Quick Fix?

Sometimes when communities, like people, are in economic trouble, they tend to forget their historic or cultural heritage and look for a quick fix rather than look to natural advantages.

I saw this happen in Baltimore when in the 60s a plan to make the city a destination for visitors and businesses was stymied. It wasn't until Baltimore looked to its unusually beautiful inner harbor, rehabilitated it and its downtown that Baltimore became a destination city.

In Philadelphia, around the same time, the City's Mayor moved into a home in a center city neighborhood that was almost abandoned except for a few historic buildings. The area was rehabilitated and became known as it was in the 1800s as Society Hill. Now, Independence Hall is joined by the National Constitution Center with people from around the world awe struck by the City's heritage where people make their homes.

Atlantic City, suffering from sever economic and corruption problems, looked to gambling for the quick fix which it was until competition from casinos in other places came along. Now the City is fighting hard to replenish its once famous beaches and family-like atmosphere while trying to stave off the corruption it had wanted to fix.

Here in St. Louis, where many citizens live outside the City, a start up effort is being made to reclaim and sustain the downtown. But unless there is support by all Missourians for this effort, it could remain unfulfilled.

The continuation of the unusual and welcoming free admission to all of the City's lovely and unique museums will be lost. Its geographic beauty astride the great Mississippi River where men and women and children encamped on their way to open the West will deteriorate, as will the Court House where the history making Dred Scott trial took place. If because of these hard times, we overlook natural, historic and cultural heritage and look for the quick fix, we shall not prosper. We will have lost something not easy to replace.