Monday, December 15, 2014

Rosalia, WA: Another Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Musical Tribute)

April 3, 1994
Rosalia Is Thriving Again Despite Effects Of Highway Bypass

Rosalia's recovery is one of several cited in a new Washington State University analysis suggesting a state highway bypass doesn't have to sound the small-town death knell. Other towns in the study - Omak, Okanogan, Prosser and Sunnyside - all have managed to prosper.

I grew up in Rosalia in the 1970s and early 1980s. Analysis in the 1990s found prosperity? Big shocker. Unfortunately, the 1990s are over. I wonder what that same analysis would suggest today.



May 8, 2013
Rosalia on list of struggling locations

Still, “the likelihood of cities going bankrupt or dissolving is relatively small,” McCarty said. Mostly, “it’s the recession that’s catching up to them.”

1. Relatively small compared to what?
2. Recession? That was 4 years prior.

This area is going to be a big tourist destination,” Konishi said. “Rosalia is the gateway to the Palouse byway.”

A big tourist destination? Good luck on that.



~240 views since the video was put on YouTube a year ago. Note the lack of tourists (and cars, and people). I can say this with 99.9999% certainty. Rosalia will not be the next Disneyland. Sigh.

Deep down, all of us want to cling to hope. Unfortunately, hope doesn't pay the bills. Sigh.

9 comments:

Stagflationary Mark said...

I enjoyed living in Rosalia and would consider doing it again.

It's just sad to see it in decline.

Rob Dawg said...

Mobility equals wealth.

Sounds trite and simplistic but it holds across a large span of human conditions. For the American middle class mobility still equals good roads.

Stagflationary Mark said...

The Onion: New Tandem Mobility Scooter Released

Lookin' good! ;)

Who Struck John said...

Walks alone with the other 306 million not recovering.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Who Struck John,

I walk this empty street...

(Until the tear gas dissipates.)

Karlo said...

Those small towns are fascinating. I've been through that area a lot. It's strange to see shuttered up theaters, restaurants and museums and to think that those places once had more than just retirees and the occasional wheat farmer.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Karlo,

One of my visits gave me a bit of a shock. The bowling alley had been converted into a video tape rental. That is what looked like from the street anyway.

I couldn't help but think it was an ominous sign. Sigh.

I attended school from 1st grade through high school. The town seemed reasonably stable until it was bypassed by that highway (and even then the instability didn't hit until after I left apparently). I don't recall ever seeing any businesses being boarded up in my youth.

Anonymous said...

I've always like concrete bridge architecture. The video briefly showed a concrete bridge.

Here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalia_Railroad_Bridge


Stagflationary Mark said...

Palouse section of old rail line to get master plan for trail

Otherwise, Malden is not likely to benefit commercially since the town of 200 people has no retail businesses.

“We have no interests in growth or tourism or anything, but we think it would be nice for the bicyclists,” he said.