Originally Posted by bmuff 
That block NEEDS to be turned into a ped mall. It would be much better. The city just needs to find a new place for the fire station...possibly Somerset.
I kinda doubt the city will ever give up that fire station.
When I was there in the early 90's it was considered invaluable as a staging area for police during VEISHEA.
Time have changed, but the way the city officials and certain hiearchy of the Ames PD wizzed their pants every April back then, I find it unlikely.....
Speaking of times changing - I wonder if every spring they still practice tear gassing and storming the city warehouse out on Dayton. I don't know - apparently it was thought a crew of drunk students were going to take hostages and hole up in Beardshear or something. One of the scariest memories of my college years was seeing a handful of certain Ames PD members dressed up in riot gear with auto-weapons.
