'It's Dead,' Bryn Mawr Business Owner Says of Town

This is Part 1 of a series of articles about the business district in Bryn Mawr.

The Blue Route. 9/11. The Recession.

These are some things that Bryn Mawr business owner James Kelly thinks about when he sits staring out of a storefront window on Lancaster Avenue at what used to be a vibrant downtown.

"It's dead. I can't believe it," Kelly told Bryn Mawr Patch on a recent Monday morning. His custom frame and art restoration business Lannon's is going out of business after 50 years. People aren't buying and restoring original art any more, he said. Practically every week he reads the names of past loyal customers in the obituaries.

It's a sad scene. He doesn't want to retire, he said. But his particular customers aside, he said not many people are coming to downtown Bryn Mawr anymore. And looking around on this Monday morning, it was hard to argue with him.

What are your thoughts about downtown Bryn Mawr? Comment on this article or email Sam Strike at Sam.Strike@Patch.com.