http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Magazine/2011/February/Can_Denton_Fry_Street_Rise_Again.aspx
A few years ago, Fry Street was the heart of Denton, full of people from all walks of life and thriving with family owned businesses. After the unfortunate demolition of the buildings, and the terrible arson of the Tomato, the vacant lot is now being prepped for apartment buildings and corporate owned restaurants. Many of Denton's inhabitants are severely upset that our once original Fry Street, will now be like every other place in America. The argument being made is on behalf of all the Dentonites that cringe at the thought of corporate take over, and would be considered a little biased as it is written by a former member of our community. Its a commonplace belief that our city is home to many hippies who detest anything mainstream or widespread, such as Starbucks, and watching our Fry Street home turn into this, is disheartening. The writer establishes ethos by talking about the family-feel environment that filled the street, and all the different cultures that prospered together. He's qualified to make this argument because he lived in Denton at the time of the funky-hearted era and his memories still hang in the air. The article is written for anyone willing to listen and absorb the belief that Fry Street will not have the same energy as it once had and because of that, Denton's community and overall feel will suffer from the lack of culture. The writer relies more on intrinsic proofs and pathos to make this argument, and is in fact successful because it pulls in pictures and stories of the families and students that are suffering at the hand of the corporations. I believe this argument is persuasive as it paints a picture of the happy, light-hearted fun place that Fry Street used to be, which will now become as generic as the grey bricks that will be used to build the apartment complex and shopping center. Unfortunately, no matter how persuasive this article may be, it is inevitable that soon we will be forced to stare into the eyes of corporate America, as the diminishing existence of our unique community continues.
As a native of Denton, the entire fry street debacle (along with the many, many other building projects all around the city--I can't wait until every square inch of my hometown is covered in concrete!) angers me. The only reason that Denton isn't just a sleepy backwater of Dallas is because of the Austin-esque quirkiness of the local culture. If the city council knows what's good for the town, hopefully they'll cut back on their current practice of allowing chain stores to sprawl in every untouched space--losing fry street hurt us enough already.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your blog and tdereuse comment. This simplicity of this town and being original is what I love so much about. Born and raised in Houston makes me truly appreciate beautiful wonders of this town. As for the stuck up conservatives that want to ruin denton,can take all the concrete they plan on wasting and shove it. Let it be!
ReplyDeleteI have to wholeheartedly agree with you and tdereuse. I grew up in Austin, and I can tell you there's plenty of talk about how developers are trying to turn Austin into Dallas or Houston. Urban sprawl is spreading to the point where strip malls are built right up to the county line, and downtown's huge recently built condominiums that no one can afford just seem to be a cry for attention for even more developers to sap downtown of its personality. Why must every city turn into, or be absorbed by, an ugly metropolis?
ReplyDeleteI am from Austin so i can relate with wanting to keep local shops and having unique areas; However, i practice parkour so i also see beauty in areas with lots of concrete. As a practitioner of parkour i see urban buildings and areas as more of a playground, so the more buildings are built, the better my playground becomes. Its just unfortunate that the concrete being put down will be for corporate owned restaurants. Dont get me wrong, i would much rather have cool stores and restaurants over concrete any day.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the rise of fry street would be a positive move for Denton. The placement of the new restaurants and apartment complex would result in a huge economic boost for Denton. Students enrolled at the University of North Texas will enjoy their new choices for food and living. Overall, i think the citizens of Denton will enjoy the new renovation plans on fry street.
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