I hate 4th Street !!!! ?

I've been meaning to post on this issue for the last few months. Not to pick on the comment below from Justin (a common theme on the board) but it is what spurs my comment tonight.

To put it simply, what is now 4th Street Live was a crappy, dark, dingy, unattractive ghetto mall with terrible stores that always left a depressing mood upon me when walking through it (as a downtown worker).

I'm not a raving fan or a frequent patron of 4th Street. I can however say that if I were given the choice of what is there now or what was there before there would be no question that I would choose 4th Street Live over a crappy Galleria Mall.

It's more open. It has more choices. It's cleaner. It's more vibrant. It looks appealing to an out of town person visiting (I think). Yes, it is mega chain and mega corporate but that is what America is today. I wish it were all local as much as the next person on this board but it is not. It is still 100 times better than what was there before.

I hate 4th street as much as the next person, but it will never go away

I agree with Brian. Locals would be great, but at least there are businesses there now that seem to be thriving instead of the desolation of before. I sure would like to see more stores and not as many restaruants. We downtown workers would love to have a department store back. Miss shopping at Fashion Shop and Dillard's on my lunch break.

It's pretty easy to call "X" a success when whatever came before it was a complete failure. The bar was so low anything was going to be a success in regards to 4th Street.

There's lots of ways to work toward, define, and track progress. 4SL is progress in many ways. But, and this is a big but, we could have done much better.

Will be really interesting to see how 4SL works as either an addition to the new arena area, or, on the other hand, a competitor. Looks like that Main St. area is lining up to take some business.

Sure it is better than nothing, but it is nothing more than an overpriced tourist trap. What does it have to offer? Overpriced and mediocre food, drunken yuppies, power tripping security guards, and $5 bud lites, I can't believe I don't love this place.

I really do miss Dillards/Bacons, the kite shop, panda/4th st lounge, and a few others. I hardly considered it ghetto... Thankfully we did get a better bookstore and the post office plus hallmark shop stayed. Sorry to see Rhodes/Rodes go too.

Sure it is better than nothing, but it is nothing more than an overpriced tourist trap. What does it have to offer? Overpriced and mediocre food, drunken yuppies, power tripping security guards, and $5 bud lites, I can't believe I don't love this place.

Eh.., isn't that what we want downtown, a tourist trap? That is where tourists go, is it not? I think we can safely say that the Highlands. Cresent Hill, St Mathews and other nooks are oiur more neighborly spots to dine and hangout. Many out-of-towners will never make it to those areas opting to remain downtown where they can slip into a TGI Fridays, HardRock Cafe, or just stand around on the 4th St Live block with a drink in their hand. Let them pay $5 for a Bud Lite. .........4th St Live has been a success since its inception and has filled the role of cultureless, stmiluating entertainment/dining that many conventioners appreciate.

The Pub , though a tourist trap and not indie , is one of the rare treats I find in 4th Street. Decent food and a good beer selection. It's a diamond in the rough.

Let them pay $5 for a Bud Lite.

Let people pay $5 + for beer, period; regardless of its quality. The mark up on some is places if silly; it's better to stay at home and not ever bother...

The Pub , though a tourist trap and not indie , is one of the rare treats I find in 4th Street. Decent food and a good beer selection. It's a diamond in the rough.

Let them pay $5 for a Bud Lite.

Let people pay $5 + for beer, period; regardless of its quality. The mark up on some is places if silly; it's better to stay at home and not ever bother...

I agree about the pub. I have to say I like 4th St live, I like the whole touristy resort atmosphere. I spent 9 years on the Island of Crete, and it is like the Chania harbour minus the mediterranean. My husband and I spent our anniversary there last year and stayed in a local hotel. We had a blast. Spent a good few hours in the pub getting to know the barman. Went back to the hotel had a nap, got changed, went out to dinner and then hit the bars. Ended up in MML and got one of those student run bicycle cabs back to the hotel. Thoroughly enjoyed ouselves.

The one thing that bugs me the most at 4th Street Live is the fact that they card you during the day and mark a huge X on you if you left your ID in the car, even if you were just walking over for ice cream...and at night they stop carding people at the gate. Makes no sense at all. Should be the other way around. Or let the bars do the carding. There are too many other things there, not just alcohol. Why can't I go to Hallmark and the bookstore without being carded on a Saturday?

And all it costs for this tourist trap is a massive, ongoing taxpayer subsidy to an out-of-town, taxpayer-subsidized mega-corporation specializing in cookie cutters with their gift cards in each others' checkout lines, coast to coast.

Lots of pride in that, eh? Makes me feel good about being 'merican, natch.

We should start our own area in the Beechmont shopping center/street where the new Sunergos is located. I have always thought that would be a super cool area if taken over by awesome stores.

We should start our own area in the Beechmont shopping center/street where the new Sunergos is located. I have always thought that would be a super cool area if taken over by awesome stores.

I'm a regular at Annie cafe and have already visited the new Sunergos--it was pretty darn busy! I've always seen that area as a sleeper. In addition to Sunergos a new African store is coming in next door to Annie's on the other side. I don't know what items they will be carrying but it will be a nice addition to the street.

[Robin Garr]

the Beechmont shopping center/street

That would be Woodlawn, for the record, between South Fourth Street and Southern Parkway. It's been a cool little neighborhood shopping district for generations, and with the long-standing Annie Cafe, the new Sunergos and the coming African store, it might be warming up a bit.