Retail is back with a force on Congress Street.

Walking is the only way to get a sense of how much and how unique shopping on Congress has become in just the last year or two or three.

At the same time, Congress has a retail history stretching back 150 years.

Pinks and fuchsia dominate at Masquerade Creations Party & Rentals, its owner Francisco Valencia himself dressed in an eggplant dress shirt.

Valencia has created a party world specifically for girls in the two-to-14 age range and decidedly for girls a couple years either side of eight years old.

Heather Lindquist opened Revolutio, 43 S. 6th Ave., on Feb. 11. The word, without the n, means “turn around,” such as two objects revolving around each other. She carries fashions, art and home items by designers and artists she know. Lindquist tries to have as much “Made in the U.S” merchandise as possible.