Third Places: Reader Responses
A few months back, I sent a note to my What’s Good Project newsletter crew to ask them to share with me their third places, and whether these places were in danger of being closed or eliminated.
Here’s some of what they wrote, labeled by community.
*** I matched photos with communities and because I’m a painter, I linked paintings thematically to submissions :)
Sally’s Alley, Jefferson, Iowa.
Jefferson, Iowa.
“We have 3 third places in Jefferson - 3 alleyways have been transformed now into great third places where people gather, sit and read, have coffee, visit with friends and sometimes have parties in.
I don't think they are in fear of disappearing because of the artwork we have added that transformed these ugly spooky places into wonderful creative third places.
Come to Jefferson any time - we still need to meet at The Centennial and have lunch someday!”
Thompson Falls, Montana
I work in outdoor recreation and conservation, and I also work with my local Main Street organization. I feel like outdoor recreation spaces and parks are some of the best third places (at least in my biased opinion). I could go on and on about the opportunities in these spaces.
Ames, Iowa
Hi! I think I have a few third places, broadly conceived.
- I have two friends on my street who live next door to one another. They've created one "mega" back yard between the two homes and it's regularly a gathering place to play board games, watch movies/shows with an outdoor projector, and to eat together. To my knowledge, it is not in danger. :)
- The Ames Main Street Farmers' Market is one of my favorite haunts. I will go there whether or not I need produce in hopes to see friends or make new ones. It also doesn't seem in danger. It seems to be growing.
- Dog-Eared Books is another third place for me. I have found their loft one of my favorite places to perch as a remote worker. I'm on a first-name basis with several of the workers and usually see patrons I know as well. Also, it's a dirty secret, but I think their drip coffee is better than any of the actual coffee shops on Main Street. Thankfully, DEB doesn't seem to be in danger!
Thanks for the question. It was a lot of fun to think about these places that are so important to me!
Jackson, Mississippi
Family get togethers both big and small. Seems that everyone is so busy busy with their activities (or children’s) and commitments that it’s hard to get together for even a small family gathering and if they can manage to get there at all some arrive late and some leave early. (there’s always the mobile phone).Makes you wonder about priorities!
It’s not Turnrow Books, but Square Books is certainly another iconic third place in Mississippi.
Jennifer Drinkwater, I Could Live in This Room, limited edition print, 18” x 12”, 2022.
Thomas Gregory, Greenwood, Mississippi, Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation
I recently wrote a column for the Greenwood Commonwealth about my favorite third place, Turnrow Books, and my hope for its comeback:
Third places are such a cool topic, and one that I am really interested in! Hopefully, if/when Turnrow rises from the ashes, we can meet there for coffee and conversation!
Ribbon Cutting at the Sundown Public Library Grand Opening, Sundown, Texas.
Karin Gerstenhaber, Austin, Texas, Tocker Foundation
Hi, Jennifer.
I’ve been eagerly anticipating this email since your teaser last month. Of course, I’m going to mention a rural library but it is a very special one led by a very special librarian. It’s a story I think will resonate. The town is Sundown, not far from Lubbock in dusty West Texas. (We actually saw giant tumbleweeds rolling across the highway on our way there.) The city had closed the library and the whole place just gathered dust for several years until one woman, a librarian who traveled to another town for work, convinced the city to reopen it under her leadership in 2018. She started summer-only, then part-time, then it quickly grew through her tenacity and passion and success with grant-writing until earlier this year she cut the ribbon on a new facility (an old church) that was gutted and rebuilt with $750,000 that she raised. What an accomplishment and what a catalyst for change in her small community. I attached a photo from the ribbon cutting. I have many more if you are interested or would like an introduction to the librarian.
Ames, Iowa
My third place is the Iowa Arboretum & Gardens.
Ames, Iowa
The splashpad at Brookside Park was a fun, relaxing haven for parents and grandparents to cool off with kids. Surrounded by shade trees, the entrance fee was small. Many cannot afford the aquatic center. A new splashpad was promised several years ago at Daley Park but has not happened yet. Many folks miss that old fashioned splashpad!
Bloomington, Indiana and Spencer, Indiana
In the unlikely event you find yourself in Bloomington, Indiana:
Crumble Bakery in Renwick Village (local, not the Crumbl cookie chain; decent coffee, tasty pastries, and their east location a big place for kiddos to play outside and not far from a park and a creek)
every park in Bloomington for that matter
Irish sessions on Tuesday evenings at Runcible Spoon
Now, as for Spencer, IN (the tiny town next door where I live) those places are in danger. The town is too small, nobody wants to go there despite efforts to revitalize.
Tivoli Theater, one movie screen, run by volunteers
Main Street Coffee, surprisingly gorgeous place to sit and sip on coffee, or get the best tamales (REAL tamales).
The Unity Center, a local craft shop and resource center for LGBTQ+ community.
Trails systems and parks can also function as third places.
Jennifer Drinkwater, Trails, acrylic on wood, 12” x 12”, 2024.
Oxford, Mississippi
Hey Jenn - i like your prompt - the Community Garden is a third place that is probably endangered - also the Whirlpool hiking trails, Lamar Park, and Avent - Park.
Perry, Iowa
Well, church for sure. I also used to love libraries but the newer designs feel cold, unwelcoming, and soulless, so that's sad. I like coffee shopsm but those are usually reserved for infrequent halfway meetups with long distance friends. Wow, now that I think about it, third places are hard to come by. I'm so thankful for church!
Indianola, Iowa
Thirding is essential if we (the people, I guess) are ever to come together and at least take a stab at compassion for one another. My own work in this area was more focused on just what goes into finding a sense of place, on a personal level. Third spaces, for me, are key.
If I go back to my academic roots and the years of (trying to) having undergrads read Edward Soja, I would identify my third spaces as places that, over time, encompassed all three concepts of space. In that way the classroom clearly could qualify. There was one room in particular that qualified, even though it did not exist on the map. In order to preserve it as a critique space, which the powers-that-be did not understand, it was given no room number when the building was built at Grand View. That way the registrar could not schedule a class in that room. It was, of course, hard to refer to geographically. Eventually a hand-made sign identified it as the "Narnia Room." How appropriate. So many ideas were generated in that room, friendships formed, critical naps taken. Eventually the University snatched it back. It has a number and several computer stations in it now.
My third spaces usually have that quality of happening over time and being shared by those who found themselves there in a safe space, a space to be vulnerable and to grow. The space that gets named by its inhabitants is a third space.
Public Libraries are third spaces in their souls. All are welcome. You can do pretty much anything there as long as it does not hurt or disturb someone else. The best ever is the Chicago Cultural Center sort of... lounge area that used to be a coffee shop. Coffee is no longer served, but the spaces around the seating area have evolved over time. There was a store, then an art gallery. The StoryCorps booth. Again, this is a space with no name where people stop to rest, or think, or write. Or? The inhabitants decide.
Oskaloosa Public Library, Oskaloosa, Iowa.
Indianola, Iowa (cont.)
Because the most powerful third spaces are not designated by some entity with authority, they get endangered because they are not generating enough capital, in most cases. HyVee did a great disservice to the communities that have supported them by turning their seating areas that were adjacent to the deli into table service restaurants. Now that Wahlburgers seems to have flopped this may change. My HyVee (Indianola) and the Southridge one used to be where old men would meet for coffee or the unhoused would stop to rest. Yeah, HS students slept at Southridge. But all were welcome, for indefinite periods of time. I used to like those big tables at the Court Avenue HyVee. They changed their hours to get rid of the unhoused.
I confess I have not been to my favorite ever third space in Des Moines for over a year. It is probably gone. IngerDahl's, now a Price Chopper, used to have a large expanse of tables with a fake fireplace. The walls were painted emerald city green. The booths were huge and the seats covered with duct tape. It was left over from their buffet days. IngerDahl's was the original co-working space. People would sit there for hours with their phones and computers selling insurance or whatnot. I overheard job interviews. Moms taking a break with toddlers. Me? I would draw or write or just BE in that space. I didn't trust their internet. Is this wonderful space gone? Probably.
Because third space is about possibility, or becoming, I think trails or favorite walking routes can be third spaces. My favorite in Des Moines was the Dorrian trail, currently being rebuilt. It was in such bad shape that bicycles were rarely on it, So, it was a great place to walk. Sometimes improvements eliminate or change the purposing of a space unintentionally, or even intentionally to favor a preferred user.
Revisiting is key to thirding. Third spaces become markers by which inhabitants measure their lives. If they are welcome in a space for indefinite time periods, this continuity happens. Change happens, too, and that is fine, but I hate it when a space has been so changed that nothing is left but nostalgia.
My email is getting too lengthy. Clearly you touched a nerve. I hope you are getting all kinds of replies to your query!
Jackson, Mississippi
My third place is just about any Maine island. Put me on the rocky Atlantic coast and I forget any problems or troubles...(not tested since the Biden/Trump debate, but it might work even for that!!)
Hebrew Union Temple, Greenville, Mississippi.
Ames, Iowa
My third place is the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames. It might be in danger because over 50 percent of the members are over 60, and many of that faction are more 70’s to 80’s. The older folks pledge the most money. It is a wonderful, welcoming, non-judge mental, inclusive, social justice action -oriented place. The money needed for staff and operating budget, updating building security (being a touchy-freely all inclusive place makes us vulnerable to folks who are not), ongoing maintenance and improvements to physical plant.
Granny Snag, Montana Wilderness.
Missoula, Montana
Maybe this isn't entirely the assignment, but when have I actually followed directions and deadlines without some pushback. I've thought about contributing to your community from afar postings as well, but feel like I might also be not following the assignment. I'll let you decide.
My third place showed herself when I was eager to get back on trails. She's located about 4 miles into the Wilderness (that's a capital W), has been there since at least the 80s, and is named as a landmark to the forest locals by different names, my favorite being "Granny Snag." As you round the last bend approaching, you see her towering over the southern drainage, flowing into the endless waves of green timber. If you catch her at the right day and time, she appears to be conjuring the spirits, the storms, the winds, the sun, the Wild.
Because the Lookout is 4 miles west, I "technically" don't live or work there, but I find refuge with Granny as the first part of my backpacking journeys on days off. I fall asleep next to her, and wake up with her in the morning. I've yet to have tea with her. Is there a community and friends there? Well I'd say teddy the dog and Granny Snag herself are friends, both bring smiles to my face when I see them. Is she in danger because of the glowing rectangles? I'm not sure, have you found her on OnX Maps app? Have you found her in forums and threads pertaining to the forest and Wilderness? How soon will it be that these cherished, remote places are filled with bars of cell service and a connection to the digital world? How many fly drones to see what can only truly be admired by touching, smelling, and seeing with the naked eye (she doesn’t photograph as well as I'd wish, all the more reason)? I don't think I need to explain to you how high quality of life a place as such is!
If this doesn't fit into your intended ponderings and projects, I hope it's a flashback to your AT days and the trails and tales of those you encountered. And if you're curious about including/pursuing something of my community of Lookouts, aka my Sky Neighbors, I have all too many stories and personalities to write you about, accompanied by photos of at least my tower and ones I've visited in the off season while the shutters are closed up.
The Porcupine Mountains with Lake Superior in the faaaaaaar distance.
Jennifer Drinkwater. White Pine Religion, limited edition print, 14” x 17”, 2020.
Ames, Iowa
It is in retirement where I live much of my life. I have several categories:
Volunteering/Community Development:
Ames Public Library: I love APL for its inclusiveness and community.
Story County Conservation spaces and programs: I love SCC for the hard work of keeping natural resources and outdoor physical and mental health benefits alive in this ag focused state.
Osher Lifelong Learning courses and committees: I enjoy OLLI for a vibrant community of learners that helps those 55+ anywhere in the world love richer lives.
They are pretty solid but funding is threatened by decreased financial support from government and other sources. They are adapting pretty well but could use more support to fully thrive.
Soul filling Lake Superior outdoor spaces:
the Porkies for old growth, Lake Superior, and my personal history.
The north shore of Minnesota for Lake Superior, waterfalls, and deep forests
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore for Lake Superior, my personal history (I helped build the park with YCC), and wilderness experience.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for Lake Superior, geology, and my personal history.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for wilderness, large protected land mass and seeing the divine at work.
All these places are under stress due to extractive industries near them, pipelines and their leaks, and other development. The natural resources are under deep assault from environmental degradation. Government has constantly cut resources to support these important places.
Iconic Nancy loved outdoor spaces:
Door County, Wisconsin for the unique vegetation and ecosystems.
Camp Alice Chester in East Troy Wisconsin where my mother and I went to camp celebrating 100 year anniversary this year and all camps shaping loves and protecting important lands.
Adirondack Mountains for the great green lungs of the forest creating clean air and other ecosystem services as well as great hiking and paddling for many folk. These places are at risk for all the reasons mentioned above-lack of being valued by a large enough cohort to be sustained long term.
Trails: any and all but I especially love the third place value of long trails and wilderness trails and the people, natural resources, and cultures they support. The AT, PCT, CDT, TRT, ADT and many others are at risk due to lack of government support, infringing development, climate change, poor use (unenlightened trail users), and the anti public spaces movement/mindset.
I am thrilled to see First Nations people doing the hard work to retain and help these places thrive.
Franklin, Tennessee
CrossFit gyms
Coffee shops
Church (now that I’m not employed there)
Coffee shop that was my favorite in Fort Dodge actually did close down!
Greenville, Mississippi
Spanish Moss Hunting Club. I withdrew many years ago because I didn’t have time to go there, plus the Arkansas non-resident hunting license became expensive considering I was only hunting one day a year.
Elks Lodge. I used to go there regularly. It is still available, but many of the folks I knew well have gone on to the greater reward.
The last one is a place that I have visited often but not to meet with others. The Greenville Cypress Preserve. An unusual ecosystem right in the town. I see people there but I don’t go there looking for people. I often walk there. I used to walk my dog there, but she has pretty bad arthritis now and can’t take that kind of walk anymore.