Spirit Magazine - October 2013 - (Page 60)

people power WHO IN THE WORLD THOUGHT TO PUT LAWN CHAIRS IN THE MIDDLE OF TIMES SQUARE? SOMEONE WHO KNEW ABOUT MAKING A PLACE GREAT. Perhaps it has something to do with how technology has driven us deeper within our work and living spaces—and within ourselves. Maybe it’s about civic pride as our cities are threatened to be undone by neglect. Or perhaps it’s just a reflection of the pleasure we take from discovery, from a commitment to something larger than ourselves, and from feeling part of something emergent and special. Whatever its roots, there is a growing movement in America dedicated to the creation and resurrection of Great Places. The places we’re talking can be highprofile—think of the imaginative makeovers New York has given to Times Square and Bryant Park. But often they begin with the personal: the desire of one woman or man to clean up a city block or turn an empty lot into a garden. It’s about the sanctuaries we seek in a noisy urban setting. Maybe it’s a scene, a place we go to find community, friendship, and good conversation. Whole cities can be Great Places, and we see a lot of them heroically reinventing themselves in the wake of recent natural disasters. So can neighborhoods, whose blossoming often begins with the appearance of artists in search of low rents. Then a bar appears, and a burger joint. And a sense of home is made. 60 SPIRIT OCTOBER 2013 Even parkways, those rectangular patches of turf that sit between sidewalks and streets, can ignite new life. That’s where, a half-dozen years ago, Ron Finley first tried to make a difference for himself and his community. He wanted to beautify the curbside strip outside his home in South Central Los Angeles by planting banana trees and lush aromatics. “I wanted people to walk by and smell tuberose and lavender and jasmine; I wanted them to get not only a great visual but a smell. A garden supplies all of that,” he says. Remarkably, the city shut him down; Finley’s living canvas exceeded height limits. “I literally got a warrant and had to go to court.” In 2010, he went at it again, this time with a second motivation: Beauty was a priority, but so was his appetite for healthy living. The nearest quality market was a 45-minute drive away, so he planted organic vegetables inches from the curb. And a global awakening was begun. (See sidebar.) The four guys trying to make a go of it at Four Corners Brewing Company in the upstart Trinity Groves section of Dallas chose the name for their young business with a prototypical Great Place in mind—the intersection of Davis and Llewellyn, a few miles away FINLEY ON THE CORNER OF EXPOSITION AND CHESAPEAKE, SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES in the thriving and history-rich neighborhood of Oak Cliff. “When we were in the process of naming our company, we kept coming back to this one specific location that, to us, represents the spirit of the neighborhood we call home—what makes it real, what makes it work, what makes it unique,” says Greg Leftwich, one of the brewery’s co-founders. “The businesses on those four corners are very different from each other, but they work together in a way that is a metaphor. At that one intersection, you have a collec- PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN ZEIGLER/ALTERNATIVE; SUSAN SEUBERT (PREVIOUS SPREAD)

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - October 2013

Spirit Magazine - October 2013
Contents
Gary’s Greeting
Star of the Month
Freedom Story
From the Editor
Your Words
Your Pictures
Media Center
Eat Drink Sleep
The Numbers
Business
Be Here Now
Don’t Just Stand There
Your Adventure In San Jua
Promotional Series: Florida: Full of Surprises
Your Adventure In San Juan
Promotional Series: Focus on Women’s Health
Promotional Series: Focus on Franchises
Calendar
Fun!
Spotlight
Community Outreach
Products & Services
Flight Service
Terminal Maps
Information
Rapid Rewards and A+ Rewards Partners
Route Map
The “If” List

Spirit Magazine - October 2013