That is, these are things that are new in Bend, or are a result of progress, that I like. It’s a balance to my Things about Bend that I miss post the other day.
I like…
- …the Bend Public Library building. I have fond memories of the old building they used to be in, but their newer building is far better.
- …McMenamins’ Old St. Francis School. Can’t ever have enough microbreweries, and they’ve really done excellent work on the site. Plus, they brought back a movie theater to downtown Bend—a theater pub no less (which is what I always thought the Tower Theater should have been turned into)!
- …The Old Mill District. For the most part. They’ve developed the area much better than I would have thought.
- …newer restaurants like Zydeco, Mercury Diner, Merenda’s.
- …Barnes & Noble.
- …the Les Schwab Amphitheater.
More as I think of these, too.
There are some nice new places to eat, that’s for sure, but I have to say that I’ll miss the old ones.
The work they’re doing with downtown, in general, is very nice. The Old Mill, business-wise, is very nice, but I think residential-wise (which was part of the overall plan) has mostly tanked. The amphitheater is nice, however. Barnes and Noble kicks ass (though I really wish that we had a Borders, too — or a Powells).
I really like how they’re trying to maintain and extend the river trail system (though I wish they’d dredge the frickin’ river).
You’re starting to inspire me — one of these days I’ll get around to my likes/dislikes (and maybe get some of the high-paying adsense adds like you get ;-).