Town centers draw me in, no doubt about it. Some of it is nostalgic, I suppose. I grew up at a time in a small town when all the local businesses were clustered in the center and it was normal for a six year old to ride down there on his bike to get air in the tire at the gas station, buy some new fishing hooks from the hardware store and get a donut hole or two from the coffee shop. It may sound like Mayberry, but it was typical of the 60’s. And I think it’s coming back as malls die and Amazon grows. There is still an inherent need for people to be social and gather in a common place.

But some of my interest is also because of the visual variety, especially in the architecture. If you look carefully, you can often trace the entire history of a place by the buildings on Main Street. Sometimes you have to peel back facades and signage, but the bones are usually right there waiting to be painted.