The Deleted Scenes - In the Beginning
Today’s building is the (since demolished) right-hand anchor store in this strip plaza, roughly 50,000 square feet. Which is located here, in the town of Big Stone Gap, in far southwestern Virginia: What of any interest could that typical box store in a strip plaza in a rural area be? It turns out to be a fascinating bit of trivia. But first, here’s what it was/looked like prior to closure and demolition: And here’s what it apparently looked like before a 2011 exterior remodel, from Flickr: What kind of Walmart (or Wal-Mart) might have looked like that as late as 2011? Maybe the first Walmart ever opened in the state of Virginia. That’s right: Walmart entered Virginia in 1984, not in Northern Virginia but in the relatively poor, rural southeastern region. That’s interesting. And this was their first store! It was closed because negotiations to expand it with a grocery section and other improvements stalled with the commercial landlord. The comments, on Facebook posts and news articles, are interesting: very mixed, you might say complicated, feelings about Walmart. On the one hand, it may have contributed to the decline of small business and local economic vitality. On the other hand, it is a local place to get everything. It’s also a draw to help retain or attract smaller businesses in the rest of the strip plaza. And in any case, once Walmart has already driven out the mom-and-pop businesses, to the extent that it did, it’s better to keep it than to lose it. You also sense an element of civic pride: we want to be big enough to have a Walmart; it sort of puts us on the map. One Facebook comment reads:
And yet the closure of the Walmart prompted protests and anger in Big Stone Gap. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. That strip plaza was co-anchored by a since-closed Food Lion, leaving the town with only one grocery store and no discount department store, but three dollar stores. (Supposedly one reason Food Lion vacated the space was severely deferred maintenance, resulting in the floor being uneven, such that carts would roll from one end of the aisle to the other!) Deterioration of the structure was also a problem for Walmart. This is the default state of so many places like this, which, as that Facebook comment suggests, once had small but self-sufficient economics tied to their places and communities. All I can really say is that, just as with our big cities after “urban renewal,” something has been lost. Final bit: the strip plaza also has second-floor office space, which you see occasionally but pretty rarely. Cool! Related Reading: Thank you for reading! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support this newsletter. You’ll get a weekly subscribers-only post, plus full access to the archive: over 700 posts and growing. And you’ll help ensure more material like this! You're currently a free subscriber to The Deleted Scenes. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Key phrases
Older messages
When I Say "City," You Say...
Monday, June 26, 2023
A brief low point in American urbanism became an anti-urban ideology
Anti-Social Media
Saturday, June 24, 2023
Only real life is real life
New and Old #115
Friday, June 23, 2023
Friday roundup and commentary
Buffet Chronicles: Royal Spread
Thursday, June 22, 2023
When you're rare because you never stopped doing what you always did
Rail Against This
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
What Do You Think You're Looking At? #115
You Might Also Like
Meghan Markle Just Wore The #1 Color Of The Season
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
The looks just kept coming.
The Best Thing: May 14, 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
The Best Thing is our weekly discussion thread where we share the one thing that we read, listened to, watched, did, or otherwise enjoyed recent… ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The French Girl Secret To Healthier Hair Just Dropped
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
And it only involves one product.
Sydney Sweeney Revived A Y2K-Era Staple And Made It Chic
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Plus, EmRata's corporate sleaze outfit, your horoscope for Tue. May 14, & more.
8 Obscure Home Upgrades You Didn't Know You Needed
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
What's 'BBL Drizzy'? The benefits of most home upgrades are obvious and widely known, but these eight small but mighty changes are usually overlooked. Not displaying correctly? View this
Don’t fall for “climate-friendly” beef
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
New FOIA documents give insight into the secretive, industry-funded science behind the much-hyped product. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Inside Facebook’s Free-Sperm Economy
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
What's new today on the Cut — covering style, self, culture, and power, plus interviews, profiles, columns, and commentary from our editors. Brand Logo TUESDAY, MAY 14 parenting Inside
Welcome to the chainification of America
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Why do cookbooks include so many shots of bare skin?
New from Tim — "A Strategic Deep Dive on TikTok, The Boiling Moat of Taiwan, and China’s Next-Gen Statecraft"
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
The latest from author and investor Tim Ferriss
The Opposite Of Small Town Blues
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Highways weren't made for people, and classic urban fabric wasn't made for cars ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏