Once upon a time there was a national bookstore chain called "Borders." I'm not sure how long it existed--maybe ten years, maybe fifteen--but it went out of business in a rather ordinary fashion and left behind hundreds of empty stores in cities and suburbs across America. These stores are now being filled by other retail businesses, and thus the life-cycle of retail design persists. The Borders in Downtown Crossing has been replaced by a Walgreen's, which I regard as particularly unremarkable, despite efforts at hyping and promoting it as something special.
Paul McMorrow, a columnist for the Boston Globe and person who I have great deal of respect for, was critical that such an ordinary store is in a place in the city that he regards to be extraordinary. On one conceptual level I agree, but I assume that the decision by Walgreen's to open a store in such a location reflects a certain amount of hard-nosed business logic. McMorrow suggested that a more interesting establishment occupy the space--such as a specialty grocer. Maybe some interesting business expressed interest in the spot, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort or the timing was wrong. I think that McMorrow, and many other people, are investing Downtown Crossing with a mystique that it no longer has, and expect it to be exceptional when it is just another piece of the city.
I predict that this Walgreen's will be there for about as long as the Border's was.
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