One big hole.
Kalun Lee sends this image from Boston. She writes:
This is a picture I took yesterday of the One Franklin development in the Downtown Crossing neigborhood of Boston. The empty space that you see is what used to be Filene's and Filene's Basement department stores. Filene's Basement is where the "running of the Brides" originated. One Franklin was intended to have luxury condos, retail and offices when it broke ground early last year.
The developer tore down the building, dug a hole in the ground and then ran out of financing for the project. The tragedy is that there were a lot of small businesses at street level that were evicted for the development and Filene's Basement was a great place for close-out suits and inexpensive socks and underwear—things that I think are needed now more than ever.
Kalun's note struck a personal chord with me — I remember when that Filene's Basement closed just before I left Boston in 2007. It was sad, but at the time it seemed like the area had a bright future ahead.
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