The Connection of a Downtown Space

Story by Gabe Hart

Photos by Maddie McMurry, Cari Griffith, Colton Creasy, Abby Porter, & Kevin Adelsberger

Twelve years ago, in a Texas town just north of Dallas, my six-year-old daughter and I were leaving a junior theater production of The Little Mermaid when a faint sound caught our attention.

Somewhere in the distance, beyond the darkness, a group of people could be heard talking, laughing, and singing — a faint glow of light emanating from behind the corner of a silhouetted brick building. 

All signs of life being lived on a cold December night. 

We walked toward the light, the sounds growing more distinct as we approached. The persistent rhythm of a drumbeat broke through the white noise of conversation and was immediately followed by the plucking of a bass guitar. The familiar refrain of an oft-covered classic rock song soared into the night sky just as the darkness of the side street where we walked began to lighten. Turning the corner, we found ourselves in the middle of a vibrant, lively downtown square full of shops, restaurants, and vitality — a setting that immediately evoked feelings of nostalgia and comfort, though I wasn’t sure why.

When I returned to Jackson the following week, I drove downtown. I was struck by how similar the layout of our city’s center was to the place I had been the prior weekend — the old brick buildings lining sidewalks and streets, the courthouse anchoring the square. The light even fell at similar angles, casting late-afternoon shadows eastward toward North Royal as I walked in golden-hour silence. The nostalgia I had felt in Texas was linked to whatever subconscious memories of Downtown Jackson I had. Still, something else connected deep within me that I couldn’t fully comprehend at the time.

I already had very early, hazy memories of my grandfather taking me to a barber shop in the basement of a building downtown. I vaguely remember the marquee’s shape on the movie theater near the courthouse. I had heard stories from my uncles, aunts, and parents about shopping at Nando Jones and Woolworth’s in Downtown Jackson.  But those memories and stories weren’t strong enough or important enough to elicit the sense of connectivity I felt that night in Texas. 

The more time I spent in each downtown, however, the more I realized the pull that each space had on me had nothing to do with shops, buildings, or restaurants. The inertia drawing me to each place was what downtowns have provided people for centuries: the potential for connection within a community.

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A few months after that night in North Texas, the LIFT Wellness Center opened, becoming the cornerstone for a decade of growth in Downtown Jackson. At the time, however, I was skeptical.

I wasn’t sure if The LIFT (and the accompanying Jackson Walk) would be sustainable. Nevertheless, I joined the gym in the summer of 2013, and a few months later, I was eating a slice of pizza next door at Rock’n Dough, thinking, “This may actually work.”

Most of my Friday nights during my 30s were spent in a downtown in Texas or Tennessee; I would unfairly compare the two constantly. On my Friday nights in Jackson, I’d usually leave The Downtown Tavern around 9:30 or 10:00 and look south down North Liberty toward the courthouse. The streets were quiet, and the electric lights lining them would hum so low that they could be heard only in silence. I would think about the ideal spot for a local record store on the square or envision a white-lit patio glowing on a summer night with conversation pouring from it. I could see it in my mind but not with my eyes. Meanwhile, across North Highland, the Jackson Walk, the AMP, and the Farmers’ Market were beginning to bring people back downtown and sowing the seeds of community connection while signs of life were starting to bubble in the heart of the city.

Throughout the last ten years, Downtown Jackson's progression has sometimes felt like starting an old truck on a cold morning: almost there but not quite, two steps up and one step back. A business would open for a few months or even a year and disappear, but progress was happening in small increments. 

Recognizing the need to incubate small businesses, the Jackson Downtown Development Corporation (JDDC) created theLOCAL, a micro-retail development designed to give entrepreneurs an accessible, low-risk space to launch and grow their businesses.

JDDC board member Paul Taylor was an integral part of bringing theLOCAL to the downtown area.

“When I returned to Jackson after college, the momentum for downtown investment was already underway. The AMP was being built, and the LIFT had just opened, signaling a renewed focus on revitalization. Since then, we’ve seen steady, incremental investment, but there were still notable gaps — especially in support for small startup businesses,” Paul recalled. “Recognizing that gap led to the creation of theLOCAL.  The goal was to provide a stepping stone, helping small businesses gain traction and eventually move into a traditional downtown storefront, filling vacant spaces and contributing to the broader revitalization of our city’s core.”

theLOCAL is still fully operational, and many of the original tenants have expanded their businesses to the point of relocation to a larger store, many of which are in the heart of downtown.

During the summers, my daughter would spend nearly two months in Jackson. We would spend lazy afternoons downtown walking around the Vintage Market on North Church Street. I would look through old records while she would pick out a funky lamp for her room. We would grab a cupcake from Woodstock Bakery and lunch at the Liberty Street Grill before heading home. I vividly remember being fully aware of that feeling of connection once again — an awareness that I was lucky enough to be experiencing the forward momentum of the reawakening of a vital area of the community in real time. 

The Vintage Market and Liberty Street Grill eventually closed, and Woodstock relocated just north of the interstate, but other businesses started popping up. The momentum never slowed. 

“That feeling of being right on the edge of something big has been there for a long time, and I think the difference in recent years has been a combination of sustained investment, stronger community buy-in, and a shift in mindset about what downtown can be,” Paul said.

“For years, the pieces were coming together — the AMP, the Farmers’ Market, the LIFT, and individual business investments — but downtown still needed critical mass. In the last several years, we've seen a tipping point where enough businesses, events, and people are present to create real momentum. Investments in public spaces, infrastructure, and mixed-use development have played a role, but equally important has been the commitment of local entrepreneurs who believe in downtown and want to be part of its growth.”

Over the last decade, I’ve seen the evolution of Downtown Jackson and have been lucky enough to feel the connecting qualities of a space that had been dormant for far too long. 

During this decade of growth, I’ve perused records at Third Eye Curiosities and sat in the wood-paneled Dixie Castle on a Wednesday night for its Ribeye Special. I’ve enjoyed a cocktail in the garage of Doe’s after attending a play at The Ned and floated out of the door of The Downtown Tavern on a Friday evening.  On Saturdays, my partner, Laura, and I have walked to the LIFT and taken one of Keith Davis’s renowned yoga classes before strolling to the Farmers’ Market to pick out the ingredients for our Saturday night supper. 

I’ve listened to poetry at Turntable Coffee Counter, eaten early dinners at Icehouse, and ping-ponged back and forth between Hub City Brewing and Franklin’s Little Bar on a Friday night. I’ve stumbled upon a public art show on Shannon Street, met my friends for drinks on the patio at The Blacksmith, and grabbed a pint of Jenny’s from Grubb’s on my way home. The options here now seem almost endless. 

Last year, on a warm spring night in April, my partner, Laura, and I found ourselves at Havner’s Frame Shop in Downtown Jackson. Laura had a piece of art on display for the show at Havner’s, and Our Jackson Home was debuting its most recent journal that included a story I had written about The Downtown Tavern. 

My daughter, who had moved to Jackson four years earlier and was now approaching 18, stopped by the show with her boyfriend. We all took pictures together in front of Laura’s piece and walked around downtown for a few minutes after leaving the show. I thought back to that night in Texas 12 years earlier and the hope I held for what could be here. 

The true value of a downtown space — whether in Texas or Tennessee — is often found in the incalculable currency of connection and community.