MY FRIDAY COLUMN for Christmas Eve 2010
A stranger wandered into downtown New Albany, one December afternoon. In what seemed like a former life, he had been a resident of this old river town but it had been years since he had left. He remembered back to the day that he had put this city in his rear view mirror for what he swore would be forever. Although he had a tight schedule to keep, he decided to get out of his car and explore his former hometown.
Maybe it was just the fact that Christmas was right around the corner, but there seemed to be a buzz in the air that night. He noticed some buildings were draped with Christmas lights and a huge tree was lit on the corner of State and Market streets.
The weather reports for that evening and the following day were calling for colder weather but right then it was unseasonably warm for less than a week before the official start of winter. It was the perfect night for a stroll and there were plenty of people in town. The stranger wondered what was going on for there to be so many people in this formerly deserted downtown.
He noticed that Spring Street now had bike lanes painted on each side of the street. Down one of the bike lanes came two people on a bright yellow tandem bicycle. The man and woman passed him on the “bicycle built for two”, proceeded past him turning left onto Bank Street and stopping at the building that he remembered as the “day old” Rainbo Bread store.
After circling a couple of blocks looking for a place to park, he found an empty spot along Spring Street just before Pearl next to the building that he use to be, “The Fashion Shop” it brought to mind those Saturday afternoons he spent shopping with his mother when he was a child. He knew that if he stood quietly by the door while his mother picked out a new dress, he would be in for a treat. Usually an ice cream cone or milk shake at the Woolworths counter down the block or a Matinee at The Grand.
As he walked by the former women’s clothing store he noticed it was now La Rosita’s Mexican Restaurant. He was starting to get hungry so he decided to step in for a bite to eat. The wide open dining area was starting to fill up as the dinner crowd was filing in. The dinner he had was as authentic as the artwork on the walls, and everyone in the place seemed to be smiling. As he paid and walked out the door he realized that he was still on Pearl Street in New Albany.
As he crossed the street he recalled the old post office that sat on that corner and remembered what a historic building that had been. He remembered when they had decided to destroy that building and how he thought a little piece of New Albany had died that day. He wondered to himself if that same mentality still prevailed in this town.
He remembered some of the businesses along Pearl Street that still remained from years ago. Preston’s Art Center, Kaiser Tobacco Store and Endris Jewelry Store were still there. These were family businesses that stuck around while national chains abandoned ship. He also noticed The River City Winery that had not been there the last time he had walked these streets.
He stepped into the winery where a duet was on stage singing an acoustic version of Mellencamp’s “Ain’t even done with the night”. All of the tables were filled with patrons that seemed to be enjoying themselves. He sat at the bar and sampled a glass of Riesling, and a piece of “Chocolate Lava Cake”. He left thinking of all the places he had visited and all of the wine he had sampled. This place stood out in his mind as one of the finest atmospheres he could remember, and he was reminded he was still in New Albany, Indiana.
He decided to proceed around the block and then down Market Street. He noticed some more restaurants that had not been there before. As he walked passed “Grand Theater” that had been boarded up and shown its last movie years ago, a limo pulled up and stopped out front. A newly married couple got out of the back of the limo and after a couple of quick pictures hurried off to a packed house of their reception guests.
Taking a left down Bank Street, he remembered back to the couple on the bike. He walked the two blocks to where they had stopped a couple of hours ago. The Bank Street Brewhouse was where they had stopped and the stranger believed this would be a great place to end his night. He had known that breweries had been a part of New Albany’s history, and now he was sitting in a continuation of that history. He noticed other patrons enjoying their dinners as he finished his glass of “Beak’s Best” he was disappointed that he had already eaten.
Years before he had abandoned New Albany and now he right now, regretted that decision. As he headed to his car, after his enlightening evening, he vowed to return very soon. Next time he would bring his family along and tell all of his friends what New Albany had to offer.
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