Downtown Pontiac once supported six movie palaces at the same time. The Strand, at 12 North Saginaw Street, opened on March 3, 1921 with almost 1,200 seats. It closed near the end of the 1970s, was bought by the city in 1986, and did not reopen until December 1, 2016. Thirty years of standing empty, and then it came back.
Most things don’t get that
The other five didn’t. What made the difference wasn’t sentiment, it was that the building was good enough underneath that restoring it was worth the money. Nothing gets rescued out of affection alone.
The same test applies to a suit
Men keep suits for years intending to have them altered, and whether that’s worth doing comes down to the same question: is what’s underneath good enough to justify the work? A well-made suit is worth altering repeatedly. A poorly made one is worth altering once, if at all.
Which is decided at purchase
Half-canvassed at $300 to $500 has a canvas chest that holds its shape through years of wear and repeated alteration. That’s the tier that stays worth rescuing, and it’s a decision made long before the suit needs rescuing.
Also for Pontiac: A Theater With Two Balconies, and Three Kinds of View. More on style consulting, or plan your visit to our Oak Park showroom.
