a few dollars. And the buildings of which I write are on the bus line.
Here’s to hoping this idea of spaces for creative types catches on.
