I’m in search of 3rd spaces. Throughout my life, I stumbled into, rather than navigated towards, places where we could gather en masse without the requirements to either pay admission or to be a member of a community. One of the primary draws to a 3rd space was accessibility. If I could walk there, that was the best. If it took a bike ride, it had to have a specific draw. But if I had to take a bus, drive a car, or catch a ride on a rail, there really needed to be more than one 3rd space available once I got there.

50+ years ago, yes ‘back in my day’, there weren’t nearly as many fences. Now I say this as an American from California so take that with a grain of salt. The States are still a young country, and the Western states even more so. Public spaces were anything not fenced off. There were open fields everywhere, caves on hilltops, most private land and park land blended together. A middling walk down the hill, across a few streets and we roamed free in a place called ‘Wildwood Park’. It was a true 3rd space. The only entry fee was a bit of a hike.

The park was at the edge of town and the far side looked like this… (the show was filmed adjacent to where the park is now)

As I got older, the fences began to creep in. Housing developments grew like dandelions and it wasn’t long before it took a bike to get to public spaces. We were allowed, even encouraged, as teenagers to loiter. Businesses knew that the longer we stayed, the more likely we were to find something to buy. We were welcome at the record stores and we were welcome at the book stores. Our teenage noisiness was not considered to be a negative and where we gathered brought in more customers. As we grew up, our spaces to gather changed too. Once we had cars, we added to our 3rd spaces.

The beach became our new hangout when the weather was good. Shopping malls were built and we could hang out there. They had the added bonus of cheap food and lavatories. We could spend hours without having to spend much money and no one rushed us along.

The Oaks Mall Used to Be Awesome

But over time, progress stepped in. The record stores and the bookstores closed. The cheap food stands were replaced with more expensive national chains. Public lavatories fell into disrepair and water fountains were removed. It was time to move on and the world did. The pizza parlors tried to keep their brick and mortar customers with arcade games and coloring books. Most arcade parlors closed as 25 cent games became 1 dollar a game. The free public spaces went online. We no longer needed a bike or a car, but we had to have computers and game boxes and something better than dial-up. The games started out nearly free and then progress stepped in again.

Where did those spaces go in the 3D world? They still existed but there were far fewer. Most required a purchase of some kind. The coffee shops and used book stores filled the gap but the freedom to make noise got left behind. Sports bars and clubs grew popular but the kids had fewer places to go. Then came the pandemic and we all went to the only 3rd spaces left to us; the parks and trails near our homes.

As I got older, I didn’t want to wander the mall. I didn’t need to buy things. I had plenty. The bookstores that existed were a 20 minute drive away and while I understood the Dewey decimal system, it was not made for browsing. The record shops became nostalgic. If I wanted a vinyl LP version of Cream’s Disraeli Gears, I could probably find it, but my taste in music moved along with the rest of my life and I found that I would rather have the new GDragon CD instead.

And so, here I am. Most of my past 3rd spaces have faded away. I watch as even the generation 2 generations younger than me is searching for those public spaces where they can be part of a community that doesn’t require them to have an excuse, or money, to be there. I have no fears of the outside world and I’m not shy but since I can’t enjoy food or restaurants there’s really nothing that’s called me away beyond my yard and the acequias nearby. But maybe the zoo, or the aquarium, let alone the botanical gardens might suffice. They’re not free but it’s a start. I signed up for a year today and made sure that I have 2 extra guest passes every time I go. That way it can be free for someone else to come along with me. I’m hesitating about the museum. I have an art degree but I was spoiled by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Louvre. They do have a visiting Lyonel Feininger painting that I will go see soon but it’s always so quiet that I feel out of place in a museum.

Thank you for reading. I keep hoping we will create more 3rd spaces rather than keep taking them away for profit and gatekeeping.