Welch Ave station and Thumbs are sufficient to scratch the alumni itch in my opinion. I drove on Welch the other day and seemed like there were less bars than when I was in school
You're probably right, I just think Campustown needs a facelift, but if you're limiting it to dumpy college bars, it's going to remain no better than Decorah. Honestly probably worse than Decorah.I don't think a business could survive on those relatively small numbers. You'd need to attract locals all year round and I just don't see that happening without some major changes.
I agree that campustown could always use some updating as things move out, but there are at least a half dozen or more restaurants that would be fine for lunch or dinner.I guess we differ in our idea of what makes a good campustown. You like locking the kids in a drunk playground where they can piss on the floors and be generally unbothered by society. I'd prefer to see nicer buildings and a few spots that have more room and cater to a mixed crowd. Being able to walk from campus to a decent bar and grill in campustown would be nice for campus visits, visiting parents, and alumni back for a game.
Even if it's just students in the play pen, campustown needs new buildings. It's a dump that is not in line with universities of our size.
You're probably right, I just think Campustown needs a facelift, but if you're limiting it to dumpy college bars, it's going to remain no better than Decorah. Honestly probably worse than Decorah.
Put People's back in!It's going to take some sort of new anchor business which is why Cytown's first business is an anchor business. Smart development. I have no idea what business could be located in Campustown.
Plus college girls are hot. Sue me.You live in Ames, right? The crowd that is interested in this is generally people who live elsewhere and are back in Ames on a very rare basis to attend a game or campus event or whatever. The idea of occasionally reminiscing about youth, especially if meeting up with the people you shared it with, doesn't seem that weird to me. These people aren't seeing reminders of their college experience every day the way someone who lives there would.
It's a way of temporarily reconnecting with a time in people's lives that they typically view fondly. Many met their spouses or made lifelong friends in those places.
For most people it's not part of some extended pathetic attempt to remain young as much as it is an occasional sentimental return.
You’d probably have to raze a significant chunk of it like old “LANE4” proposal and add parking and plaza space.It's going to take some sort of new anchor business which is why Cytown's first business is an anchor business. Smart development. I have no idea what business could be located in Campustown.
The Battles BBQ sauce recipe was sold and you can find it in some area Hyvees and other stores, or online and looks like they ship it as well. Sauce Slingers is the name, $10.00 per bottle and they have the Mild or Spicy. I've bought it, and can confirm it is spot on the recipe (just loses a point bc George isn't grumpily serving it to me).Now I am craving Battles BBQ, R.I.P.
As a student here, I promise you students don’t care about the aesthetic. They’re still going to the Welch Ave bars.The redevelopment inevitably has an effect on the institutional character of the area. A place like Cy's Roost and Lost and Found Lounge leaned into the fact that the kids would come and go but the esthetic stayed the same. This helped Campustown maintain some of us appeal over time, and the same can be said about many other places down there, like WAS.
The redevelopment changed too much of the essence of the area and now it doesn't really appeal to the students that are there or those of us with memories of good times spent there.
Cytown has an opportunity to capitalize here.
I agree with you that campus town needs a face-lift but the university is not significantly bigger than in the past. When I attended 45 years ago the enrollment was around 25,000 compared to 30,000 now. The big difference between then and now as far as campus town is concerned is that back then 20,000 of those students were of legal drinking age.Dumpy charms are for D3 college towns.
Campustown has historically had a small town college feel in line with the university, but Iowa State is now a big university, and campustown is largely an embarrassment. Start from scratch, please.
Enrollment in 1979 was 23,486. Enrollment in 2023 is 30,177. It was 36,000+ in 2019.I agree with you that campus town needs a face-lift but the university is not significantly bigger than in the past. When I attended 45 years ago the enrollment was around 25,000 compared to 30,000 now. The big difference between then and now as far as campus town is concerned is that back then 20,000 of those students were of legal drinking age.
Enrollment in 1979 was 23,486. Enrollment in 2023 is 30,177. It was 36,000+ in 2019.
That does surprise me, but enrollment isn't the only way to measure the size and feel of the university. The campus facilities have continued to evolve and be updated while Campustown maintains the look it had in the '90s, but without the quaint or individual charm that we usually see on college campuses. It's an ugly block of old buildings that you'd see any small town in Iowa with the only difference being that thousands of college students keep it in business. I'm not telling you guys anything new, I've just always thought the area was ugly.
Iowa city and Athens, GA, off the top of my head, have much nicer campus business districts. There’s something about Ames and development that don’t mix. If something does get built it’s usually underwhelming/doesn’t age well.Do you have an example of a peer institution that has a much nicer campus business district? The two other campuses I know best are Rutgers and UNC. Rutgers may be even dumpier, and UNC seems nicer/more aesthetically pleasing, but it’s still primarily restaurants and bars catering to the low cost student crowd. Maybe like one slightly nicer brewpub that caters to a slightly more refined crowd.
In my opinion, most large scale redevelopment done these days has a cheap plastic look that is no more visually pleasing than Campustown.
Iowa City (and it looks like Athens as well) has one main central business district. Ames has two (Campustown and Downtown... and soon CyTown?) so development is split between those and other parts of the city which means both aren't as great as they could be, imo. Also I think Ames is smaller than both of the cities you mentioned.Iowa city and Athens, GA, off the top of my head, have much nicer campus business districts. There’s something about Ames and development that don’t mix. If something does get built it’s usually underwhelming/doesn’t age well.