Rise of National Chain Stores and Decline of Locally-Owned Businesses Activity #2:

Bringing Downtown Appleton Back to Life

Developed by the Outagamie County Historical Society with funding from Cooperative Education Service Agency 6, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and the U.S. Department of Education. © 2006 OCHS.

Goal:  Students will recognize downtowns as important features in the life of a city. 

Objectives:

1)  Students will analyze a newspaper article from 1989 about revitalizing Appleton’s downtown            .

2)  Students will record their observations about the article’s content in questions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

3)  Students will speculate about the reason for a depressed downtown in question 3. 

4)  Students will name at least two actions that planners will take to improve downtown.

5)  Students will consider actions taken and comment on their effectiveness in bringing more people downtown.

6)  Students will reflect on the importance of downtowns, verbalizing in writing what they find to be special about downtowns.

7)  Students will create a drawing of a favorite element of their own downtown area.

Read the article called “Downtown Changes Focus to Survive” from the October 22, 1989 Post-Crescent.  This article talks about efforts to “revitalize” or to bring back Appleton’s downtown in the late 1980s.

1)  According to the article, what types of businesses have left the downtown?

2)  Where did these businesses go?  Can you guess why they left?

3)  What types of businesses are city planners hoping to attract to downtown?  In other words, how do they hope to fill the space for rent downtown?

4)  The article mentions several actions taken or planned to improve downtown Appleton, like renovating the Lawrence University Memorial Chapel.  Name at least two suggestions given for improvement of the downtown area.

5)  Some of these ideas are now reality (like a Performing Arts Center, additional parking, a bus depot, etc.)  Do you think that these things have brought more traffic into the downtown?  Explain your answer.

6)  Read the box titled “Why Save Downtowns?”  What do you think is important or special about downtowns?  What about the downtown in your particular city?  Draw a picture of your favorite downtown store, park, restaurant, statue, etc.

This activity uses the primary source document:

Newspaper Article "Downtown Changes Focus To Survive," Appleton Post-Crescent, October 22, 1989.

Click here for a printable worksheet for this activity (PDF file)
Click here for a printable worksheet for this activity (PDF file)