Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I assume you are talking about the Cultural Center at the Capitol Complex. It looks like a survival bunker from the 1970s. How hard was to come with that design, brick makers have been doing it since Jericho was built.
In the beginning it wasn't too bad, it looked and felt like a real museum. I went last year. O.M.G. It is a train wreck!
I do not have words for what they have done to it. I used to point people to it so that they could get a beginner's handle on what West Virginia was all about. They came back later and said, I still don't understand. So I went to see what they had on display.
It is now a plastic molded tunnel in the basement area only, that uses maybe 25% of the total available space. It looks for all the world like some community haunted house slapped together for 20 bucks at Halloween. it smells. It is dirty. It has almost nothing to do with West Virginia history and just looks dumb. An entire building for West Virginia history and one must trek to the basement and walk through STORAGE areas that are poorly lit, auditoriums that do not seem to have ever been used and long hallways with locked doors like that scene in the matrix involving the key master.
I am ashamed to call it a museum and I send no one there now.
While I absolutely agree with you 100%, I think you are being too kind. Somebody got rich building the thing though. It's the West Virginia way. It does make a sort of nice setoff, if you will, for the Lottery Palace if you look at the grand scheme of things.
While I absolutely agree with you 100%, I think you are being too kind. Somebody got rich building the thing though. It's the West Virginia way. It does make a sort of nice setoff, if you will, for the Lottery Palace if you look at the grand scheme of things.
I detest and loathe this state's waste of money buying and worse, leasing commercial office space. Even more troubling is some of that space is outside the city limits of the capitol which is in violation of the state constitution.
The state should be buying up land around the capitol and expanding as needed. The National Historic Register is given as the excuse as to why none of the houses on the boulevard can be removed but honestly are any of them worth keeping? I have been in several of them. Nothing to see there and the only thing have going for them is being old. Being old is not a virtue. Being old, I am something of an expert on that topic.
There is no reason there is any residential property between the current complex and Michigan Avenue. Truthfully the state should buy, raze and prepare everything to Wertz Avenue and build accordingly. We spend tens of not hundreds of millions each year on leases. Why do we do that? Because government officials own those buildings and lease them to the state. Corruption?
CAMC has this problem. All of those small lots around General and Memorial are owned by various physicians and administrators for CAMC who lease them to CAMC at obscene amounts. Corruption? There is a time when it crosses from capitalism and free market and into graft and corruption. Both of these are such cases.
There has been instances in the past where the State proposed buying up property and office space, for the reasons you stated, and was met with a lot of resistance, mainly from the GOP. The main argument is always that we should strive for smaller government.
There has been instances in the past where the State proposed buying up property and office space, for the reasons you stated, and was met with a lot of resistance, mainly from the GOP. The main argument is always that we should strive for smaller government.
Oh I agree with this. I am all for less government but that pursuit is a unicorn. I do not think any proposal to buy the land near the capitol was ever serious. If you run through the small area, you will see that it seems like every other house is already missing or is such poor condition that it should be torn down. All of the houses on the boulevard that under the NHR protection are not even houses. They are generally law offices or some other symbiote of the state government.
There is plenty of blame for all involved as this problem goes back to the 1930's when the original plan was amended to reduce the complex in scope.
As much as I have a passion for this subject, it is derailing the Elk River Walking Trail and we should get back to that.
The problem with this walking trail is location, nothing more. It can be in an area that has nothing along the trail itself, I actually think that is ideal. But each end needs to start and end at 'something' other than some run down town.
Another issue of concern for this location is an almost total lack of cell coverage and emergency medical services. There is just nothing there but people who would not be there if they had another choice.
I find this thread interesting. I suppose rail-trail conversations take a different tone when you have a state that is mostly wooded and mountainous, as opposed to a state where only one region, or sometimes just a few counties, have the necessary geography and land use to pull it off.
My .02 is that in general, rail-trail in places that are in economic trouble, or have high amounts of petty crime do warrant a degree of caution. Locals very much do use these trails, and while 99% of them are just there to hike or bike, it does create an opportunity for petty criminals to target people who are alone in isolated areas.
Economic development is different in a state where most regions can be said to be distressed or struggling too. I guess everyone is fighting for the same dollars for the same type of projects, so the choice of one county, or region, or another is subject to scrutiny.
I find this thread interesting. I suppose rail-trail conversations take a different tone when you have a state that is mostly wooded and mountainous, as opposed to a state where only one region, or sometimes just a few counties, have the necessary geography and land use to pull it off.
My .02 is that in general, rail-trail in places that are in economic trouble, or have high amounts of petty crime do warrant a degree of caution. Locals very much do use these trails, and while 99% of them are just there to hike or bike, it does create an opportunity for petty criminals to target people who are alone in isolated areas.
Economic development is different in a state where most regions can be said to be distressed or struggling too. I guess everyone is fighting for the same dollars for the same type of projects, so the choice of one county, or region, or another is subject to scrutiny.
Again, another poster that is hitting the nail on the head...
Rail-trails are a good idea when they are in the proper place.
In the middle of no where with no hope of future growth in a state with dwindling population and perhaps the lest active - not a good location.
In the middle of an urban area that already has a crime problem - not a good idea.
In the middle of two other wilderness attractions and the trail serves as a link - excellent location. This can work even if that state has a falling population and is sedentary because this is a draw to those from outside the state and seek such combination destinations. Add in a scenic steam train with cabin accommodations and you have a weekend getaway that many will drive into West Virginia to visit. Price it well, and they will come often.
None of that can be found between Clendenin and Clay, or indeed throughout most of West Virginia.
I would prefer the state establish a centralized grand sight with rail-trails leading away from it like a web to secondary places like state parks or lakes. Circle the whole thing with a steam tour train and you have a cash machine.
The new, state-of-the-art Air Raid Bike Park was announced Wednesday afternoon followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
It will be a year-round park designed for downhill mountain biking that the operating company undertaking the project, Gravitate To West Virginia, as well as local leaders say, will potentially transform Clendenin into a world-class tourism destination.
As a Clendenin native, I am excited about this. However, throwing the phrase "world class" out there is a bit of a stretch. They definitely will have to rely on their proximity to Charleston and I-79, because there won't be many locals utilizing it.
With that being said, this will compliment the Elk River Trail well, and will only continue to strengthen Clendenin! I would have never imagined that Clendenin would rebound from the flood as well as it has. There's more there now, then at anytime in my life before the flood.
Downtown Clendenin is "brewing" with small businesses. There's both a brewery and a coffee shop there now. They just built a new apartment building right in town. Paddler's Bar & Grill is a popular place. Elk River Baking Company, Blanch's Family Diner and Frostbite Dairy Barn are all great additions. Add in the fact that they are getting a brand new elementary school, and you have the making for new boom town. The only thing missing is a decent grocery store (aside from the Save-a-lot), which there's rumors that there will be one again.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
