Showing posts with label Mobile Plaza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mobile Plaza. Show all posts

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Showcasing Florence in a Bad Light


Tunnel vision? Yes, we all have it from time to time. We see only what we wish to see. Is that ever good? We can’t think of even one instance in which it would be.

A few weeks ago, a young woman, presumably somewhere in the U.S., posted a pic on FB in which she attempted to showcase herself preparing to go to a holiday party. The pic went viral.

Why? Was the young woman that attractive? No, it went viral because she didn’t block the photo and it depicted a bedroom in shambles. You would really just have to see the photo to believe it. Now something similar has happened in Florence, and it doesn’t speak well of the city.

Graffiti…it’s here, not just on the railroad bridge, but in downtown Florence, and apparently we’re so used to it that we don’t notice it. 

Graffiti at Two O'Clock of Illegally Parked Bike

Since we’re now checking Rob Carnegie’s Tweets carefully for more favoritism, we couldn’t help but notice his Tweet of a motorbike parked the wrong way on Mobile Plaza. Our followers on Twitter noticed something else—Carnegie had inadvertently included some serious graffiti in his shot.

One reader said it didn’t make him want to visit the plaza. Another said it was in bad taste and that it encouraged just what she attempted to discourage in the youth she worked with. Is this how others see our town? Apparently so.

Let’s work on that. Let’s also work on hiring someone to lead Florence-Lauderdale tourism who will actually encourage visitors to come here.

*****

A great friend of ours (whom we can’t identify for obvious reasons) is preparing an expose’ of the Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Board. This friend did ask us if we were sure Carnegie was the one doing the Tweeting and not a member of his staff (not Miss Stanfield).

We see more than one of the Tweets are centered around Mobile Plaza. The above photo depicts No. 116, a music venue. Robbie Baby fancies himself a singer (so did George Burns); therefore, we’re 99% sure it’s Rob who’s playing favorites. Just what he’s getting out of it, we don’t know…yet.




Friday, December 19, 2008

Florence's Mobile Plaza


Mobile Street from Court to Seminary in downtown Florence has been known as Mobile Plaza for over 30 years. Less than 15 years ago, this plaza was renovated at no small cost. In May of 2007, the city fathers proposed another, more extensive renovation.

At that time, it came to light that no less than three separate firms had been contracted to redesign the one block street. Apparently the city fathers were red-faced that they had made these contracts, but not so embarassed that they failed to pay the first two firms their whole fee for very little actual work.

Apparently, this project is either still on the drawing board 19 months later or it was abandoned with little fanfare. If the latter is the case, I'm sure the structural architect (who apparently works out of Birmingham) did receive his full fee.

Now, the Florence City Council wants to renovate the fountain in Wilson Park. This work certainly needs to be done, but it needs to be accomplished in a timely and cost-effective manner.


Tomorrow, I will turn over the keyboard to Nurse Nan who lives close to the park and has more information concerning its history.