Just down the street, less than a block south of where I stand to take these pictures, is the old Columbia Photo building. A building which has recently been sold and remodeled. Columbia College purchased the building and Columbia Photo moved into a new facility on 9th street. It was hard to get to because downtown parking is so congested but I did go there more often than I did the old store. Which is odd since I worked so close. Anyway, last time I went I purchased a pretty nice padded back pack for my Nikon digital SLRs. Well, it did not help as much as I would have hoped and Columbia Photo is going out of business. Another landmark gone, and another local business disappearing taking jobs with it. Somehow I do not think that is progress. The bad economy, the new internet marketplace, shifting consumer interest, the global marketplace, and shifting whole industries away from our shores continues to shape the way we live.
I am not sure that cheaper tires, clothing, and shoes is worth it. So, this picture is dedicated to Columbia Photo which had valiantly sailed through the treacherous waters of a stormy market place from film, to the first auto focus cameras, computers, video, and finally the digital revolution in photography that allows any idiot with enough money to take technically correct but aesthetically lacking photographs with utter impunity. You will be missed. The irony that this picture was taken with the very technology that eventually caused the demise of that once proud flagship of local entrepreneurship has not gone unnoticed.
You do not appreciate what you had until it is gone. That is a sad truism about human nature.
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