Finding Thalhimers

Do you ever have dreams that linger crystal clear in your memory the next day? I had one of those dreams, and can recall every detail.

There was an abandoned building in Richmond that had extraordinary windows in its atrium, and about six floors of selling space overlooking the atrium past intricately carved ironwork railings. I toured the empty space and decided it was time to reinvent the department store. For some reason, a whole group of people had gathered who agreed…and we decided to buy the store as a group.

It wouldn’t be a typical department store, but a co-op owned by any community member who wanted to invest. It would have traditional buyers stocking the store with the finest merchandise, but also a group of local vendors and artists on the main floor. Its restaurant would feature locally grown foods, and the food shop would be like a farmers’ market. There would be classes for children to learn crafts, and cooking classes for adults. It would be a community center as much as a department store.

When I awoke from this dream, I immediately looked up “Galeries Lafayette” on Google Images. And, although I haven’t visited that store since an 8th grade trip to France, it was exactly as grand as I pictured it…