Exactly

Gordon Price visits Leavenworth, WA

I spent last weekend in Leavenworth.

No, not the prison; that's in Kansas.

This is, Washington — the mock Bavarian town. And yes, it's easy to mock Leavenworth. It is very faux Bavarian indeed: Originally a railroad and timber town, Leavenworth chose to go German in 1962 as an economic strategy. It worked, even if on a summer's day the primary economic activity looks to be the consumption of ice cream. But there's something about Leavenworth that satisfies, that makes it successful for the tourists it attracts.

And what is that?

Because it's an urban experience. Because it meets David Sucher's three rules: 
 (1)Build to the sidewalk property line.
 (2) Make the building front permeable — no blank walls.  
 (3) Prohibit parking lots in front of the building.

Yes it's corny but Leavenworth actually provides the experience of walkable urbanism to many suburbanites who rarely if ever go anywhere beyond strip mall or shopping center. It demonstrates the ongoing power of the urban experience. Now if we could use Leavenworth (and other places like it such as Solvang, California or even — heavens! — Disneyland!) to help people see the connection of "main street planning" to their own daily (not weekend) lives...now that would be neat: use faux touristy urbanism to help people understand real daily urbanism.