The
majority of time I remember living in Fayetteville, North Carolina someone
always was trying to revitalize our downtown. While I was attending Terry Sanford Senior High School in
the early l980’s our rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church himself championed this
movement. Unfortunately it only amounted
to the placement of wrought iron street lights and over-sized black pots
on Hay Street nearest the Market
House. Needless to say this was
not successful in promoting the economic growth of downtown. Over the past three decades this
attempted metamorphosis has continued.
The second chapter in the visual
revitalization of downtown Fayetteville was the “cleansing” of the 500 block of
Hay St. Although the movement was
successful in the elimination of downtown’s bawdy entertainment atmosphere, it
did not cleanse one element
that is hindering the cultural renaissance desired by a small
group of wealthy patrons. Pundits
may not agree that the “cleansing” of the 500 block of Hay Street of its old
movie theaters, its clubs and bars, and its massage parlors was a fruitful
economic policy. During her hey day photos of Fayetteville’s Hay Street can be
seen teeming with life and activity.
Who was to say the entertaining of Fort Bragg’s G.I.’s was a bad thing? If you had been training in the field
for the last two weeks with very few amenities, a cold beer and some female
companionship would be both appealing and necessary. Despite its “low brow” functionality people were frequenting
the businesses in downtown. This
designation itself could be a metaphor for the types of businesses a few
Fayetteville elite are attempting to eliminate. While I feel the last decade in particular has been the most
successful in rejuvenating Fayetteville’s downtown, a value judgment could be
placed upon the types of businesses that seem to be emerging. In its hey day large department stores
occupied downtown. Both Sears and
Robuck and The Capital department stores were staple businesses on Hay St. The emergence of Cross Creek Mall nailed a final stake in
their presence. Another movement
had transpired that effectively moved the hustle and bustle of Bragg Boulevard
to Skibo Rd. No longer was this
corridor from Ft. Bragg to Hay Street a needed route for soldiers to migrate
downtown for entertainment purposes.
No longer was a rail trolley needed to chauffeur inebriated soldiers
back to their barracks. This
seminal movement changed downtown forever. The evolution has taken many turns and the building of a
military museum and memorial has been effective in putting Fayetteville’s
downtown on the map. Still there
is one annoying and tenacious deterrent.
No matter how much downtown developers try to market Hay St. as a future
cultural Mecca, one reality will remain.
Unlike many other small Southern towns Fayetteville pragmatically has
endured because of her economic base.
This economic base never has been music, art, or culture. It has been the military, the presence of
the military, and the service of the military. The Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET) must be able
to handle a full deployment of 450 fully loaded rail cars in one day. While
a study of rail operations in downtown Fayetteville stated that these fully
loaded military trains only are needed a few times a year, the infrastructure
for such defense activity must actively be in place. The resultant rail commerce that is integrated with the
service of Ft. Bragg is lucrative, and it continues to flourish. Ironically it is the economic hub of downtown, not culture. While it is admirable that developers
have been successful building housing and businesses downtown, the realization
that twenty to thirty trains pass through this area everyday is impossible to
ignore. It also is impossible to
ignore that CSX-T chooses God’s day of rest for which to assemble their freight
trains. Air transportation has
limitations of operation considering the health and well being of nearby
residents. The rail industry does
not so it seems. They operate
uninhibitedly whenever they please despite the semi-artistic community that is
determined to give downtown a much-needed facelift. The reality is that any real estate that exists in
Fayetteville’s downtown is subject to this sensory skirmish. Sound and vibration both are present in
great amplitude and pressure most of the time in downtown. The colloquial, genteel, cultured
atmosphere that many people seek is not possible in the wake of this large-scale
industrial commerce. While it may
not appear large-scale to the eye, the ramifications of its process are. They are inescapable.
