As you stroll in downtown at your own comfortable pace, take a break from your window-shopping, take a moment and look up and let your eyes explore the old façade of the buildings down here. The detailed architecture is a reminder of the history that these buildings hold. Every downtown core housed a Woolworths Five and Dime, a Kresge’s Department store or an S&R, and if you look close enough, you will be able to make out the buildings they once occupied. Downtown shopping is more than just getting the things you need, it is really a chance to slow things down, an adventure into the past, to a time when you knew everyone who you were buying from. Recently on a sunny afternoon, I made my way into one of my favourite antique shops to browse for a gift. “Hello Marina,” I said to the owner. She returns my hello with a big welcoming smile and asks, “How are all your girls?” She knows I am heading for the hats. I love the comfort of knowing the owner by name, the familiar feel to this s...