Travel Log: Lawrence Kansas (Part 1/2)

“Welcome to DOWNTOWN LAWRENCE” the sign reads on the north end of “Mass” Avenue. The technical name is Massachusetts Street but as long as I’ve been going to Lawrence (15+ years) it has simply been Mass or Mass Avenue.

In four days time, starting two weeks ago now, I saw many small towns with Lawrence being the last of them. For the most part, all of the downtowns I saw appeared to be just hanging on or not doing so well. Lawrence, however, seems to be doing quite well — they actually have people eating, shopping and walking around. Relative to the other towns I saw, Lawrence is exceptional. In this post I will talk about some of the reasons why I think it is different.

We might as well start with the name, ‘Mass’ Ave. When calling a friend to meet her for lunch we indicated we wanted to do lunch on Mass. It has a different ring than saying downtown or main street. It is cool sounding. Furthermore, google maps says it is a ‘street’ and not an ‘ave’ but Mass St doesn’t sound as nice as Mass Ave. Maybe someone out there knows how long Massachusetts has been known in Lawrence simply as Mass — perhaps decades?

Also keep in mind that Lawrence is a college town, not that such is a guarantee of a successful downtown/main street. However, the older section of the University of Kansas is located pretty close to Mass. Such proximity, in my view, cannot be underestimated. Besides having the campus not too far away, also adjacent is a good residential base. Both the housing stock and campus are connected to Mass via the old street grid. Urban Renewal and the subsequent f*cking up of the street grid did not seem to make its way to Lawrence — a good thing indeed. That is, walking to Mass from campus and/or the residential areas is quite pleasant and not interrupted with closed streets, massive parking lots or other obstacles.

The sidewalks are mostly plain concrete, no fancy brick patterns. This is actually a newer building on the north end of the street. It was here that some of the first chain stores came into being on Mass but they’ve been here a while and you still have mom & pop stores, the antique mall and such. The balance is nice. Attention was paid, when this building was built, to the important things — the storefront design not the paving on the sidewalk. The point is to sell merchandise!

Standing in the same spot as the last picture but looking north you get a totally different perspective. This is, without question, the worst the street has to offer. An existing office supply place is set back too far from the street with front parking — placing pedestrians (of which they have many) in the direct path of drivers. Above you can see the gold SUV pulling into the parking area as people pass by on the sidewalk.

Here is would be interesting to construct a new building in front of the existing building. It could give a proper face to the street while not wasting the existing building. The new structure could serve as an entrance to get to the existing store and perhaps have a couple of smaller storefronts like a newsstand or locksmith. The spaces you’d lose in front would mostly be gained with on-street spaces. The horrible building in the background is not some generic office structure but city hall.

Based on a vintage postcard I have of Lawrence, Mass used to continue straight ahead and cross the river. For many years now Mass bent slightly to the west to go around city hall before crossing the river. I actually like the idea of a civic building serving as a visual terminus for the main commercial street. This, however, is not a good civic building. It doesn’t say this is the head of government. If you took the letters off the front entry and replaced them with Orthodontist nobody would wonder why an orthodontist was doing business in a very civic looking building. The building doesn’t even look friendly or approachable with the upper floors looming over the lower area. Note the two cyclists riding on the sidewalk (far left).

Sidewalk bike riding, especially in a busy area, can be dangerous. Pedestrians and cyclists can both get hurt that way. The two in front of city hall may have just crossed the river and not wanted to compete with bridge traffic which can be a bit on the fast side.

Lawrence reminds us, with signs, about no biking or skating on the sidewalks. I guess Segways are permitted? I actually like the energy of skaters but I don’t want to compete with them for the sidewalk while I am window shopping. Still, they can bring life and energy to a downtown as well as money when they are not skating. I wonder where skate fans go in Lawrence and how far away is it from Mass?

Now check out the massive red building in the background…

This is the printing plant for the local paper. Basically this is the north end of Mass, opposite the set back office supply place. As you might expect, this end of Mass with the ugly city hall at the end is not as lively as the blocks to the south.

On the opposite end of the street you get people out and about, here using the 1970s concrete planters/barricades for seating — their height is good for that and at least they are planted (unlike those in Topeka).

Mid-block crossings are well-marked but not overdone like those seen in Salina. You can see here the earlier brownish brick color from a 1970s (or 80s) make over and the redder color of the newer work being done to improve the ADA-required ramps. Remember, when you start getting into colored pavers eventually it will look a bit dated. Luckily the sidewalk pavers in Lawrence are limited to a few areas.

Above is another view from Mass showing the variety of architecture and building heights. You can also see an updated crossing with new ramps.

Work is also being done along the main section of the street. In the foreground you can see a newer tree with tree grate. Just past the lamp post you can see the older raised planter around a street tree. Slowly these are being replaced with the metal grates which pose less hazzards to pedestrians. However, the size of the openings on the grates look like they might be too large to meet the latest ADA requirements — someone could get a heel caught in one of those and twist an ankle. What I do like is that the updated work is being done gradually, in small doses, without having to rip out that which works fine.

Above is one of the areas that doesn’t work so well. It is not catastrophic by any means but it does show that needs have changed. This area is out of the way of the main walkways so none of the bikes or scooters are blocking anyone except perhaps those that might like to sit on the concrete walls. The three bikes are actually at a makeshift bike rack which is some square tubing attached to the lamp. This does not provide good support for bikes (you can see one leaning against the concrete wall) nor does it make it possible to lock the frame in two places — the ideal. Also, getting bikes in and out of the designated area is not exactly easy, especially if you have items you are carrying and it is your bike up against the concrete wall and behind other bikes.

In one of the overflow parking areas behind the stores on Mass I spotted an area for bikes & mopeds. Here, a Honda Metropolitan (like mine) is parked but not chained to the provided pipes — the owner is clearly comfortable that the area is active enough that someone is not going to get away with walking up and carrying away the scooter. With the built-in locking streeting and the kickstand locked in place, it would take two big guys (or gals) to lift the scooter.

While I was excited to see they provided an area I can say that most cyclists & scooterists, just like motorists, would likely look for space along Mass before resorting to the overflow space behind. Note the walkway above leading from the back side parking to Mass.

Here is the same walkway as seen from the alley, which still functions as an alley.  The old fashioned looking street lamps are newer than the concrete planters.  At the end, near Mass but not overly visible, are two bike racks.  They are near possibly the last pay phone in Kansas.

Speaking of bikes, there was a big bike race going on the weekend I was there and a local store did a really nice job using this lovely vintage bike as part of a window display.  I like displays that recongize local events.

Above is another overview shot looking north on Mass.  The obligatory platform with tower cliche is on the right.

Said platform with tower as seen from another angle.

Walking along beside the platform with tower is the worst place to be.  Look closely and you can almost hear the sucking sound as life is removed from the street. 

Lawrence, at least on Mass, has a nice collection of restaurants with outdoor seating.  I’m not sure if this is mandated or just a wise move on the part of the operators but it works well.  I have more thoughts on Lawrence but those will come in Part #2 tomorrow.