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No matter where we are from, we should be proud of our city's history. I thought this thread might be a nice opportunity to showcase some beautiful urban american architecture from before 1900. Let's try to keep the snark to a minimum.
Cincinnati's Dayton Street was once known as "Millionaire's row" and home to many influential and wealthy brewers, businessmen, and politicians. The houses were built between 1850 and 1890 in the Classical Italianate style or the newly emerging Victorian Second Empire style.
Most of Dayton street has always "held its own" and not given way to the surrounding blight that has plagued Cincinnati's west end. Conditions on-the-ground are better today than they have been in decades. Many of these homes are open for tours and others are being meticulously restored.
(The images above are clickable thumbnails. Keep in mind this thread will get unwieldy if it has too many directly-posted full size images)
[LEFT][SIZE=5]Victorian Village Update - [/SIZE][SIZE=5]Historic Victorian Village Envisions Its Future
[/SIZE][SIZE=4]by Michael Cromer[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][/SIZE]If the stakeholders in a community get together and imagine their ideal neighborhood ten, fifteen, even 25 years into the future, can their collective vision then become an action plan to make that future a reality?
The owners, residents, and businesses in the Victorian Village area just east of downtown Memphis would like to find out. With the guidance of the city planning specialists and consultants, they met at St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral on Poplar Avenue to participate in meetings and focus groups, spaced over two weeks in January.
The Office of Planning and Development chose Victorian Village for this process because it is part of the much larger Medical District, soon to be the subject of comprehensive planning and re-zoning consideration.
The original impetus came from the Victorian Village Velocity Group, a small neighborhood association. Owner-resident Scott Blake, attorney Richard Fields, preservationist Eldridge Wright, and several other residence and business owners started the group.
VVVG petitioned the Center City Commission (CCC), and they picked up the ball. “The Commission has been instrumental in bringing the players together and creating an incubator to grow the neighborhood idea,” Scott told us.
The area takes its name from its principal landmark: the grand, nineteenth-century mansions that line Adams Avenue. The neighborhood encompasses about two dozen city blocks. It lies between Poplar and Union Avenues on the north and south, and is bounded by Danny Thomas Blvd on the west and Manassas Street on the east. Jefferson Avenue is the area’s wide central artery and primary access to downtown.
One of the neighborhood association’s missions is to nurture the economic mix of housing opportunities in the area. The neighborhood could hardly be more diverse. Residential structures range from high-rise and sprawling garden-style apartments, to modest duplex and single-family homes, to a number of historic homes and mansions listed on the National Register. Several of those properties are now public museums: the Mallory-Neely and Woodruff-Fontaine Houses, dating to around 1850-1870. Several other historic homes have been recently renovated and are owner-occupied.
Virtually every commercial zoning classification is represented somewhere in the district. Current businesses include Goodwill Industries, landmark neighborhood restaurants like Neely’s Bar-B-Que on Jefferson, various retail, and professional groups of doctors and lawyers, some occupying historic properties. Government and institutions are a large presence, including the Juvenile Court complex on Adams, facilities of the University of Tennessee, and the city’s vehicle inspection center.
To prepare for the January 13th meeting, a group of planning consultants from Loony Ricks Kiss (LRK), led by Steve Auterman, took inventory and collected information. They walked the neighborhoods, snapped photos of everything, and interviewed locals to get their perspectives. When the owners and residents – the “stakeholders” -- arrived for the meetings, planners were well prepared with data and exhibits.
For most of the day, LRK held focus group sessions, asking questions such as these: What do you consider the strengths of your neighborhood? What do you consider weaknesses that could be room for improvement? What would you like your neighborhood to be that it isn’t already? At the end of the day, responses and ideas were consolidated and summarized.
Understandably, the Victorian Village stakeholders pointed to the historic character of Victorian Village as its number one strength. Other strengths mentioned included proximity to downtown and schools, the Jefferson Street corridor, the two parks, and the neighborhood’s attraction to tourists and school groups, among many others. Among weaknesses, the participants identified such issues as a transient population, too few owner-residents, certain unattractive or derelict properties, poor lighting, and others. Residents tended to view the governmental and institutional properties such as the Juvenile Court as assets and opportunities, more than being liabilities.
The planning specialists also offered ideas and suggestions of their own. For example, the street grid in the area is conducive to east west traffic, but tends to inhibit car and foot travel in the north-south direction. They suggested ways to improve access and draw people into the historic neighborhoods
Youngstown doesn't have much from before 1900 because most of its development happened just after the turn of the century. But here are a couple Victorians in the Wick Park Neighborhood:
This is the Wick log cabin. It was one of the first houses built in the area in the 1880's as a getaway destination for the Wick family.
those stone houses are amazing. the last one pictured and especially the third to last you can see both gothic and victorian elements. and that italianate mansion is great. early stuff, 1870s-1880s maybe? spectacular
Aww, these are the kind of threads I love- Reps all around!
Here's some of Newark-
This one is called the Krueger mansion built in 1888. It's a national landmark that's blocked off. It should be under restoration soon enough, but the process is for some reason difficult- I don't know the full story By joe bodnar (http://www.flickr.com/photos/44931285@N02/ - broken link)
By cjbvii (http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesburns/ - broken link)
By cjbvii (http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesburns/ - broken link)
By cjbvii (http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesburns/ - broken link)
By cjbvii (http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesburns/ - broken link)
[LEFT][SIZE=5]Victorian Village Update - [/SIZE][SIZE=5]Historic Victorian Village Envisions Its Future[/SIZE] [SIZE=5][/SIZE][SIZE=4]by Michael Cromer[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][/SIZE]If the stakeholders in a community get together and imagine their ideal neighborhood ten, fifteen, even 25 years into the future, can their collective vision then become an action plan to make that future a reality?
The owners, residents, and businesses in the Victorian Village area just east of downtown Memphis would like to find out. With the guidance of the city planning specialists and consultants, they met at St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral on Poplar Avenue to participate in meetings and focus groups, spaced over two weeks in January.
The Office of Planning and Development chose Victorian Village for this process because it is part of the much larger Medical District, soon to be the subject of comprehensive planning and re-zoning consideration.
The original impetus came from the Victorian Village Velocity Group, a small neighborhood association. Owner-resident Scott Blake, attorney Richard Fields, preservationist Eldridge Wright, and several other residence and business owners started the group.
VVVG petitioned the Center City Commission (CCC), and they picked up the ball. “The Commission has been instrumental in bringing the players together and creating an incubator to grow the neighborhood idea,” Scott told us.
The area takes its name from its principal landmark: the grand, nineteenth-century mansions that line Adams Avenue. The neighborhood encompasses about two dozen city blocks. It lies between Poplar and Union Avenues on the north and south, and is bounded by Danny Thomas Blvd on the west and Manassas Street on the east. Jefferson Avenue is the area’s wide central artery and primary access to downtown.
One of the neighborhood association’s missions is to nurture the economic mix of housing opportunities in the area. The neighborhood could hardly be more diverse. Residential structures range from high-rise and sprawling garden-style apartments, to modest duplex and single-family homes, to a number of historic homes and mansions listed on the National Register. Several of those properties are now public museums: the Mallory-Neely and Woodruff-Fontaine Houses, dating to around 1850-1870. Several other historic homes have been recently renovated and are owner-occupied.
Virtually every commercial zoning classification is represented somewhere in the district. Current businesses include Goodwill Industries, landmark neighborhood restaurants like Neely’s Bar-B-Que on Jefferson, various retail, and professional groups of doctors and lawyers, some occupying historic properties. Government and institutions are a large presence, including the Juvenile Court complex on Adams, facilities of the University of Tennessee, and the city’s vehicle inspection center.
To prepare for the January 13th meeting, a group of planning consultants from Loony Ricks Kiss (LRK), led by Steve Auterman, took inventory and collected information. They walked the neighborhoods, snapped photos of everything, and interviewed locals to get their perspectives. When the owners and residents – the “stakeholders” -- arrived for the meetings, planners were well prepared with data and exhibits.
For most of the day, LRK held focus group sessions, asking questions such as these: What do you consider the strengths of your neighborhood? What do you consider weaknesses that could be room for improvement? What would you like your neighborhood to be that it isn’t already? At the end of the day, responses and ideas were consolidated and summarized.
Understandably, the Victorian Village stakeholders pointed to the historic character of Victorian Village as its number one strength. Other strengths mentioned included proximity to downtown and schools, the Jefferson Street corridor, the two parks, and the neighborhood’s attraction to tourists and school groups, among many others. Among weaknesses, the participants identified such issues as a transient population, too few owner-residents, certain unattractive or derelict properties, poor lighting, and others. Residents tended to view the governmental and institutional properties such as the Juvenile Court as assets and opportunities, more than being liabilities.
The planning specialists also offered ideas and suggestions of their own. For example, the street grid in the area is conducive to east west traffic, but tends to inhibit car and foot travel in the north-south direction. They suggested ways to improve access and draw people into the historic neighborhoods
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[/SIZE]If the stakeholders in a community get together and imagine their ideal neighborhood ten, fifteen, even 25 years into the future, can their collective vision then become an action plan to make that future a reality?
The area takes its name from its principal landmark: the grand, nineteenth-century mansions that line Adams Avenue. The neighborhood encompasses about two dozen city blocks. It lies between Poplar and Union Avenues on the north and south, and is bounded by Danny Thomas Blvd on the west and Manassas Street on the east. Jefferson Avenue is the area’s wide central artery and primary access to downtown.
Virtually every commercial zoning classification is represented somewhere in the district. Current businesses include Goodwill Industries, landmark neighborhood restaurants like Neely’s Bar-B-Que on Jefferson, various retail, and professional groups of doctors and lawyers, some occupying historic properties. Government and institutions are a large presence, including the Juvenile Court complex on Adams, facilities of the University of Tennessee, and the city’s vehicle inspection center.
Understandably, the Victorian Village stakeholders pointed to the historic character of Victorian Village as its number one strength. Other strengths mentioned included proximity to downtown and schools, the Jefferson Street corridor, the two parks, and the neighborhood’s attraction to tourists and school groups, among many others. Among weaknesses, the participants identified such issues as a transient population, too few owner-residents, certain unattractive or derelict properties, poor lighting, and others. Residents tended to view the governmental and institutional properties such as the Juvenile Court as assets and opportunities, more than being liabilities.
