During the 60s, Washington street in downtown Lansing was a popular place for teens on Friday and Saturday nights. Hundreds of kids would hang out or drive up and down Washington street. Washington street became known as the Gut.

Of course, not only did they hang out on the Gut, they also frequented the businesses on the Gut. They went to the movies, ate at the hamburger joints, and shopped at the boutiques. In short, they kept downtown Lansing alive.

But alas, all good things must come to a end. In the 70s, a visionary declared that the Gut must be closed. Instead of a street, it must be turned it into a pedestrian mall.

The mall was a tribute to modern culture. It had a fountain, at little theater area, benches and planters for shrubs. In short, Lansing cleaned up its downtown or should I say, they sanitized it.

Daunted by the fact that you could no longer cruise the Gut, the teen drivers moved on. And when the teen drivers left, so did the teen walkers. And when the teens left, so did the businesses.

The movie theater closed for good as did the boutiques. The hamburger joints started closing at three as there was no business after the lunch hour rush. By 5PM downtown Lansing looked like a ghost town.

Soon, all of the major retail businesses closed. With no one coming downtown, they couldn’t afford to stay open. They were replaced with coffee shops and food joints catering to the breakfast and lunch needs of state workers.

So, where is this all headed? Well guess what? After 30 years, Lansing decided that the mall isn’t working so, they are putting the road back in.

Of course, the Gut is gone and will never return. And they can’t put Washington street back to the way it was because LCC (Lansing Community College) has taken over the old road next to the campus. So, the only thing that they are getting out of this is one more block of parking.

Your tax dollars at work for what its worth.