The neighborhood that used to be next to downtown (Philadelphia: construction, to live)

[rr61]

Originally Posted by simetime

The road running past the baseball field is the Blvd of the Allies, I thought that the baseball feild was Forbes but I really don't think that is right. Once you get past the Connelly trade school building the hill really does not dip towards town as much.

Hey Brian great pics Youy stumped me on a couple of them, I think some of the smaller back streets are off of 5th Ave. I was not allowed to go there when was young

you're on the wrong side of the hill ( if we are looking at the same picture) ... the ballfield is Washington Park. you can also see the rec center building at the downtown end of the field. Yes, that's Connelly above the field. The blvd is Bigelow, not Allies. The main street along the field is Bedford Ave. There were some very nice homes along that past of Bedford. I played for a football team (11-13 year old league) at Washington Park in the 50s. I love seeing these pictures. I will go to that picture site Brian gave later. And I might post comments on more of the pictures later.

[rr61]

Originally Posted by simetime

[

The middle picture is of 5th Ave heading towards town
Bedford Ave, kids coming home from Robert L Vann Elementary School heading towards the Chauncey Drive projects

Again , if we are talking about the same picture ( car tracks). I believe it's Wylie Ave heading uphill, outbound and not 5th Ave. I lived halfway between 5th and Wylie. The 82 Lincoln and 85 Bedford ran on Wylie.

[pman]

Originally Posted by squarian

And on the plinth of the Spanish War monument beside Frick Fine Arts on Schenley Drive. The US was the new Rome, see - imperial republic, striding the globe, bringing light and civilization. What have the Romans ever done for us, eh?

Provide inspiration for our civilization....among other things

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by simetime

Try going through Homewood at night

I actually work night shift in a neighborhood adjacent to Homewood, Lincoln-Lemington (and probably just as bad, or close to it).

I don't feel any safer driving down Center Ave. through the Hill at night than I do driving down Lincoln Avenue at night. Not a cozy feeling.

[PreservationPioneer]

Great pictures, Brian!

To counter the argument that the housing in the Lower Hill (which looks essentially the same as what you find in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, or South Side Flats) was "substandard" and would have "declined further," and would "not have attracted a tax base," how can you explain all of the urban row-house neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and other cities that have become thriving, "hot" neighborhoods? How would you explain the rebirth of Center City Philadelphia? Fells Point in Baltimore? Greenwich Village in Manhattan? There is a demand for central, dense, row-house style neighborhoods!

Here are a few thriving row-house neighborhoods in Pittsburgh:

Bloomfield
Lawrenceville
West Deutschtown
Mexican War Streets
Allegheny West
Lower Manchester
South Side Flats

Am I missing any?

A few more that are stable or possibly up-and-coming in a few years:


Polish Hill
Troy Hill
Spring Hill

Here are the row-house neighborhoods in decline:

California-Kirkbride
East Allegheny / Spring Garden
Bluff / Uptown
The Hill


(all of these last three were disastrously affected by urban renewal. East Allegheny was separated from Central Northside by a highway. The Bluff/Uptown was torn apart by the clearance of acres and acres of residential area for Duquesne development in the 1950s. And we all know about the development in the Lower Hill... funny that these are the three row-house neighborhoods that have declined the most -- the ones most affected by bad urban renewal projects).

[gg]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Here are the row-house neighborhoods in decline:
The Hill

Nuf said.

[squarian]

Must not have been a weekend night - I can't see any pools of vomit.

(He said, in reply to the Cheshire-cat post which isn't there anymore)

[I_Like_Spam]

I don't think that Polish Hill, Troy Hill and Spring Hill are really row-house neighborhoods.

I guess there may be a few rows in each of those areas, but they are mostly unattached houses in those communities.

And Manchester is recovering a bit, but was really hit hard by urban redevelopment with the PA65 highway project ripping out their business district.


Sheraden and Elliott are in steep decline too, and they really haven't been the victims of urban redevelopment. In fact, Sheraden has benefited from the new busway in recent years, yet is still pretty crappy.

[BrianTH]

Some South Side pictures from around the same period (30s-60s):













And finally a nice shot showing both some of the South Side and Lower Hill, circa 1945:

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by squarian

Must not have been a weekend night - I can't see any pools of vomit.

(He said, in reply to the Cheshire-cat post which isn't there anymore)

It came back (I found a lot more).