This month's American Bungalow magazine just landed and the publisher's letter from John Brinkmann has some noteworthy thoughts that apply to B'game
About the time independence, democracy and enterprise got it together and created sufficient opportunity among those who worked for a living, independent people started thinking about a little place of their own. Nothing pretentious, just enough room for a family, but not enough for servants, and maybe a little bit of land to with as they pleased. That's when bungalow neighborhoods were born.
The time Brinkmann describes is when B'game was being founded and he goes on to describe a more current time in B'game and elsewhere
Today, more than a century after the original houses began to pepper the landscape, the appeal of living in a bungalow neighborhood haunts us. We endured the worst of the McMansion Mania, taking note of what they do to the once beautiful scenery...
Physical features like sidewalks, fenceless front yards and furnished porches quickly transform passersby, in all their differences, to neighbors. Toss in a few public areas like a corner market, community parks and playgrounds, churches and schools, and you guarantee a strong sense of neighborhood among all ages.
You would think John had visited B'game recently. His point, like mine here, is to appreciate what we have and be ever watchful for those who would ruin it in the name of progress. I immediately thought of the Oak Grove market across from BHS when I read that last bit. It's been updated and hopefully is doing well.

Recent Comments