Last week while I was in Springfield, I made a quick stop at the MGM casino, just to see what was going down. Across the street from Union Station, the former Peter Pan bus station is completely leveled.
That end of Main Street shows little improvement attributable to the casino, as seen by this trash strewn doorway.
I was shocked to see that the old City Hall hangout Cafe du Jour has closed. It was a great place for politico spotting. Owner Khaled Saleh told 22News, the landlord has refused to renew the lease.
Soon I arrived at the casino itself.
Just inside the door is this great mural based on a photo of a bustling downtown around a century ago.
By contrast, the Main Street of today was not quite so vibrant, but then I was there early.
The casino itself, however, was pretty lively, especially since it was only around 10:30am. As usual, the food court had steady customers.
The casino is not performing at the level that was hoped for, nor is it having as much of an economic impact on the surrounding area to the degree that was hoped. However, there has been a slow, but steady stream of announcements of new economic developments directly related to the casino. So, although the pace has been gradual, economic growth is occurring and the trends are still moving in the right direction.
Meanwhile, there was a Johnny Cash fan in Northampton recently.
Look at this corny sign in Urban Outfitters.
What on Earth? Faces is closing!
Thank God the nearby Haymarket shows no signs of going out of business.
Here's a video someone made in February showing Northampton from the front of the Academy of Music.
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