DTX (Downtown Crossing)

I recently read something about an effort to revitalize the Downtown Crossing area. It's hard to argue against that effort. The area isn't really a great shopping destination compared to Newbury or Copley or the Pru. There are a lot of vacant store fronts, including notables Filene's and Barnes and Noble, and of the shops that are open for business, it seems like a quarter are dealing used jewelry.

As part of the effort to bring shoppers back, it was mentioned there would be events to attract families to shop at Downtown Crossing. Friday on my lunch break I was lucky enough to run into one such attraction. A small ragtime band was driving through the area very slowly on the back of an old-fashioned fire truck. The band was being followed by an old woman dressed up in a home-made lizard costume, which for some reason included wings. She may have actually been a dragon, rather than a lizard. She was dancing to that ragtime music like a pro. It was amazing and made me want to always shop at Downtown Crossing!!

And I don't know if this was at all related to the broader effort to revitalize the Downtown Crossing area, but last Friday I saw this funny guy hanging out in front of Borders. And the interesting thing is he wasn't doing anything. No dancing, no greeting people, no asking for money or holding a global warming protest sign. It was just a penguin with a crown standing there in the cold. I mean, it makes sense right, penguins like the cold and usually just stand there without talking to anyone or dancing for that matter. But I mean he was just standing there in front of Borders. It made me semi-nervous. I'm wondering if I should have maybe called Homeland Security or something.