Donn Esmonde: Hamburg, Walmart lead the way

Category: Busy Sidewalks

Published Date

Written by Randy Garbin

This piece comes from The Buffalo News, and it contains some excellent points. We applaud the town of Hamburg's efforts to make Wal-Mart bend to their aesthetic will, though at the end of the day, this may amount to not much more than mere lipstick on a maloderous pig. Still, other towns and communities need to read this and understand that they should not sell themselves short just to curry the favor of another sprawl spreading big box store. Thanks to Doug Smith for the tip.

By Donn Esmonde

There was a grand opening Wednesday for the Walmart in Hamburg. It was a celebration not just of commerce, but design.

Tens of thousands of people will drive by it or come to it over the years. This is how it is with a building. It becomes part of the landscape, for better or—too often— for worse. Which is why what happened in Hamburg should happen all of the time, everywhere, with any public or commercial building.

The new Walmart on Southwestern Boulevard is not the glorified concrete-block bunker that the company usually builds. Its walls are red brick. Massive white pillars topped by peaked roofs frame its three entrances. It is not the Parthenon. But it is not a massive scar on the landscape, either.

That is not an accident.

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