“We’ve set the stage,” said Luciano Miceli. “Now it’s up to the merchants to give performance.”

Mr. Miceli, vice president of Miceli Weed Kulik Inc., was interviewed by the Grit prior to the dedication of Williamsport’s Center City Mall. Mr. Miceli was one of the chief designers of the mall.

John L. Heller, executive vice president and project director for Lawrence A. Alexander and Company, mall planners, was also interviewed.

The $1.5 million mall was dedicated Monday at ceremonies on Pine Street where most of the six-month downtown renovation was focused.

Participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Mayor Daniel P. Kirby, Robert E. Ruffaner, chairman of the board of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, and Mrs. Charles J. Stockwell, chair of the former Downtown Design Review Committee.

“It’s something that the city can look back on and say we did it ourselves,” said Mr. Miceli.

He and Mr. Heller agreed that the “quick response” to the plan by city officials helped “assure the success of the project.”

Most of the work centered on Pine Street where pavement was removed for a two-color brick pattern. The area now has trees, an outdoor café, a children’s play area, bicycle racks, piazza, benches and drinking fountains.

Mr. Miceli told Grit the $1.5 million price tag for the mall represented the bottom line cost.

“We could have increased this cost by another one or two million dollars and made the project more dynamic,” said Mr. Miceli “But then you would have had to face the problem of overdesign and underuse.”

Will the downtown mall stave off the completion of possible enclosed shopping malls in the suburbs?

“I think it will,” said Mr. Miceli. “Here you have a real environment. You’ve got businesses, schools, and government functioning in downtown, in addition to people living there. You’ve got something that will be here 24 hours a day and never stop functioning.

“The suburban malls have their pros and cons, but they tend to give you the feeling of an artificial environment,” Mr. Miceli said.

Several hundred persons reportedly attended the downtown dedication Monday, including merchants, city and county officials, persons who designed and constructed the mall, and the general public.

Mayor Kirby, an early advocate for the project, offered his own analysis of the revitalization program.

“These bricks aren’t just bricks; they’re symbols of the investment downtown merchants are willing to make to see their city survive. Those trees aren’t just for shading or to look pretty, they’re signs of change — change the merchants are willing to make to ensure the survival of this city.”