There was some fake Tudor architecture on the Esplanade side. Years earlier, there had been a charming place there called the Chimney Corner Tea Room. The flying horse shows that charm is still possible on a downtown corner that was given up to boredom long ago. To me, downtown is still more interesting than the suburbs will ever be. I don't know, but the flying horse seems to be a good sign of a less provincial downtown.
Courthouses are daytime buildings.
As long as anyone around today can remember, people have always worked on the block where the flying horse now floats. There were apartments above the small businesses that occupied the block. Nobody lives there now but the flying horse. Special events prove that people can be lured to downtown for a day or a night or a weekend. Downtown can be rebuilt.