The Heartbeat of the Neighborhood

by Kevin Smith Author

The Body

What good is a heart if there is nobody? Back in the day, in the blue-collar cities of America, there were bars on nearly every corner of the neighborhood. Your neighborhood, or your body, stretched the length of the block, around the block, and sometimes the next block. The boundaries were either a church or the next bar. Without email, instant messages, and cell phones, people had to speak to one another with their voices. Group chats took place on porches, churches, playgrounds, and places like a neighborhood bar near Buford, GA.

The Blood

The lifeblood was an accidental mixture of food, drinks, and conversation. The bar is where a person went to discover information. Finding out who ran over the fence or substantiating rumors of layoffs at the plant are a few examples. Ten-dollar boutique hamburgers did not yet exist, but sausages, sauerkraut, and potato salad buffets were not uncommon. The beer was inexpensive, and the food was nearly free. In those days, it was socially acceptable for children to walk down to the corner with a small bucket and couple of nickels and then bring the bucket back to grandpa full of beer.

Where Did They Go?

All things change over time, and neighborhoods are no exception. People that had the passion for what they built grew old and passed away. Families moved away with urban sprawl, seeking more space and modern houses. Crime rates in cities increased, causing many people to feel unsafe walking the streets at night. It became socially unacceptable for children to fetch beer and economic inflation made nearly free food implausible for bar owners. The number of people that cared about the buildings and the history of the neighborhoods dramatically decreased, and along with them, the bars did as well.

Now-A-Days

People have begun to see the value in the architecture of the old neighborhood bars. Many buildings constructed at the turn of the last century still host copper and tin ceilings, and old growth hardwood bars and fixtures. Instead of covering brick walls with studs and sheetrock, they are being cleaned and accentuated as retro décor. Food and drink choices have been modernized into everything from sushi wraps, to drinks with gourmet hamburgers stuck on sticks propped up in the ice. The old neighborhood bar in Buford, GA., may not be exactly the way it once was, but sometimes history goes down a little bit smoother when free Wi-Fi is available.