Downtown Topeka

Downtown Topeka is just like all other downtowns in the country. When it comes to letting such things as Shopping malls and Wal-Marts in town the downtown turns tail and runs the other way leaving their customers in the dust. I watched a video of the Jayhawk Theater today and it showed some of the old downtown. This was a very pretty downtown with its open storefronts facing the street and all of the different stores up and down Kansas. This downtown has evolved into a park like look with trees obscurring the views of the stores and empty storefronts. With this deteriation of the downtown I can not understand why something has not been done earlier to stem the tide of these buildings going vacant. I would like to see a downtown like it was in the 50's 60's and 70's with everything downtown thriving. a little tree pruning or elimination would start this process and return these buildings back to the period that they were built. I know that we can not bring back Woolworths, Crosby Place or others but other stores can step up and fill the bill. Downtown Topeka can be built to fight the stores like Wal-Mart.