Music for the masses
Speakers being installed on Courthouse SquareBy BILL RODGERS Tribune Chronicle
Article Photos
WARREN - Your future visit to downtown Warren could have a soundtrack.
Though neither members of Warren GROWS nor Trumbull 100 had a completion date handy, two workers Wednesday afternoon were wiring speakers attached to the lamp posts along Market Street by Courthouse Square. Using a laptop computer, they were testing the speaker's ability to play music.
The entire square could have music once everything is installed.
"This was originally started with the ice skating rink ... It (music) would be more pleasant for downtown merchants and more pleasant for people who work downtown," said Mike Craig, president of Trumbull 100, which has funded projects such as the Courthouse Square ice skating rink last winter and the more recent repairs to the square's fountain.
Jim Dalessandro, of Warren GROWS, said the merchants initially took up the charge to get background music.
They wanted to "beautify the sound atmosphere downtown and make it a pleasant experience to shop," he said.
Funding for the $15,000 to $20,000 project is coming from the Skip Cole fund, Craig said. The system will be dedicated to his memory at a later date. Cole was a member of Trumbull 100.
The setup will work like the music system in a department store, the two men said.
They said the Muzak company will provide the sounds. Muzak's Web site lists more than 80 different themes, including atmosphere, pop, rock, holiday music, classical and hip hop.
Dalessandro said more equipment would be installed Monday. A receiver will be placed on top of a downtown building, and the music will reach the speakers through the city's wireless access hub, he said.
|
smokey
|
|
|---|---|
|
10-02-08 11:22 PM
|
now only if the lil idiots of warren can let the equipment be, and not graffiti or tear it down.
|
|
CURLEY
|
|
|
10-02-08 8:04 PM
|
Wow, some good news about Warren!
|
|
RAW091
|
|
|
10-02-08 6:48 PM
|
The city isn't putting up the speakers judyann. Two civic groups that are trying to turn Warren into a better place to live and visit are.
|
|
justwastinmytime
|
|
|
10-02-08 6:24 PM
|
The good people of Warren should be aware that no public funds are being used for this project. This is a from well meaning group of Warren leaders.
|
|
bruskii
|
|
|
10-02-08 12:50 PM
|
or fuel up copcars
|
|
Pandora
|
|
|
10-02-08 12:31 PM
|
I guess it's not a bad idea, but why can't they use some of that money to install cameras while they're at it?
|
|
concerned
|
|
|
10-02-08 11:48 AM
|
Anyone dancing on the streets of Warren on a Saturday night is just asking to be robbed, raped, or shot.
|
|
BLKPNTHR67
|
|
|
10-02-08 11:42 AM
|
I love the idea. I'd like to hear the music feature Warren area musicians. Lets start a tradition of Saturday nite dancing in the street.
|
|
Judyann
|
|
|
10-02-08 9:56 AM
|
If the city has money to provide music downtown, why can't they help support the homeless and donate monies toward to the Salvation Army, etc. Since when is there a large mass of people downtown anyway? Even if I still lived there, I wouldn't come downtown.
|
|
DeputyDog
|
|
|
10-02-08 9:43 AM
|
momofsrl701 spoke my thoughts exactly. The businesses in downtown Warren can't compete with the Walmart/Kmart department stores. And the homeless don't need muzak to put them to sleep! It's a nice thought to provide pleasure, but couldn't that money be used on people that need it? Winter is coming. It's cold at Tent City! JMHO.
|
|
bruskii
|
|
|
10-02-08 9:39 AM
|
best music be jingle of moneyes in cash register .if no stores w/ cash register .then what the point >
|
|
momofsrl701
|
|
|
10-02-08 8:43 AM
|
I know that each little department will have their money ... but does anyone wonder why they can put this money toward music on the square when we have people who aren't eating, sleeping in warm beds at night? Makes no sense to me!!!
|
|
concerned
|
|
|
10-02-08 8:25 AM
|
Perhaps I was not clear on my point. Things like new skating rinks, ampitheatres, war memorials, gardens, fountains, music systems are all nice. But I think they are putting the cart before the horse. They are not addressing the root of the problem. The only masses of people in Warren are the masses who are packing up and leaving for communities that are better governed, communities that are safer, communities that are less expensive, communities with nice homes and decent school systems. The question isn't what music will make people shop or buy more. The question is what is the leadership of Warren going to do to make Warren an appealing community to live in. People who do not live in Warren are not inclined to come to Warren. There are many other entertainment and shopping opportunities in their own communities.
|
|
my2cents
|
|
|
10-02-08 8:11 AM
|
My question is not WHO will be selecting the music, but just WHAT music will be played??? I believe there are better ways to draw people to downtown other than music coming through a speaker system that is costing these groups $15-$20,000. Counldn't they have come up with something else? Music is one BIG thing that most people differ on. And did they do a survey asking, "What is the best music to play in the background to get people to shop or buy more?" It wasn't mentioned in the article.
|
|
moonbeam
|
|
|
10-02-08 8:08 AM
|
I would assume it would be Christmas music at Christmastime, and probably some sort of easy listening at other times. I like the idea overall, depending on what type of music it is. If it's rap or country music, forget it.
|
|
concerned
|
|
|
10-02-08 7:48 AM
|
I could be wrong on all this because I haven't been there in months. Perhaps a new skating rink and mediocre tribute bands at the ampitheatre has changed all this. (I doubt it.)
|
|
concerned
|
|
|
10-02-08 7:40 AM
|
I like the headline. "Music for the Masses" When is the last time you saw masses of people anywhere in Warren?
|
|
concerned
|
|
|
10-02-08 7:39 AM
|
This article raises a question. Who will be given priority when it comes to selecting the music genre? Will it be the people who work downtown (Local government)? Or, will it be the criminals (the only people who frequent courthouse square)? It looks like it will either be "Easy Listening" because we all know the local governing officials are living the easy life (at your expense) or it will be "Gangster Rap". Perhaps they should ask the homeless people who regularly sit and sleep on the park benches (They spend the most time there.)
|
