tohi- was going to email you again but not allowed( more than 3 pm in 30 min is spamming)Thay should say youre not allowed to annoy more than 3 other bloggers every 30 minutes!! had another thought. That is why I blog so many entries- SO many thoughts and cannot think of them all at once and only thing to do is think about stuff to write here.

I would prob get into trouble if i read a book. going to watch dh now online. hope it is ready. Last year I caught up on all 5 seasons online- yes that slow sometimes. I saw rerun at home and had to see them all. did have to go to library for a couple seasons though.

tohi- funny I wish I could take a NAP!!! We have to alert look alert haha.

So I did take your advice and played solitaire for awhile.

I need to keep reading or play games etc so I dont become candidate for dementia or alzheimer's. It keeps the brain functioning well.:) I tried to do some spelling quizes but blogging makes me more in tune to the simple words I screw up all the time. I should start on those before I get into others. I am trying to actually remember the correct spelling but I just SUCK at it. It is frustrating. I thought I had license pegged only to go back to old way which is wrong.( liciense)

tired- you dont give up do you. I try to be nice, I agree with things you say-not to just be nice but truely agree and you still say crap.

Hannah your passion is noted but would you please take a nap or something. Or atleast check out this website it'll keep you busy for a while.
www.pogo.com

pete yes MORE NEW TAXES yeah. They already are going to "plow" westphal for green grass and then what? MORE TAXES for something eh? yuo may not be able to build a lot on it. they tore down the shacks on main street and never to build again. Lets concentrate on ONE thing first okay graft I mean pete sorry.

When I am old and gray and taxed out of my home by the council I will go live down there on the river.

When I rented as a young person I always wanted to rent down there in an old BIG apartment. My dad said no you dont- paranoid of crime down there. I never saw any in the paper or I would have anyway.

Jackie wood commented on Stan show about in the olden days people would wash windows and clean the stoop EVERYDAY. She thought that was neat. WHY cant we have people like that know? We can it is called the OWNERS. Get out there are have some respect for your buildings area and pick up the trash. YES IT IS YOUR JOB you own the building or work there anyway. If the next one is vacant take a moment and sweep it as well so youre looks good too. DONT rely on a group once a year to sweep for you.

jd- me too even though I was small.

woolworths- pets downstairs- always seemed dirty in there. candy isle. Eating a hot dog on toasted bread. milk shake but not real often.
Looking out the back side of sears stairway that over looks the river. The bus station cause my babysitter didnt drive. would go to mall sometimes too though BISHOPS and a balloon with feet.

Keally with the floors in the rear with two hills.

What was up with the "hills " in stores? Two places -3 had them too. SEEMS like a HUGE lawsuit code violation. It is cool we went to post office and now keally is in part of it. Lots of marble in the bank with all the glass. I dont think they have as much now.

Going to a shoe store on the corner (milw street)with yellow windows and being measured for shoes.

display windows every where WITH displays in all of them- unlike now JUNK sits in them. If youre not going to be open cant you at least clean up the junk!!??

I too have great memories of the old downtown in its heyday-- shopping with my mom at Penney's, Sears, Bostwicks, and Murils, and going to Larry and Phil's for great ice cream and looking at the model trains....
But with the construction of the interstate system in the 50's and 60's it was the beginning of a huge shift for cities everywhere, and most downtowns changed drastically, Janesville being no exception. I think Janesville's downtown has great potential and am grateful for JPAC, the library, The Armory, the many specialty cafe's and shops, and the business community down there. We have room for a lot more improvement, and hopefully we can use the river as a great focal point in future redevelopment of our downtown.

http://www.ci.janesville.wi.us/Scripts2/...

it seems only one shows up as link.

try this one and put in jackson
14 s
18 s
22 s

http://www.ci.janesville.wi.us/Scripts2/...

tohi-http://www.ci.janesville.wi.us/Scripts2/GVSWeb.dll/Image?Community=0&Parcel=0136100023

this is forward jvl office- it is the old redwing with a face lift.
the office to the left is janesville design..... It seems this pic was taken when the stuff to right was still being worked on.
The next one to the left was still being worked on in oct 08. I havent seen it since and not sure if something ripped down to build onto redwing or it empty. ANYBODY?

Tired of hearing it- I am pretty sure the Red wing is on the end and it is more than just slab. I cannot remember what was there before to the left. was it just space to the corner?
If you are inside near the old red wing building the old stairs-i thought is was old- alley stairs like stuff is in there.

is not a historic preservation agency. -- I never said they were. I simply pointed out the fact that they promote others to bring their money downtown & renovate properties yet they really didnt put their money into a renovation - unless of course you consider utilizing footings & a slab from a previous building a "remodel".

Forward Janesville -- the Chamber of Commerce -- is not a historic preservation agency. They built Jackson Square as a commitment to having their own offices downtown and to show how an underutilized site could be redeveloped.

alert- there are many little grocery shops downtown. ONe mexican one across from Marshall.Mexican as well. there is one at milw and high YUMMY food too. I just saw a sign for an asian 9I think) grocery and cannot remember where it was now. Unless youre only looking for a plain grocery store?

Marshall DOES have apartments and the theatre in the middle. they range in size and Price. Maybe you mean condos like OWNED oops sorry. Anyway some are VERY VERY nice and some are nice but just smaller. I saw a nice one. Would like to see the pricey one. I bet it is where the gym used to be maybe. I wouldnt think they would have kept the gym.

I have thought that condos should be built along the river or the Marshall apartments should be turned into condos. A city begins to develop when people live in the area. Restaurants and shops crop up- small grocery stores are opened. People who choose inner city living generally do so because they like the conceniences. Downtown residents will produce the need for businesses.

proartist- yes many nice places to visit.

janesvillecomments: "I went out the back door of Woolworth's and crossed the parking plaza to enter the back door of Bostwicks. I then .." -

There's also another current possible scenario: After dropping off my teen at at the International Academy Charter school, I put in a few good minutes of exercise at the Janesville Athletic Club. Afterwards, I stopped by Kealy's pharmacy to pick up some toiletries and then Olde Towne Mall to drop off some mail before going across the street to see if Carousel had any "new" antiques. Must remember to schedule a hair cut at Simply Scissors! Then just down and across the street to M&I Bank on my way to coffee at CoDos with friends, and a quick visit to the new Artistans Gallery before later strolling down to the library (surprised by a Leisure Services program in the Lower Courthouse Park). Soon it was time for a pre-JPAC show dinner at the Time Out Pub, the Metropolitan, the Speak Easy, or...too many wonderful places to consider! Downtown is just as vital and alive as ever for those who value it enough to frequent it.

tired of-"with today’s construction methods to meet the current codes, yet promotes others to bring their money downtown & renovate properties. "

I totally agree here. I think the problem is it is cheaper to tear down and start over. Didnt they use part of the old redwing store though and add on?

tiredofhearingit- I agree to get one of those old building up to code (the ones that look real bad)would be VERY pricey.

I saw the upstair of corvinas and see why it is still empty up there and never turned into apartment WOW!!

Giving credit where it’s due, I commend Sara Investments for their efforts however, you will notice they chose to remodel a building that was built not of the era I’m speaking of – Prospect 101 simply didn’t have these problems because it is new in comparison. I also think it is very ironic & hypocritical might I add, that Forward Janesville chose to build a new building downtown to look the period – with today’s construction methods to meet the current codes, yet promotes others to bring their money downtown & renovate properties. Could it be that they too agree with me, it’s just too costly for most of these properties.

My suggestion to “fix” this issue is simple – IF the City of Jvl is serious about this, ALL stimulus monies we receive for infrastructure are directed towards Grants & the City provides low interest loans to owners – utilize the low bond rating they have & help the owners rather than rely on the owners to secure their own financing. Additionally, all TIF efforts are directed to the downtown until all buildings are addressed to current codes so they can compete with the rest of the city.

"If something doesn't work, it will be because of a very specific zoning issue or some other rule, not because of our staff," Price said.
***
I believe this statement to be 100% true – however I believe this in-lies the exact problem we have with revitalizing the downtown. The codes have changed so much over the years it is nearly impossible (atleast from a $ standpoint) to achieve the goal in a lot of the buildings. Any and all of these items can kill a project in these buildings due to simple economics alone.
1. Elevators – goes without saying – just simply were not installed when a majority of these buildings were built & is a very expensive undertaking which is in today’s codes is required for multi level buildings.
2. Fire Sprinklers – again, never installed & very costly
3. Limited Access to 2nd floors – have you seen the narrow doorways & stairs (from street side) to some of the buildings? Owners have basically 2 choices – leave upper floors vacant or use as apartments.
4. Most of these buildings were built utilizing boilers for heat – good heat, but does not meet current code alone. Today buildings require fresh air changes & customers want A/C. This is again very costly & to add the required ductwork etc. requires major renovations & modifications to the structures – unless of course window A/C’s are added which cant be done on the 1st floor spaces due to lack of window space & they are just not big enough for the square footage of the spaces – besides being aesthetically- well, not pleasing
5. Construction methods in general – what is unseen to the passer by is this – although the exteriors are for the most part brick, the floor levels themselves are mostly wood framed. This leads to sagging & limited load bearing not to mention very costly to alter to add things like elevators, stairs, ductwork passage etc.

janesvillean- have you seen pics of the old ymca? So cool then. It stink all the turrets are gone.

maybe graft can hop right on that and get those turrets back up. yeah right

superfine- yes it is amazing if you look up- way up and see the details way up high.

The downtown tour on sat am for this section was very cool. It was neat to learn about the hayes)i think) one on corner of main and milw-red brick. It used to be white.IT used to not have those rounded sections. It used to be just square and flat. They did that much later cause that was the cool new style and they wanted to be "cool"

I see Ron sutterland was working on some painting on milw street just the other day.

Pete I see you need to open your eyes if you think only three building look nice down there.

I disagree with the look of the courthouse.YUK sorry. Some contemporary thing slapped on the front of a 50"s style plain building.

janesvillecomments"
I was downtown just the other day. First I stopped at the Janesville Sport Shop, then Sayles Jewelry. I then went across the Milwaukee Street Bridge and took some cash out from my account at Merchant's & Savings Bank before going next door to Sears. After shopping at Sears for a while, I crossed the street and had lunch at Woolworth's. "

the good ol day- I did this too except for the bank part I didnt have an account at 6 haha.
Sayles jewerly- do you mean Shepards?( on main)

all that and you WALKED omg!!!! People arent happy walking nowadays you know. they need to park DIRECTLY in front of EACH store.
Theyre okay parking in a lot BLOCKS from the front door at big box store though!!

The downtown decline started long before walmart came to town. After K-mart, the mall, and F&F moved to the east side, the writing was on the wall.

I wonder how many of the old businesses would still be around if WalMart didn't exist? Maybe I would still be buying my bluejeans at Lambs.

Investers will buy cheap buildings downtown with a plan to make lots of money. They will group together and name their groups with catchy names. Then they lobby the city and government to pour tax payer money into the downtown district. All so the group with the catchy name can make lots of money.

SarahB1, I don't drink, so I skipped the King's Pub, and just ordered Coca~Cola with supper at the Orlean's Room.

Duh...Of course the downtown is alive and well. If it truly is then why do the city fathers and other organizations continue to spend money hiring some out of town firm to do study after study after study after study to "revive" it? I can imagine the "downtown" saying "Just Leave me alone!"

janesvillecomments: No stops in the bars for a brewski?

I was downtown just the other day. First I stopped at the Janesville Sport Shop, then Sayles Jewelry. I then went across the Milwaukee Street Bridge and took some cash out from my account at Merchant's & Savings Bank before going next door to Sears. After shopping at Sears for a while, I crossed the street and had lunch at Woolworth's.
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I went out the back door of Woolworth's and crossed the parking plaza to enter the back door of Bostwicks. I then left Bostwick's by the front door, stopped in at Bookworld to check out the newest books, went south along Main Street, and bought a refill for my Parker Jotter at C-M Office & School Supply. After popping into Janesville Floral for a boutineer, I went down to the other end of the block and spent the late afternoon reading in the library.

Actually, Janesville has a fairly active downtown, with as I have repeatedly pointed out, several government facilities, banks, and business offices. It just isn't the retail hub of Janesville anymore, and due to changed development patterns -- due to those things we used to make here called "cars" -- it probably won't be again. The downtown stakeholders know this and seeking a major retailer is not something they expect (although I'm sure they'd be delighted if it were to happen). Just because people don't view it as a shopping mecca does not mean we should throw our hands in the air and give up, which seems to be the reaction Pete favors. The people who have significant money invested in the downtown, like the Sara group, must think it has some potential.

pete, you need to get out of your environment.

I happen to know Deb Dongarra-Adams personally and I'm very impressed with all the hard work and long hours she (and the rest of the Downtown Development Alliance) put in for the Development Day. Their dedication to revitalizing our city is a welcome change from the normal complaints of Janesville's supposed "death" following the closing of the GM plant. Keep it up!

Pete, I think that when you put lipstick on a pig, it looks pretty darn good. I can't imagine that you would be comparing some of those beautiful, historical, downtown buildings to pigs. If you are, please take a drive past the 100 block of West Milwaukee Street across from Chase bank. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at what a good slathering of lipstick can really do.

"Historic" gas station (the Evansville article got the usage right).
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I would really like to see a Speakeasy-type redevelopment of the old YMCA (Archery Lanes). It's important to Janesville history as the place where the Gideons were founded. (In my dreams, the fantastic turreted roof would be rebuilt, but I know that's unrealistic.)
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In any case this is another key that shows how well the private and public sectors in Janesville are cooperating to revive our economy.