Close Encounters
“In the beginning, there was a place where a man went to everyday. He liked this place very much and wished that he could share it with others. Then one day, some other people came to the place. They began to talk and laugh at each others stories about life and soon became friends. And when it was time to go, they all agreed to meet there again on a regular basis. Then the man was alone, he looked around, smiled, and saw that it was good.”
The term “third place” is used to describe any informal gathering spot outside of our homes (the first place), and our jobs (being the second). They are places of familiarity and camaraderie— refuges from the mundane. They are often the soul of every community’s social vitality, and the foundations for all valid democracies. They promote equality by leveling class distinctions and by allowing people to be themselves. Their character is often defined by those who regularly hold court and by the shared interaction offered up to anyone who happens to come in.
Our social landscape has changed drastically throughout history, yet third places continue to adapt and evolve according to the needs and transformations of society. In the beginning, these places were mostly outdoors or in caves when shelter was necessary. For nomadic tribes, they were the oasis with their shaded palms, where one traded goods while sharing tales under the natural lighting of the cosmos. This period continued until the introduction of farming. Then villages and larger cities sprang up with open markets assuming the role of third-place social centers. In Northern Africa, they were the Kasbahs; in Jerusalem, the Temple and marketplaces; and in Greece and Rome, it was the agoras and public amphitheaters to share the arts and sciences.
In the early 1500s, civilization took a noted leap when the first recorded coffeehouses appeared along the established trade routes in Saudi Arabia. They were places where storytellers and mystics passed on ancient lore and warned of warring tribes. Soon after, they appeared in Constantinople, Vienna, and throughout Europe. In England, they flourished to such an extent that women circulated petitions for their demise so they could keep their husbands at home. And Charles the II, knowing of the dissent fostered in them against his monarchy, tried by proclamation to diminish their numbers, but failed. Parisians moved their coffeehouses out on the walkways, adding breads and cheeses to the menu, and by so doing, created the first outdoor cafés. It was to these havens where Lautrec, Rimbaud, Baudelaire and others gravitated for inspiration.
In the New World, third places returned to their origins for a period of time. Explorers and fur traders shared in the traditions of peace pipes and pow-wows which indigenous natives had adopted long before their new world status. The new settlers soon re-established the gathering traditions from their homelands. From blacksmiths to river mills, from trading posts to general stores, and the third-place favorite, the tavern.
It was in a Philadelphia tavern that Ben Franklin established his first Junta, or merchant group, to foster local business. His innovation can be credited to the formation of our modern day Chamber of Commerce. They were essential meeting places where colonists could gather for town meetings and later effectively form militias. From them, came Boston’s “Sons of Liberty”, including Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Patrick Henry. Thomas Paine circulated his pamphlet “Common Sense” in the local taverns of Washington Square Park, in New York’s Greenwich Village, where our first president was later inaugurated.
Over the years, the taverns, coffeehouses and other third places have continued to provide venues for some of our most unique and inspiring voices of free speech and expression. Among them were Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, writer Jack Kerouac, comedians Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, and also musicians like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. Within their confines union members and civil rights activists of the 30s and 60s planned strategies. And in Chicago’s Bughouse Square, author Studs Terkel took to the soapbox, while columnist Mike Royko drew inspiration from friends at the Billy Goat Tavern.
The need to connect has always been at the heart of human nature, and through this longing, one can grasp the importance and necessity for third places to exist. They are environments in which to share, support, and encourage one another.
In modern times, many of our favorite places are slowly closing up shop. It seems the comforting elements unique to true third places are being hijacked, cloned, and franchised out for corporate profit, leaving in their wake a sterile watered-down version of what was. The accepted mantra in villages and cities across our country has now become “Out with old and in with the banal.” What’s lost is the personal contact and neutral ground for productive exchanging of ideas. The good news is that this pervasive trend doesn’t have to continue. We can preserve and expand what remains by supporting our community’s third places and encouraging others to do the same. See you around!
Back to Jim's Page
Can not be reproduced or used without written permission All rights reserved Copyright, 2011
“In the beginning, there was a place where a man went to everyday. He liked this place very much and wished that he could share it with others. Then one day, some other people came to the place. They began to talk and laugh at each others stories about life and soon became friends. And when it was time to go, they all agreed to meet there again on a regular basis. Then the man was alone, he looked around, smiled, and saw that it was good.”
The term “third place” is used to describe any informal gathering spot outside of our homes (the first place), and our jobs (being the second). They are places of familiarity and camaraderie— refuges from the mundane. They are often the soul of every community’s social vitality, and the foundations for all valid democracies. They promote equality by leveling class distinctions and by allowing people to be themselves. Their character is often defined by those who regularly hold court and by the shared interaction offered up to anyone who happens to come in.
Our social landscape has changed drastically throughout history, yet third places continue to adapt and evolve according to the needs and transformations of society. In the beginning, these places were mostly outdoors or in caves when shelter was necessary. For nomadic tribes, they were the oasis with their shaded palms, where one traded goods while sharing tales under the natural lighting of the cosmos. This period continued until the introduction of farming. Then villages and larger cities sprang up with open markets assuming the role of third-place social centers. In Northern Africa, they were the Kasbahs; in Jerusalem, the Temple and marketplaces; and in Greece and Rome, it was the agoras and public amphitheaters to share the arts and sciences.
In the early 1500s, civilization took a noted leap when the first recorded coffeehouses appeared along the established trade routes in Saudi Arabia. They were places where storytellers and mystics passed on ancient lore and warned of warring tribes. Soon after, they appeared in Constantinople, Vienna, and throughout Europe. In England, they flourished to such an extent that women circulated petitions for their demise so they could keep their husbands at home. And Charles the II, knowing of the dissent fostered in them against his monarchy, tried by proclamation to diminish their numbers, but failed. Parisians moved their coffeehouses out on the walkways, adding breads and cheeses to the menu, and by so doing, created the first outdoor cafés. It was to these havens where Lautrec, Rimbaud, Baudelaire and others gravitated for inspiration.
In the New World, third places returned to their origins for a period of time. Explorers and fur traders shared in the traditions of peace pipes and pow-wows which indigenous natives had adopted long before their new world status. The new settlers soon re-established the gathering traditions from their homelands. From blacksmiths to river mills, from trading posts to general stores, and the third-place favorite, the tavern.
It was in a Philadelphia tavern that Ben Franklin established his first Junta, or merchant group, to foster local business. His innovation can be credited to the formation of our modern day Chamber of Commerce. They were essential meeting places where colonists could gather for town meetings and later effectively form militias. From them, came Boston’s “Sons of Liberty”, including Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Patrick Henry. Thomas Paine circulated his pamphlet “Common Sense” in the local taverns of Washington Square Park, in New York’s Greenwich Village, where our first president was later inaugurated.
Over the years, the taverns, coffeehouses and other third places have continued to provide venues for some of our most unique and inspiring voices of free speech and expression. Among them were Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, writer Jack Kerouac, comedians Lenny Bruce and George Carlin, and also musicians like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. Within their confines union members and civil rights activists of the 30s and 60s planned strategies. And in Chicago’s Bughouse Square, author Studs Terkel took to the soapbox, while columnist Mike Royko drew inspiration from friends at the Billy Goat Tavern.
The need to connect has always been at the heart of human nature, and through this longing, one can grasp the importance and necessity for third places to exist. They are environments in which to share, support, and encourage one another.
In modern times, many of our favorite places are slowly closing up shop. It seems the comforting elements unique to true third places are being hijacked, cloned, and franchised out for corporate profit, leaving in their wake a sterile watered-down version of what was. The accepted mantra in villages and cities across our country has now become “Out with old and in with the banal.” What’s lost is the personal contact and neutral ground for productive exchanging of ideas. The good news is that this pervasive trend doesn’t have to continue. We can preserve and expand what remains by supporting our community’s third places and encouraging others to do the same. See you around!
Back to Jim's Page
Can not be reproduced or used without written permission All rights reserved Copyright, 2011