William Morgan: Big box bathos in Fall River

Closed BJ’s Wholesale Club in Fall River. Photos by William Morgan

As if the hard luck mill city of Fall River, Mass., did not suffer enough existential angst, the failure of a big box store, such as BJ’s Wholesale Club, off Quequechan Avenue and with its prominent “Store Closed” banner, serves as a constant reminder of struggle. The hunkered down sea gulls might as well be vultures. But turn your back on BJ’s carcass and there’s the largest box store of them all, Walmart.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based commercial behemoth, has sucked the life out of Main Streets all across America, and arguably spelled the doom of BJ’s. Bigger and cheaper (in both senses of the word) than a score of older Spindle City businesses that it supplanted, this particular box store is touted as a Walmart Super Center. Fall River has some of the largest and emptiest parking lots around, reminders of the vain hope that massive shopping centers would save this once heroic economic powerhouse. These asphalt deserts are infertile ground indeed.

Looking toward Walmart Super Center in Fall River

Providence-based architectural historian, book author, essayist and photographer William Morgan was for many years the chairman of the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board.

Editor’s Note: Ironically, perhaps, Amazon has a big distribution center in Fall River. Amazon, of course, has ravaged many brick-and-mortar stores.