America's Fallen Cities: Cincinnati
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- čas přidán 2. 05. 2024
- Drone Footage @PrimoMedia • Cincinnati, Ohio | 4K ...
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#urban #urbanism #ohio #cincinnati #architecture #cities
It is just beyond any reason how America destroyed itself and imploded from that bygone glory
Cincinatti got bombed in the late 60s early 70s. Any city can come back from getting hit by an hbomb, but there is no surviving the n bomb.
Corrupt govt and corporations sold the nation out.
Well, as a native Detroiter I can definitely think of one compelling reason: racism
@@adriancarroll685 the car industry played a much bigger role
@@akjdhajkdjhaghjkadh9804 they've got to blame all their failures on whitey like the media and govt trained them to do.
Cincinnatian here. We still have quite a lot of historic buildings left in Over-the-Rhine. The 20th Century Modernists tried to bulldoze it many times, but luckily they failed each time.
And also railroad history, The B&O and New York Central went to union station and there was the Cincinnati lineup
I often weep at what has been lost on our great Victorian cities in the UK, as volumes have been written about it and an photographer called Francis Frith recorded much of it. Although urban planning was largely responsible we at least have an excuse of extensive World War 2 bombing. I struggle to explain how America without this reason to undertake these destructive programmes can really justify it
It was the confusion of convenience being some sort of freedom, and that nothing, not even entire neighborhoods, churches, and grand palaces, should stand against it. So we demolished, so that we could conveniently commute. That, and the exponential rise in speculation on property, saw to a vast and still ongoing campaign of demolition and throw-away mentality.
Everyone who used to live in slums near cinci union station now has a house on a half acre lot in the suburbs with a good school system. So yeah some apartment buildings that no one wants to live in were torn down but everyone who lived there generally improved their amenities.
The corporate model requires perpetual "growth", hence planned obsolescenceahd disposable everything ushered in by the propagandists like Ed Bernays. Humans are gullible and the parasites that run the world prey on that weakness.
@@mickeygraeme2201Whilst some of that is true and was the case in the UK. I am afraid the great civic buildings including librarys and Universities and commerce was largely replaced with ugly concrete and glass and only largely used 9-5, and this was definately not an improvement. Before you say high maintenance costs most of these building were very well constructed and even if there a slightly higher cost most prople would prefer the interior and exterior aesthetic to have survived.
Great post. People say the US has no history, bullocks. All these industrial age Victorian city centers span the Anglosphere. I visited Cincinnati last year and loved it as I know architecture. Incredible river towns and cities throughout the Midwest
it hurts seeing those beautiful old building lost forever.
Your american fallen cities series is amazing!
Absolutely heartbreaking. Its nice to see that there is an effort to repair what was broken, but it will never be the same.
It's baffling how people in the past looked at the historic city centers and said "Nah, let's bulldoze this." And then they flock to Europe on Vacation to enjoy all these historic towns.
@@c0rnichon
this architectural demoralization was/is by design & most of the people certainly didn't want it to go this way - but, of course, it's just the American Fantasy that ' most ' of the people will have their say & their way - in reality - a very small percentage are in charge
What effort to repair
It will improve but not until after 2100
This was all done by design. Kenyon Barr. It's heartbreaking what they did to my hometown.
Compared to what other cities like St. Louis, Kansas City, and Detroit suffered, I think Cincinnati still walking out of it with some of their heritage still in tact is a lot more hopeful of a fate than most other American cities.
Are you Kidding? At least Detroit, Kansas city and STL are still recognizable, have their cores intact. Cincinnati is like a totally different city.
St Louis has very little left thanks to urban renewal, middle class flight, racial tensions, and a stagnant economy.
@@Rapture582 Riiight, the same Detroti and STL that have a declining population and severe amounts of abandoned homes. Unlike those places Cinncinati actually gained population in the past few years.
@@diodelvino3048 Detroit's core is still recognizable and revitalized. Current population gains has nothing to do with how much Cincinnati has lost. There's no way Cincinnati somehow has more "heritage" in tact proportionally than Detroit or STL.
@@Rapture582 Population gains has EVERYTHING to do with it. you just dont want to believe it since that doesnt match with your beliefs. Thats your own problem
I love seeing the old architecture in this series but also really pains me when you show what is there now.
I live in Over the Rhine. While yes a lot of destruction was done to the city to focus on highways and parking, the city itself is still in very good shape and much of the urban areas have been revitalized (gentrified) with lots of work still being done (new builds and rehabbing existing buildings). City is very much so on the up compared to what it went through from 1950-2000 with everyone moving to the burbs
I’ve lived in New York, San Francisco, Oakland, Philadelphia, Wilmington Delaware, and Cincinnati
And even though Cincinnati isn’t like the most exciting place, it might be my favorite next to Oakland
Like I said, I wouldn’t necessarily call it exciting but it is far from boring. There is always something cool to do.
And one of the things about Cincinnati that seems to go to places and not be surrounded
You can go to popular areas and still have your little spot and some sort of privacy. Most cities have popular spots, but they’re always packed.
German here: The huge fountain shown is the Tyler Davidson Fountain. It was crafted by two Bavarians as part of the "beautiful city movement" that came up right before the emergence of private car ownership. That fountain now stands a little relocated from its original site. For more details on that look up the entry in Wikipedia. Probably because of this landmark fountain Cincinnati is celebrating each year a Bavarian "Oktoberfest".
Hast du nichts besseres zu tun?
Don't listen to the rude guy Ruedi
@@ChatGPT1111 No problem, I could in reverse call HIM if HE has nothing better to do.
There are many German immigrants there and that's why they celebrate Oktoberfest.
Truly unimaginable. The folks who work in those industrial warehouses between seas of parking lots have literally no idea that a beautiful integrated dense and lively downtown once stood there. It's a lost civilization that built their society in a much better way than we build ours.
Nice work and thanks for sharing it. Cincinnati has many architectural jewels, I used to live there a few months as a former P&G employee and it was always a pleasant surprise to spot them. All the comments left are a good testimony on how much this heritage is valued, I also want to mention the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge(formerly the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge) is a suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. When opened on 1866, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1883. Impressive and still there. It looks majestic on foggy days/nights.
As poor of a reputation as many large midwest cities have, I find they have considerably more interesting heritage and history than many large cities in the west or sunbelt, which are just downright boring and devoid of culture.
the difference between the cities that were built before cars and after cars is incredible. once walkability was no longer important everything changed
You need to check out Charleston SC, Savannah GA, San Antonio TX, Key West FL, St. Augustine FL (oldest city in US), Sedona AZ, Pueblo/Taos NM and Santa Fe NM.
@ChatGPT1111 those examples all still kind of reflect my point as they're either old cities or smaller tourism/recreation focused towns. Sunbelt generally refers to more modern developments in sprawling, urban metros like Dallas, Atlanta, or Phoenix.
@@johnd.2114 if you're only interested in high population cities, the south did not have any back then. For example, the population of Phoenix in 1890 was 35,000. If the north had not destroyed the major cities of the south to where they had to start over, it might've been different, but in any event the north had a 100-200 year head start.
I am French, and in Europe we attach great importance to preserving our cities, and when I see that, I tell myself that it is the right thing to do. I'm shocked to see how beautiful American cities used to be, and how it was all torn down for highways or square concrete shoeboxes. The image of the station is revealing, it is a vile, monstrous waste...
I hope that one day, the West will have the means to restore our cities to the aspects of our greatest times, erasing the ravages of the decadent thoughts of the post-war period, which today gave birth to wokism. It's high time to return to the forgotten classics from before 1945.
Are you joking? Paris is dying just the same way that Cincinnati did.
@@starventure Huh? Paris has some issues but it is certainly not dying, it is a thriving city. History, culture, fine dining, lovely parks and rivers and it is a top international tourist destination, receiving millions more visitors than the highest ranked American entry. Not sure how that compares to the ugly, desolate wastelands American cities mostly are.
@@starventure You haven't understood what I said, it's the whole West that is losing its face, it goes well beyond Cincinnati or Paris
"wokeism" didn't cause this, and today conservatives are the ones who want to keep highways and suburbs.
What exactly does wokism have to do with this?
This is my favorite series on CZcams by far! Keep up the
good work?
i believe that people in the newer generations have an appreciation for what was lost. hopefully as we get older we will start to see it being rebuilt.
Why do you sound like a MAGA supporter
@@elliotwilliams7421 ?
As a young historic architecture enthusiast and a traditional human-oriented city fanatic I agree. The car-centric design will end with my generation.
@pjflynn220 this is nothing to do with human oriented cities, its a corporate dream that doesn't consider humans at all.
@@elliotwilliams7421 dumbass its not a corporate dream. its my dream. to have beautiful, architecturally relevant, and human oriented design (AKA traditional urban design that has been used for millennia). I am very left leaning on many issues, this is not a partisan issue. His comment was not politically oriented in one way or another you just seem to be delusional lol
It's our duty to leave our country beautiful and habitable for our children!
I know Cincinnati is not what it used to be but I was also pleasantly surprised by how walkable and bikeable Cincinnati was compared to many other small cities I been to. I was able to easily walk, run and bike from Northern Kentucky/Covington to Cincinnati and be able to walk, run, bike for quite a bit. Mount Adams was especially really nice and a beautiful walk. I was also really impressed with a lot of the older architecture in Cincinnati.
Out of all the other cities from this series, I think Cincinnati has the most potential to turn things around.
I've lived in Cincinnati for the last two years, and what you're describing as a "fallen city" is far from it. It seems that you have the mistaken idea that any city whose suburbs grow while its own population declines must be "fallen". But this is simply not true. Cincinnati has had more glorious days, yes, but the old buildings and architecture can't last forever. Replacing old buildings that are falling down with new buildings that can serve many more generations is a good and useful thing. Not everything from ages past is worth preserving.
Cincinnati does have its more walkable communities and middle-class neighborhoods. Take Hyde Park, Oakley, Madisonville, parts of Norwood (not technically Cincinnati, but that's a story for another time), OTR, for instance (and there are many others!). These are areas of the city that are very livable and are improving. What you romanticize as the glory days of a city usually required people to be crammed into spaces far too small for families, working for far too low wages. Yes, a lot of people live in the suburbs now, but Cincinnati has held a pretty steady, even increasing population over the last two decades. Just because a bunch of old, unsafe buildings are gone is no proof that Cincinnati has "fallen". But you clearly have a handle on the emotion of nostalgia. Anyone can take black-and-white pictures of yesteryear and play Amazing Grace over them. It doesn't prove your point.
And as for the suburbs, they are really quite pleasant. Being designed for cars is not inherently a bad thing, and truly, quite a few suburbs, like Milford, Montgomery, Wyoming, etc. are very walkable and have traditional main streets that have been preserved for many years. Some of these suburbs are about as old as Cincinnati itself. And Cincinnati has a huge suburban population of people living comfortably in reasonable distance of many exciting things that take place in the city every week. As a sports fan, I can go to an MLB game, an NFL game, an MLS game, an ECHL game, and a Masters-level tennis tournament all within a comfortable drive from my home. And parking is fantastic in the city. As a music fan, I appreciate that Cincinnati is a central location where many acts want to tour. And there's much more than even I can take advantage of when it comes to things to do. Not to mention the traditions of unique foods and restaurants being kept alive in this city. Do you have some kind of problem with the average American who chooses to live in the suburbs of a remarkable city?
But I guess this is about the kind of research and biased reporting I'd expect from someone who would call a green space "useless". Maybe try talking to actual people from the actual city next time before declaring a vibrant city to be "fallen".
Skyline or gold star?
@richardcypherrahl THAT S a well-formulated quality countercomment. Nostalgia 4 its own sake becomes fake ! TB was terrrible in those working class kichenettes wayback, btw.
really appreciate this series for documenting the detrimental effects of urban renewal on our greatest American cities
What do you mean by the detrimental effects of urban renewal? Our cities have seen detrimental effects of suburban sprawl, but urban renewal will be what saves them, as it already has saved them to a degree.
As a native Cincinnatian who has lived in multiple 100yr old homes inside the city, this video is unfortunately massively oversimplified. I walk and bike everywhere in this city. Downtown is one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the city and the population decline mentioned here reversed ten years ago. We recently passed a tax levy to upgrade rapid transit and are working actively to reconnect our vibrant downtown to one of the most beautiful urban parks in America along the Ohio River. Have too many cool old structures been lost and do I wish the subway had been built? Sure. But, it’s a wonderful place to live that has some of the most amazing architecture and housing stock in the country.
One of the best videos about urbanism I've ever seen. Nothing explains better than juxtaposition of old and new photos and maps how much of our cities have been destroyed by "urban renewal". Keep up the good work!
Alexander, once again, thank you for a highly informative video. You successfully highlight the possibilities that these former glorious cities have to rebound. Your mission is invaluable and encouraging.
You should do OKC, half of the downtown was destroyed and removed due to a architect “I.M PEI” he wanted to reshaped the skyline, but after tearing down a ton of buildings something happened that made him not do it, so they never rebuilt those buildings and you can clearly see that half the city seems to be erased and replaced with gardens and parks in the modern day.
Looking at OKC in the 1960s compared to now would make you think that it lost population, it didn’t it’s more than double it’s population in the 1960s but after those buildings were destroyed, they were never rebuilt. Making the city seem sized down
It had some awesome looking buildings that were demolished, like the biltmore hotel, and the Baum building.
Thank you 🙏🏼 love history like this! They don’t teach us this in school
When a city is changed from being pedestrian oriented to car oriented, it becomes a dead environment.
Atlanta is another one. Completely unrecognizable. Once an old southern city in a forest is now a mess of buildings and sprawling car dependent suburbs.
You can see remnants of old Atlanta on broad street, parts of Forsyth,
and Inman and Candler park.
Most Americans dont care about cities being sprawl and suburbs as long as it provides, and Atlanta has been providing. What it "once was" was a much higher crime rate anyways.
It's boring, but the economy is fairly well, and the population increases. Downside is that the living cost is so pretty high
HOTLANTA burned down a looong time ago ..
A corporate Stonehenge is fireproof ...
I still think Cincinnati is a great city. It’s charming when you’re passing through on the I-75.
yeah, that’s the problem (smile)
In the 60s and 70s old time neighborhoods in Cincinnati with fantastic architecture were leveled and high rise low income housing replaced them only to be torn down later because of crime and maintenance issues. When inner city develops and raises real estate values, the inhabitants are economically forced to leave, moving their problems further out into the city and suburbs, where crime and decay increase. It's an endless cycle.
Architecture Student here: Those back streets provide car access and garbage collection to those houses, with this alleys the architects create an inviting front facade without the interference of cars, this is also down in other New Urbanist communities around the US
Yes, but it seemed like there was quite a bit of space given to those "back streets." They are not as narrow as Chicago's back alleys, for example.
That doesn't quite fit with the carefully constructed narrative, so it's not a surprise that it was overlooked.
@@richardcypherrahl Nah…Technical stuff is hard to understand
that recessed highway near the riverfront is a perfect place for a deck park
I live in columbus, and it seems to have a different story than Cincinnati. Most of the urban highways are below grade or along rail lines and rivers, so not as much was destroyed to build them.
I live in Southern Orchards, near German Village in the Southside, and it is very well preserved. My house was build in 1914 and I can walk or bike just about anywhere. It doesn't seem like as much was destroyed outside of downtown, compared to Cincinnati.
Plus Cbus didnt die like the other C's. Its great to see how much progress is being made in the city
One interesting thing about Cincy is that, because of the hilly topography, there are a lot of old walkable mini town centers in the other neighborhoods. This video focused on the urban core and the furthest-flung suburbs, but there’s a lot of preserved walkability in other parts of the city, fortunately.
this is so depressing! I hope someone can play this video at their city hall, force every legislator to watch this. Perhaps some good will come out of it..
You can't fix a problem using the same logic that created it.
I look forward to your Kansas City video. I lived there for a couple of years and it seemed to me you could see the fossils of some ambitious urban planning here and there.
@FailsafeZero WENT TO 18TH & VINE July,86. Was a near ghetto. Just looked up the famous inters3ction from Maps : a miracle has happened : its clean & ...decent.
Listen the song PINEY BROWN BLUES by BJT (=Big Joe Turner), so you ll reach its historicity in 30s jazz. Piney was a bartender legend in the joint where Basie, McShann, Bird and many others started. MARY LOU WILLIAMS, voc & p,
Interesting video. I attended the University of Cincinnati in the 50s. Cincinnati was a somewhat rundown river town then. The riverfront was in decay and upper Vine St was an area that you didn't want to go. I am glad to see those areas redeveloped and a lot of the old ugly buildings removed. Your point that what replaced them may not be the best that could be had is probably valid. I'm glad that Union Station is still there. I have fond memories of train travel in and out of that beautiful building.
That montage filled me with so much anger and hatred, it brought tears.
It's sad how every major US city looked like London less than 100 years ago. What World War 2 did to numerous cities in Europe, Americans did themselves, without a single air raid.
All of the firebombings and destruction of US cities were domestic. Riots all theoughout the 69s that burned hundreds of blocks in cities all across the country, never to be rebuilt. “White flight” happened bc the cities were being literally torn down, looted, and destroyed
Great video !
Most of the places in the world that are worth seeing have had better days before global capitalism
How was this possible? European and Japanese cities were literally destroyed in WW2 and were built back better then this. We lost a lot of beautiful architecture in Britain but thankfully only a small number of cities (Mainly Leeds, Glasgow and Coventry) built urban motorways, most are very walkable still. London and other cities saw fierce protests against motorways so thankfully plans were abandoned. As the end of the Planets of the Apes puts it, "you maniacs!, you blew it up!"
it's a sweet dream to rebuild what was destroyed - and I hope it comes true - but, is it realistic ? the materials - granite, marble, excellent wood etc - costs are exorbitant & then, there is the challenge of finding architects & craftmen able & willing to build such magnificent structures - let's face it, the way things are now - people aren't even able/willing to build residential houses / housing properly - materials & labor are just in a different stratosphere as far as costs now & the people who built these buildings had a deep sense of work ethics & pride - our current demographics just don't & that's just a fact - it's not going in a good direction either - it's so heartbreaking - in literally one lifetime - we've gone from wonderful to worthless 😔
That what it means getting poorer, as a society - you cannot afford what you could before
In the United States there weren`t the so called 2 WW`s in that way like in Europe. But there was a silent war against the citiziens and their heritage. The so called "burnings and earthquakes", the so called "improvements and innovations" were horrible and destructive for the whole lands/states. It was planned and it was executed by the same people, who financed the war overseas in Europe and elsewhere. It`s important in my opinion that humans learn to distinguish between the executor and the financier for the executor. Great summary with great impressions of a formely great city on the earth.Greetings from Germany
It's the small hats
I will never travel to this citys, but watching your channel is a joy, you are a great teacher.
Ah my hometown. Even though I've seen these photos many times, it always shocks me to see the overhead shot of the urban basin before freeways. Such a beautiful, dense city to rival those in Europe destroyed in the name of 'progress'.
It is not in the name of progress, it is deindustrialization and loss of significance
Amazing content brother!
Unbelievable.
Thank you for this video and series. FYI, 4:42 is Baltimore's Peabody Library.
Noooo really? It took me so long to find what I thought was a high quality image of the floor of the Cincinnati library. The relief I had in finding that photo, and all for nothing :/ My apologies!
@@alexanderrotmensz Yeah I live nearby and verified on the library website, but no worries! Its amazing that you found as many photos as you did.
amazing video. subbed ❤️
The NIMBYs in my city prevented it from falling.
Boom exactly
It sort of looks like St. Louis, I'm shocked so few people compare the two cities, they are so similar in so many ways.
If Cincinnati fully built that subway in the past, perhaps it would be a different city.
to think if these survived you may not even care to go to Europe for vacation, various US cities would be just as gorgeous
Not really.
Europe has cities which developed over 1000 years with several different architectural epochs.
Thank you for creating these. If the material is there, it would be interesting to see how this dynamic affected smaller cities too, like Gary, Indiana or Rochester, New York. Places that used to be small manufacturing centers, but never really recovered.
Another option is looking at cities that have been so radically transformed by post-war development that in a sense, the 'old' form of the city has fallen. Like, how relevant is the pre-WWII downtown areas of LA or Houston or Dallas? Sure, these places haven't 'fallen' in the same way, but it could still be interesting to see how much of the old parts of the city were lost.
Great ideas!
It really is amazing the effect the architecture and street layout has on culture.
Mid-20th century urban renewal has clearly been devastating to the American city. Sad to see so many beautiful structures gone in Cincinnati.
Boston came back from the brink when it demolished the Central Artery and built a tunnel. The highway was replaced by a string of parks that draw many visitors and locals.
That's what happens when people suddenly don't have to put up with 5 obnoxious neighbors making noise through their walls and floors all hours of the day or night and can go live somewhere better.
A lot of those early wealthy developers that came to Florida, particularly Miami were either from Ohio or NYC.
Very interesting video thank you
Population in 2024: ~329,303
Population in 2019: ~313,986
Great video and series. So sad what was lost. Curious why the existing Baltimore George Peabody library is shown here with the demolished Cincinnati library? Its a similar design but comes across as being a lost Cincinnati building.
Grew up in Cincinnati & been living in Louisville for 24 years. Louisville has the same story in Cincinnati. Everything that happens in Cincinnati will eventually happen in Louisville.
3:48 straight up crazy 😮
Would love to see a series of revived cities !
Have you ever read into Ogdensburg NY? In my opinion it is the most egregious fallen city in the US. Your last video on Buffalo, it is up northeast of it on the St Lawrence.
It is a much smaller city, but unlike its larger contemporaries, its bustling downtown district was never rebuilt after its demise for "urban revitalization".
I kid you not when I say its downtown district is just an empty multi-block parking lot. I think you may enjoy looking into it, even if it is not a big enough place to warrant a video.
That Library was beautiful. Wow.
Suburbs are subsidized by a ponzi scheme. In Canada we tried building like this the past 40 years now, copying Americans, and its already failing. The cost of housing is getting too high as the asset Ponzi grows bigger and city budgets are stressed paying for infrastructure and their rising property taxes. But I don’t think America is far behind.
Somehow cost of housing rises in some Canadian cities more than in suburbs
FYI 4:41 is the Peabody Library in Baltimore.
I've been watching this America's Fallen Cities series of yours and they look more depressing than most cemeteries.
Is there an American city that is a good example of modernity + preservation?
Hello from South America!
I find cemeteries peaceful and beautiful. Whatever's after this, even if nothing, has got to be better than this manmade hellhole.
One question. I see in the photos that they are all old Cities had more beautiful but similar architecture between them. Is it my impression or did they seem like a lot?
There was certainly an American theme from city to city, although there were strong regional differences. It’s not as noticeable in the downtown but in the low rise neighborhood like north side, there is a more specific, local theme, and you see this in different cities
across the country. Also, cities in California and Florida had a very different aesthetic. Most of these cities so far in this series are in the same general part of the US. Great question!
@@alexanderrotmensz Thank you very much.
@@alexanderrotmenszprops for knowing about northside. Cincy still has a lot of really cool spots, and thats definitely up there
As a UK person I feel like cincinatti is one of those cities that only exists in old black and white movies.
This has happened to so many American cities. It just boggles my mind.
🥲🥲🥲🥲 you’re doing good work
I’m all for generously wide roads so I see no problem.
Narrow roads, on the other hand, is just high blood pressure for a city.
It is sad to see legacy cities like Cincinnati falling into that post-WWII suburban development design. We can only hope that a reawakening can occur to recapture some of the positive aspects it once enjoyed. Living in Texas, there is little legacy left as most of the state's urban development came after WWII and they all, with tiny exceptions, exemplify the LA style, car-centric, and endless subdivision sprawl characteristics of the late 1900s. I do believe there is hope, however, as I believe there will be opportunities to "retrofit" many suburban style developments making them more walkable/bike-able, more nature focused and perhaps starting to resemble the old street car suburbs of yesteryear. The smarter local leaders are starting to see that it is in their interests to make this all happen.
I think you need to raise your mic volume. It is very hard to hear you, even on max volume.
As much as we'd like to hang on to those old buildings, a lot of them were not up to modern fire safety standards, so it was probably cheaper to tear it down and build new ones. And even the new ones now sit empty.
3:44 That is a horrifying change. You'd think a bomb was dropped on the place.
This is amazing and sad. Can you do Detroit next? These are great videos.
Truth being hidden in plain sight! nice video, cheers
Never been to America but this is devastating
Well, that's because it's a lie.
What American urban planners seem to have completely overlooked is that a city is more than the sum of its parts. Because thats exactly what happened, they split everything in to parts. This could of course be done by the implementation of individual motorized transportation, but it never should have been done. Mixed zoning is what makes a city. When you leave your front door, you stroll to the grocery store, to the local bar or diner, to the local subway stop, whatever... And this natural occuring foot traffic is what makes the whole thing stick together like glue: Bustling, lively streets.
The thing is, the signs were there all along. Just look at Disney World for example. For many the ultimate enjoyable enviroment: Huge pedestrian zones liked together by public transportation. And everybody loves it! Why do families spend $1000s to stay a week or in some cases even per day, in an apartment block. Because thats what a hotel is, even the most luxurious ones, take the bus to a park entrance or restaurant and never step foot in a car. While at the same time they dread the idea to live in such an enviroment... It just doesnt make sense...
It doesn't but it does, because this is the way a lot of americans sees a walkable city: a theme park, so not a "real" thing. Even when they go to Europe, all the historic centre look like a amusement park for them, not a real place with real people doing real things. It's sad.
You really took us to Rock Bottom with this one.
a great, reflective look at how much we’ve sacrificed to the altar of cars and trucks… and I have owned many.
My smaller hometown of New London, Connecticut thought it could bulldoze itself to prosperity and largely failed. Only the building of submarines is keeping the area afloat.
if all goes well, “Lost New London” will be coming out in about 6 months through The History Press (Arcadia Publishing). Would like to give a plug for your “Fallen Cities” channel in the book, Alexander.
all the best, Bill in Vermont
'They paved paradise and put up a parking lot'... How can you destroy such a beautiful and vibrant place? In its glory days it must have been stunning. Now look at it!!! It's architectural, social and cultural vandalism!
The before/after central station picture is shocking
don't let cars hurt your feelings.
Do Dayton, Ohio next!
Can you do a video on Binghamton/Endicott? I live here and we have had a saddening downfall since the 1900's
While I agree to a degree, and would love to have seen more of the famed industrial era buildings in CBD, OTR, and CUF kept, this video would have been waaaay more depressing between 1999-2010. It was a ghost town, with many buildings falling so far into disrepair, they had to be torn down. I think Cincinnati has done a pretty good job recently with its development, even if some of the newer architecture is ugly, better than having bricks falling off abandoned properties and empty storefronts. It could definitely do a much better job of creating and sustaining affordable housing, esp since they killed a well-written affordable housing measure a few years back. I'm really concerned now about the privatization of the RR. City leaders did not use foresight on that at all, as privatization has caused more RR accidents and issues as the deregulated train cos don't have to abide by rules that keep them more safe.
Great video! It’s so important that we understand our history so we can rebuild it.
You can for sure see the german influence in these old pictures
That building at 2:43 is similar to the headquarter of Superfriends xD
That is actually where they got the design for it.
Thank God it have peoples with comon sens in power who protected some beautiful old buildings..
Even if Cincinnati still had all those beautiful old buildings, it would still be Cincinnati... horrible weather, industrial pollution, crime, etc.... and people would still want to leave for places like Arizona and Florida.
The Victorian architecture in the centre is very similar to Manchester in the U.K. Uncannily similar. Manchester is booming now, after it went from an industrial powerhouse to significant decline. Cincinnati can turn itself around I am sure.
cincinnati has actually been on the upswing recently and people living there generally have a good opinion of it. it has problems of course, but in general it's been moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. there's been some traffic calming efforts and investment in public transportation in the past few years with plans for more. there is the difficulty of reduced office building revenue due to wfh, but thats a common problem
honestly this video in general feels like someone just reading numbers that has never actually been to the city. there's plenty more content of people discussing the city who have actually been there recently
It appears that the library is lost, though the second pic is from the library at John Hopkins university?
I'm sensing a trend here, the great lakes slash rust belt
It makes me sick...what was done to American cities was a crime against humanity!