Monday, February 1, 2010
Gym Downtown “I Love Downtown” Contest
Words AltDaily Staff
Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 9:20 am
Working out at The Gym Downtown makes you feel like you’re connected to the very energy of the city.
Great view for a great workout.
Judge us if you want, but looking out over Granby Street doing curls just feels cool. Plus the gym has great facilities, a kind, non-meathead staff, and a welcoming vibe. We love being members of The Gym Downtown, and we’re not just saying that because we’re members and they’re advertisers.
As a means of celebrating what’s best about Downtown Norfolk, The Gym Downtown and AltDaily have come up with the I Love Downtown contest. The rules are simple:
In the comment section of this post, write either:
A. What you love most about Downtown Norfolk, and why.
B. What you would love most about Downtown Norfolk. In other words, tell us what you think Downtown is missing, and why you think it would be physically/economically/socially feasible for this to be added to the Downtown mix.
Prizes:
First Prize: 6-month membership to the gym
Second Prize: 3-month membership to the gym
Third Prize: 1-month membership to the gym
The only catch: You have to be over 18, and spend a significant amount of time Downtown.
How entries will be graded:
What do you love about downtown?
Quite simply, the best, most thoughtful answers will win.
Deadline: February 7, 2010
Judges:
Lacey Lee, manager, The Gym Downtown
Bobby Wright, owner, The Gym Downtown
Hannah Serrano, editor, AltDaily
Make sure to include your email address when you comment. This should be done in the form when you start to comment, not in the answer itself.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
This article has been published by AltDaily editorial staff. For more information on AltDaily email the editor-in-chief at jesse@altdaily.com or the publisher at hannah@altdaily.com.
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And I quote; “the emotional resonance of….” WTF?
Thanks for the laughs!
WTF…..!
Manecdote,
If you don’t leave another comment with a proper answer I’m going to cry all over you next time we see each other. Hot, streaming, extra-salty sobs, all over your nice satin shirt and pants. Fair warning.
I love Norfolk, I like…downtown…
People around here deserve to have something to be proud of. I think our city lacks a simple/regular/memorable experience.
The idea…
I would “love” to see Granby Street/downtown come alive and morph into a bustling city fest every Friday (all day). Our current morph is the club scene later in the evening. The motivation behind this “regular” occasion is seldom memorable or meaningful. This being a “only in the evening” gig won’t work. It has to be approachable, convenient, and accessible by the folks who pour into and out of downtown everyday. It will be a must-do when your out-of-town friends come to visit. People who work downtown will get that Friday feeling and crawl out of their cubes just to walk around.
The vision…
I can see the city closing the street to traffic and allowing artists, musicians, speakers to set up shop without permits, or friction. We’ll allow restaurants to setup impromptu dining areas on the sidewalks and serve their “specials” right into the street. Rows of retail tables are set-up down the whole street, before and after TCC for local businesses to use (first come first serve). We’ll see jewelry makers, t-shirt vendors,sun dresses and cheap sunglasses right next to fresh blue crabs. Live music will echo from the TCC epi-center.
The vibe…
This will happen every Friday so people don’t have to remember to show up. It’s just there, already happening. There’s no point or agenda, just have a nice time, see interesting things and start to live the “city life”. It’ll encourage people to just hang out and enjoy our town. It almost has to be to good to be true for folks to show up. You’ll hear things like, “Don’t forget to grab a bushel from Tuffy’s tent. They’re half off, you can’t beat that. See yah at the house.” You’ll run into people from work, from your neighborhood, from VA beach that you rarely get to see. Then you’ll leave and look forward to it next Friday.
The effect…
Overtime the excitement may wear off, but the the true value will remain. Unique retail stores will open because of the regular open-minded foot traffic. Restaurants will make “real” names for themselves. It will balance the downtown life and fill numerous commerce voids. People will come back. Locals, not Norfolk, will have something to be proud of. Our city will have a feeling.
Having moved here 13 years ago, I was very shocked at how dismal and empty downtown Norfolk was. It was kind of like that Pet Shop Boys song from the 80′s: “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” It looked bombed out, covered in parking lots and dust.
A couple of years passed. I went to TCC, MacArthur opened, lots of things opened on Granby where there was nothing. Well worse than nothing. Smelly, vacant holes that held the ghosts of small businesses passed (away).
Lunch breaks from TCC were spent poking down alleys and finding fun lunch spots. 15 minute breaks from evening classes were enough to run to Basil’s, down a shot and run back. Downtown was fun and cool. Then I went away to ODU and Larchmont then VB. Thanks to a psycho landlord, I was forced out of my place and found refuge in a downtown(ish) apartment.
Now downtown is again a war zone. But this time it is living. People walk through and around all the construction. There are businesses still going. We have a grocery store, a pharmacy and even fast food (outside of the mall). We still have the mall, a strange entity that with one hand, seems to hold further development at bay but with the other, was the catalyst for what we have now.
Downtown’s future is bright. Norfolk is not New York, London or Paris. Norfolk is not the best city I have even seen. But what Norfolk has become to me over these past 13 years is an old friend. It is my home and a big part of that is downtown.