Making the downtown pleasingly visible

• Business strategies

photo by Forrest Johnson John Gregor, owner of Waterfront Gallery, is a member of the Waterfront Business District that aims to find ways to bring people downtown, and to spruce up what they find when they get there. The newly formed group meets monthly.

Talk about it

For over 100 years, downtown businesses in Two Harbors have sat huddled with their backs to the waterfront. Now, they're trying to turn around—or at last look both ways.

The current posture is the natural result of the migration "uptown" from Whiskey Row in the late 1800s, when they left their hardscrabble roots behind. Escaping the view of a working harbor, clogged with ships, grimy with the dust of logs, coal and ore, was likely seen as progress.

Times have changed. Today the boats load almost delicately, the lighthouse draws tourists, and everyone loves picking rocks and walking on the breakwater. Visitors might go there first, and only then turn toward the businesses on 1st Avenue.

When they do, what they see isn't always appealing. They see back doors and dumpsters in most cases. That is only one of the issues being addressed by the Waterfront Business District group—and that doesn't just include waterfront businesses.

For the complete story, read this Lake County News-Chronicle, available on the stands April 16.

Tags: newsdowntown, waterfrontbusinessdistrict, news