The Texas Rust Belt: How Changing Industry Made Port Arthur a Relic Amidst a Statewide Boom
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- čas přidán 2. 12. 2022
- Located in the far Southeast corner of Texas along the Louisiana border, Port Arthur is a city built for a boom that busted. Home to the nation's largest refining complex, the city developed on oil money and blue collar jobs. But as the turbulence of the 60s and 70s and the decades long decline in refining jobs took hold, Port Arthur became a shell of the city it once was.
SOURCES | FURTHER READING:
1. www.houstonchronicle.com/news...
2. www.beaumontenterprise.com/z-...
3. www.environmentalintegrity.or...
4. www.tshaonline.org/handbook/e...
5. nexusmedianews.com/too-little...
6. southernretail.blogspot.com/2...
7. www.houstonchronicle.com/opin...
8. environmentalintegrity.org/wp...
9. kfdm.com/news/local/port-arth...
10. www.12newsnow.com/article/new...
11. www.beaumontenterprise.com/ne...
12. www.portarthurtx.gov/Document...
13. worldpopulationreview.com/sta...
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15. www.nrdc.org/onearth/port-art...
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17. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Ar...
18. www.bestplaces.net/economy/ci...
19. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nederla...
TOPICS COVERED:
Texas History, Oil Industry, Oil and Gas, Refinery, Refining, Arthur Stillwell, Port Arthur, Port Arthur TX, Abandoned Buildings, Abandoned Places, Ghost Town, Ghost Towns, Ghost Cities, Abandoned, Urban Decay, Detroit, Rust Belt, Economics, Economic Decline, Railroad, Kansas City Southern, KCS, Railroads, Ships, Infrastructure, Abandoned Mansion, Poverty, Texas, East Texas, Spindletop, Hurricanes, Hurricane Harvey, Flooding - Zábava
My father, Dr. Milton Getz, had his first office in the Adams Building, which eventually became the World Trade Building. I lived in Port Arthur from 1956 to 1974 and moved to Beaumont in 1976. I am a witness to the decline in your excellent video and now serve on the City Council in Beaumont. We are trying very hard to make sure Beaumont does not have the same outcome to its downtown that Port Arthur experienced.
Mr. Getz is fighting hard for us in Beaumont, TX. I can vouch for that! Thank you Mr. Getz. The decline is real, but so is the fight to reclaim our glory.
I appreciate the effort. You can’t save Beaumont without rebuilding the roads and gentrifying the entire city. The element that ruins the city is cemented in place. The schools are as bad as a school can be. If anyone wants Beaumont to change, they should move.
Do not become greedy, do not be disrespectful, do not leverage your tax base. Delayed gratification is always better than instant.
That sad part of so many in elected offices is their general lack of business knowledge. Many, not all, elected officials deal with budgetary items daily yet don't have basic finance or accounting knowledge.
When politicians spend other people's money they act like it's their own personal bank account.
The democrats who ran Detroit into the ground continue to raise taxes on a population that hasn't been able to pay those taxes for decades.
Past Detroit city officials have paid very lucrative retirement to all city employees when American auto had few competitors.
When the American auto industry started getting whacked by imports the tax revenues began to decline but the democrats continued their tax and spend policies.
Eventually mass layoffs, plant closures and a population that left Detroit for work elsewhere contributed to the decline in tax revenues. But the democrats continued to spend and raise taxes to pay for things that weren't needed.
Those retired city employees have been asked several times for cuts in their retirement benefits because the city has no way to pay for them yet the democrats continued to raise taxes on those how cannot afford to pay anymore.
With property tax revenues also in steep decline how are those hapless democrats going to dig their way out of the deep hole they've dug for their poor unfortunate populace.
That led to Detroit's bankruptcy.
If any of these elected officials had any business skills at all they ignored them completely.
then you have bumped into janis somewhere....
Good video, I work in a neighboring city and find Port Arthur to have the potential to be a beautiful city. My understanding is that part of what led to its decline was that I-10 was supposed to go through PA but when the mayor/city council got sideways with Jack Brooks, a Texas crook, I mean politician, the interstate was routed to Beaumont instead. Highway 73 was meant to be the route I-10 was supposed to take before this. Just like a railroad being moved to avoid a town, the interstate bypassing PA led to people and businesses going to Beaumont where the traffic would be.
When I go to PA I like driving down Gulfway from downtown and seeing all the old mansions and imaging what it looked like 50 years ago.
When you wrote Gulfway, I assume that you meant to write (the formerly swanky) Lakeshore Drive. There aren't any mansions on Gulfway. Lol.
Born and raised in Port Arthur, I love the simplicity of the city, and the southern hospitality. I have traveled globally and I cannot find friendlier , genuine, authentic people. They are REAL !! And strangely, it never fails that I meet someone “from” Port Arthur in the USA AND INTERNATIONALLY . The City produces greatness in all areaS from sports to medicine to the White House. I believe the citizens need to take a more “ active” role , myself included, in the restoration of our city and not just limit it to our personal home or neighborhood. We must stop waiting for “someone else” to do it. We need to VOTE people who are qualified, educated, innovative, visionaries, and determined to make a change. Not someone who is a member of the “click” and want a position/ platform to appear of self importance. Those who will remain in the city must stand up or they will continue to experience a decline. My plans are to relocate geographically, ONLY because this is what the Lord has instructed me to do. I personally have never thought of nor had a desire to leave. But I ❤my city and the people in it!!
You were kind in your mention of Jack Brooks. I'll say no more!
Port Arthur was still doing fine long after I-10 was built, and I-10 runs very close to Port Arthur. "White flight" from PA to those neighboring cities has hurt PA.
Port Arthur is my hometown. I graduated HS in 1979, and moved to North Texas for college, and stayed in the Dallas area. While in college, the wheels kind of fell off the city of Port Arthur. I still go there about once a year to visit friends, who all now live in Nederland and Port Neches. It is sad to see what has happen to PA.
I’m 42 an downtown Port Arthur has been abandoned all my life…
There were a few very "authentic" blues bars back in the 70s.
I’m almost 50, & I agree with you. I’m from Orange originally, now in Groves. Lived in Nederland, Orangefield, Bridge City, & Beaumont before, & for a little while in Crockett ( of course Crockett is in East Tx ) .
Port Arthur is absolutely not dead, but downtown has become the wrong side of the tracks.
im 42 in nederland tx and i dont go down there without a pistol and extra mag.
@@kennedy98796
I'm 70 and don't go nowhere without my pistol.
as a person who lives in Port Arthur for over 15 years i appreciate you telling me things i didn’t even know.
I blame Biden for Texas problems. He hates republicans with a passion.
I'm from Groves the town next to Port Arthur & my parents & grandparents are from Port Arthur. My pawpaw said back in the 40s & 50s it was projected to become a smaller version of Houston & pleasure island to become a smaller version of Galveston. Yeah it didn't end up as projected lol
I’m 57, Born and raised in PA, it’s a shame how far down the city has gone😢, I could pretty much tell u what every abandoned building once was.
The Golden Triangle--Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange is simply Louisiana over the border. The greater majority of the people who moved and lived there came from Southern Louisiana and took their language, food, and religion with them. Port Arthur is historically French and Catholic. There are many French surnames just like Southern Louisiana. The same people: black AND white.
That’s very interesting.
I basically grew up in SE Texas, from about '76-'92, and that is something that I grew to realize, that the border with Louisiana is an underestimated impact in both directions. Texans in the Golden Triangle have far more in common culturally towards Lake Charles than towards Houston. It's like you don't have to drive far at all west or north to begin to leave behind the SE Texas accents, attitudes, culture, etc. But if you drive east, you'll be in "similar company" for hundreds of miles. Basically, the Golden Triangle IS "extreme west Louisiana." It really is more Louisiana than Texas, even the swamps. You can even find respectable Cajun food deep inside Texas. Basically, the Cajun culture didn't care about the state border. They came as far as the swamps and marshes.
Very interesting observation.
ABSOLUTELY
At least it is not #lousyana
But what good is this knowledge even if true? Isn’t that just making an excuse to save your Texan pride? Shouldn’t the discussion not be about culture, but about policy or some specific lessons to be learned?
@nunyabidness3075 lighten up Political Patti
It's history. Go where you feel welcome: Conspiracy Alley. 😂😂😂😂😂
My Hometown too.
Now live in Houston area for past 30 years.
Enjoyed the downtown stores when I was a Kid.
Lots
I was Born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas. I got to run up and down the street from the late sixties to 1980. I would shine shoes, hustle the pool tables, and run in and out of the bars on both sides of Proctor Street. Everyone knew each other and everyone knew me as Lil' Charles or Mann. It was a different time period in those days. I lived above the Union Cafe in a boarding room with my Dad at that time. I would go down to the Keyhole to eat a hot dog that was made by John, big, tall black man, they were the best. (Race wasn't an issue at time) for a lot of people, Black or white. I would go to the Palace Club owned by Vincent Mazzara at Proctor and Dallas, I would watch him paint, great artist and great businessman. I am also an artist today because of him. There was the 333, and bar I would play pool trying to hustle the Seamen out of their cash. There was Perry's Lounge across the street, the owner Ms. Dottie would always ask me if I had eaten for the day. The Lion's Den, owner was a great lady as well, Ms. Benny, she treated people like family. I learned how to drive on the seawall by an older friend of my dad's named Lil' Johnny. I swear the man wasn't 5' tall. he worked at the Longhorn cab stand. He would end his shift and take me up on the seawall to drive his assigned cab. I was about 10 years old at that time. Primo Doc, I was ran out of that bar more times than I can count. Doc was a cool old dude with me and as I grew older, I lived upstairs above the bar. But today, all those people are long gone; most of them are in the upper room.
Anyway, Port Arthur is in a heart-felt condition today when you drive in many areas of Port Arthur, not just downtown. I won't point my finger to any one thing, but it started dying in 1976 when the first mall was built on Twin City Hwy.@ 32nd. (today, it is on its last leg as well). After it was built, many people and businesses moved that way. The last 35 years as had put a burden to the people of Port Arthur for lack of good leadership, it has been in bad hands for a while. We are all suffering from those who should be in office to run a city. Rosehill Manor was a gift to the people of Port Arthur, it was in such deplorable condition, the city management should be ashamed of themselves while they were lining their pockets with nice big pay checks. The roads and street are not kept like they should, some you just no not to drive down them. Can't call anyone, they just pass you around from phone to phone. They only pick up trash once a week, if we are lucky. People just pile it up the trash in the drainage ditches. They are driving people away from Port Arthur with the highest property taxes for less services from the city.
There was a time when Port Arthur was a VERY PROUND city. People kept their properties up, maintain their lawn and kept paint on their houses. When your neighbors were down or and without or in a hurting situation, people would step in and step up and help them their neighbors out. We need to get back to taking care of people, get off of this race war band wagon!!! Port Arthur Texas is our hometown, we need to get to acting like its home. We need our people to have some respect and pride for one another, stop tearing each other down, because that is what I see when I drive in and around Port Arthur, Texas!!!! Now, guess who I am?
Wow I knew Ms Perry and her daughter Debbie!
Charles Hernandez
I grew up in PA and Orange Tx. I am glad when my mom and step dad moved us out of there in the early 80’s.
My wife just shared this with me & I'm glad she did. Great video! I currently work at Motiva & was born & raised in PA. My parents always shared stories about the downtown area, shops, hotels, Pleasure Island amusement park, trolley system, etc. Would've loved to see it all in person.
That's awesome! Some great old photos when downtown was still thriving, would have been a sight to see.
Pleasure Island use to a really nice and fun place to go and spend the day ride rides and then go crabbing..oh thos were the days !!!!
Born and raised there, left in 1984. Sad to see how badly it declined over the years. 😢
My great grandfather's family arrived in Port Arthur in 1910. He worked at the Gulf Oil Co. Refinery. My grandfather worked for the Texas Co, (Texaco) from 1922 untill 1955. I was born in nearby Beaumont about 3 miles from Spindletop. My son is a Port Arthur Policeman.
Thanks for sharing! Do you have any good stories from your time there?
Wow, we share a lot of the same history. My great grandfather arrived in Opelousas, LA around the same time, from Sicily. My grandfather also worked at Texaco from the '20s until he died from asbestos-related cancer in 1966. AND I was also born in Beaumont and try to visit every year!
The Golden Triangle area of SE Texas has produced a lot of artists, musicians and other creative people. There used to be a Museum of the Gulf Coast in downtown Port Arthur, it had a lot of cool exhibits and explained the history of the area going way before the oil boom. My family visited several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. They also had a Texas Music Hall of Fame there, and every year new artists would be inducted into it.
The museum is actually still there, I just visited a couple weeks ago
Janis Joplin
Who
@@timothykeith1367she literally ran out of there lmao, wasn’t like she wanted to hang around. She leaves out and left for Austin the minute she finished a semester at Lamar
I was stuck in Blowmont (Beaumont) for about a year and a half.. And, this was over 2 decades ago.. The mosquitos in the entire area could almost lift a grown man off the ground.. I have no fond memories "doing time" (lol - its what it felt like) when there... Only those who have good memories from LONG ago growing up or visiting family there may have good memories or it.. I just can't imagine any reason people would want to live there.. The oil companies, especially the launching points to the platforms moved over to Louisiana.. Good coverage..
everything you typed is certainly true but there is also some really really dang good fishin!
I was born in Port Arthur in 1958. My mom's family moved there in 1938 to go to work in the refineries. My dad's family moved there in the 1940's during the war to work in the defense industry. He later worked at the Chevrolet dealership as a mechanic until he retired in the early 1970's. They lived two houses apart on 5th St in "Lakeview" a few blocks off of the canal. My family moved away in 960. When we would go back to visit, we would always get in late, and I would wake up the next morning to ship horns, the smell of the shrimp/fish house and the smell of the refineries. Later when I was a teenager, my cousin and I would "do the drag" on Gulf Way Dr. Had some wild times there. I took my 90 year old dad back down there last year to visit his sister. It was so sad and depressing. Most of the older people I knew are gone, the city is in shambles. Not the bustling town I remember as a kid. Nearly all of the rest of my uncles, aunts, cousins, stayed there and worked in the refineries all of their lives. But they have all moved out to Nederland, Port Neches, ect.
I was born in Port Arthur in 1950 and family moved to Groves in 1953. I grew up there and remember going with my parents to PA to shop on the weekends. PA was a great place back then, I left the area in 1975 and was back there about a year ago, man time has really did a number on PA. I'd be afraid to walk the streets of down town PA today. When going through the downtown area last year, I was so sad to see what it has become. It was once a beautiful city with much to do and see, now it's like a ghost town. It broke my heart to see it.
Born in Port Arthur and raised in nearby Nederland. I currently live in Groves just north of Port Arthur. It has declined, but I feel that it will see some recovery hopefully soon! Good vid. 👍🏽
They been saying this since 2010 and yet it hasn’t happened
I had two friends from Port Arthur in the 70"s. They never talked about it at all. I always wondered what it was like. The girl of the couple said Johnny Winter was from Port Arthur and she knew him. Now I know about the place. Glad I watched you're video!
I never heard of Johnny Winter but Janis Joplin was from Port Arthur.
@@evie7845 you're right Johnny Winter was from Beaumont which is only 15 miles from Port Arthur. He was one of the greatest of the hippie era bluesmen. Look him and his brother Edgar up. Type in a song Johnnie did called Dallas. It's the real deal. He was one of the biggest acts at Woodstock.
Also football couch Jimmy Johnson and singer Johnny Preston was from there,well known the song Running Bear.
I'm from neighboring Vidor about 20 minutes away. And we have to remember. Port Author gave us U.G.K!!
Isn’t vidor a sundown town
@@bloodOntheStep No
@@michaelharmon7052 when did that change?
@@bloodOntheStep when did what change?
@@michaelharmon7052 idk how long you have lived there but many blacks know vidor as a sundown town
Hey Scott, great video. Have you heard of Texas' attempt to make Dallas a port city by turning the Trinity into a shipping channel in the 1890's? I believe 6 of these locks still exist in the Trinity. Even if its not video worthy, you'd probably find the history of it interesting.
I have! I actually mapped all the remaining ones out so I could film them - I have a whole list of things I want to record in North Texas.
@@ScottDaileyCZcams cool I look forward to seeing that one.
Are you aware that there used to be a short subway system in downtown Fort Worth?
@@10a3asd I was not, looking it up now!
The majority of the video only shows downtown. 12 blocks by 8 blocks. PA is very thriving. Just not downtown. Tons of people moved from port arthur to near by towns because the crime and gangs were and still are a huge problem. The Golden triangle is filled with a huge population of plant workers. The majority of plant workers (contractors) average about 90k a year. Don't forget about the marine industry as well.
From Nederland went to Lamar port Arthur. Memories!! Hurricane Rita ran me off
I’m also from the Netherlands (Nederland). We don’t have hurricanes here!
I grew up in Port Arthur in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. It was very close to blowing past Beaumont at one point (in the 70s). It was a great place to grow up back then. Not anymore. Crime is off the chain. I remember going downtown for shoes & ice-cream. Also, learning about Arthur Stiwell and taking field trips around Port Arthur. The Coca-Cola factory once bottled there. Had some great restaurants, and I knew a ton of people in Port arthur who never lived or had relatives from Louisiana. The food does bleed over with a bit of a Texas twist. That leads me to the food. Ask anyone you can't get better food than in S.E. Texas around Beaumont and Port Arthur, like Tex-Mex, Cajun, Bbq, Fried Seafood, italian just about everything but with the unique seasoning and flavor here. My Dad always said Port Arthur would rise again, Lol. Maybe it will. If you go there, you would be SHOCKED TO SEE THE NATL TALENT from there at The Museum of Gulf Coast. IT HAS PERSONAL items from Janis Joplin, the big bopper, Bum Phillips, Jimmy Johnson, Edgar & Johnny Winters and so many others from Port Arthur.
Edgar and Johnny Winters are from Beaumont. J.P. Richardson AKA the Big Bopper, was born in Sabine Pass but raised in Beaumont. And Bum was from Orange. You do get Janis and Jimmy though.
Oh thank you so much for this information, it's really interesting. I'll start praying about the revitalization and renewing of Port Arthur, Texas.
As Janis said, "Port Arthur is the asshole of Texas. And Beaumont is 19 miles up it."
A lot of companies have mov
away from the coast . That’s how Houston came to be in the early years of the 1900’s. Before that Houston was a small community with a crossroads. If anyone thinks the resources are depleted turn off the pipelines for a week coming thru that area to the NE US for a week ! You’ll find out quick !
I appreciate the historical information and insightful hope we have for my area. Thanks Mr. Dailey
I grew up in Port Acreas and Port Arthur. I'm 51 years old but do remember down town when I was a kid. My mom had even rented a room in the Sabine Hotel for a short time. My older sister chased one of her boyfriends threw the lobby lol. But it was hopping with stores that played music outside and advertised the clothes and hat's on racks for people to shop. I learned how to shoot pool at the little bar my mom worked at called the Torch. I remember the store called Kress that had a grill also. My mom would buy me a chocolate malt and a grilled cheese sandwich to keep me occupied while she shopped . Anyway I watched the city decline fast after that. I think it's been plagued with poor management and corruption. That's what happened to Port Arthur. The hurricanes ( Harvey ) was just the straw that broke the camel's back for most. Now it all seems like a waste of time. Sad but true. They the city manager's are only concerned about the northern area's of town . Not the Southern. It shows with any new buildings , streets homes , schools , and hospital's. Try investigating those thing's. Then you will see some real reason's
I was born and raised in Port Arthur and still here, I am 64years old , love my city and yes it has declined a lot, but also I feel that the city workers , officers can do more but don’t… Hurricanes has really displaced a lot of people, and the fact that getting jobs in the refineries, sometimes they hire out of town workers instead of the people who live in Port Arthur. I really feel in my heart that it will never be the same as it was when I was a kid, but it can be better than it is now!!, I love, love ,love Port Arthur and I always will..
youre 100% correct about these plants hiring out of state workers. hire local!!
"No locals can do the jobs!" Which is a legitimate point that must not be overlooked. So, how about a refinery or two buy an abandoned building on Procter Street, and set it up as a training center for refinery jobs. Higher tuition if you don't live in Jefferson County. Free if you agree to have a portion of your paycheck held back to pay for tuition for 12 months after being hired, or you can pay for it yourself at registration and get a full paycheck immediately.
@@elwoodblues9613A lot of refinery jobs require a bachelor’s degree or more. Look at the online job listings. These are positions that can’t be filled by people with 12 month technical certificates.
I live/have lived in SETX for almost 30 years. This whole area has had up and downs with rot and revitalization, but the people are a resilient. I have seen people practically rebuild there homes after floods, just to do it all over again 2 years later after the next hurricane. That might just be stubbornness.
This was Well done. Thank you for sharing this.
I'm so glad YT recommended your video to me! New subscriber:)
I lived in Beaumont for a bit. While it has a few more advantages compared to Port Arthur (bigger population, county seat, I-10, etc), I think all of the Golden Triangle shares a similar suite of challenges.
My biggest concern for them is how they’re caught between a rock and a hard place with oil and climate change.
The oil industry challenges you described are all just from “normal” boom-bust cycles and automation of plant jobs; the energy transition will accelerate all of that, even if there’s a “long tail” for plastics and other petrochems.
On the other end, there’s climate change, especially sea level rise and storm intensification. As I recall, the Houston sea wall infrastructure won’t extend that far east. Hurricane Laura was a very narrowly dodged bullet; it only moved east at the last moment. If the storm surge had plowed up Sabine Lake like they feared, I’d wager the whole area would still be struggling to recover years later.
I wish the best for SETX, but I think the next few decades will be rough for them.
Climate change?? 🤡🤫
I wouldn't worry about "climate change." That's a hoax. And oil is going to be with us for a very long time, wishful thinking aside.
@@templar1541 🤡 sub 90 IQ?
I was selling cars about 20 years ago with a traveling promotional crew (additional sales staff for the old school tent sale events). We traveled all over the US to act as additional sales staff. One of my stops? Energy County Ford. Sold three cars that week. Was hot AF though.
Was that when one of your guys was hit by a car on the lot?
@@davidbryant3532 Nope, wasn't the week I was there.
Fantastic Video fellow content creator. As you can see from my namesake I am from Port Arthur, and I'll represent it till I am dead (in the words of my fellow PA Texan RIP Chad Butler AKA Pimp C). Not born there but my dad brought my small family there in 1977 when I was 6 months old so he could work @ the port. Growing up there, the crack era hit PA harder than any hurricane. It was bad, real bad, the violence rivaled that of any big city in the country. The oil plants fueled it as much as it fueled the country it seemed. My friends and family are STILL suffering from the crack epidemic! I graduated from Lincoln high school went to college and never looked back. We have a TON of famous people from P.A. This video was a real treat to see the history of the place I call home. Thank you!
Glad to have a first hand account of this era, that coincided with a lot of social ills for PA, I never thought about the crack impact. Thank you for sharing this.
@@ScottDaileyCZcams Nobody thinks of the ills of drugs until it creeps into their homes. I didnt until my stepdad walked in stealing things out of the house to go get his crack. Hard to watch other people with your stuff. Hard to live poor in the first place now the little you do have is gone and there is nothing. The PAPD were in on it with everyone else. Its documented and there is plenty of blame to go around. Think about how Lincoln went from a powerhouse to a team that couldnt win a game.
I live in Nederland, work in the refineries as a contractor. Worked in almost all of them in the area, Port Arthur is depressing, but Nederland, Port Neches, and Groves are still good to live in.
I live right on the edge of groves, next to PA, I never knew this history. This is mind blowing how other people talk about such a small side of Texas.
Well your city is still relevant and matters!
Most of one side of my family lived near, in, around, was schooled, or worked in Port Arthur, Texas. Thanks for the information..
Time and humidity. Good description by the narrator. These factors are forever in Port Arthur.
Interesting video Scott! I drive through here a good amount and always wonder what happened. The same video could probably be made for Beaumont and Lake Charles, LA too.
Thanks man! Beaumont seems to be fairing a little better, I haven't really spent much time in Lake Charles but I know there's still a bunch of hurricane damage that never got fixed.
Lake Charles is booming though. PA is not.
yeah, Lake Charles got hit bad by I think 3 hurricanes n a row..lots. of ppl that got hit hard hadn't even got their tarps put on their homes and bam another hurricane..tarps ripped ..another one ( i think it was 3 n a row ) really felt bad for my cajun friends !!!!
I grew up in Port Arthur. I was born in the 60's and watched the city go downhill over many years. Corruption and poor planning by city officials is one giant reason that the city is a shell of what it once was!
I also was born in PA's St. Mary's hospital in the 50's and grew up in Groves. I moved away in the 70's.
One of the most depressing aspects of all these viewer comments is that many PA residents actually seem to be proud of drug-addled Janis Joplin!!! The fact that we have to look so hard for something to be proud of just proves the point of this video.
I worked on the Federal Post office renovation. It has gorgeous stone work, but when oil money dried up in 2020 the project was shut down.
Your video is a very accurate story of Port Arthur. I'm from PA and still live in Beaumont. I'm old enough to remember shopping downtown when it was still vibrant. Unfortunately, putting all their eggs in one basket was good for a while, but eventually that came back to haunt them. The reality of the PA story is that the fossil fuel industry is in decline meaning that things will get worse not better, low property values make providing governmental services a huge problem, and crime is very high. Who would want to move their family to PA? The city, with its deep water access, rail and highway access, good (but hot and humid) weather, and lots of natural resources, will eventually have to find other bases of income. Only then will it be able to flourish again.
OMG how olden are you??
I was born and raised in that nasty dirty place. I left in 81 to join the Navy. Haven't been there since.
What is amazing is there used to be a boardwalk park there on the island. Had a wooden rollercoaster and Ferris wheel as well. I saw pics of this when I worked at Valero there in PA.
Whoa I didn't know about this!! Looking at old pictures now.
i’m related to all the Guidries in Port Arthur. My great aunt was from there. When you said what year the town was founded, I was fascinated because Great Grandpa Guidry would have went there to work basically like,
right after it was founded almost. Didn’t know that! Knew about the oil and stuff but I suppose had assumed the city was a bit older.
Port Arthur’s not even that bad these days. Sorta a ghost town. But safer than Beaumont
i heard that is a rough place.
Downtown will either become more refinery or expanded port facility.
I just subscribed and I was rather recently in Port Arthur I just feel like going back yuno even though I was born in Houston my family lived a lot of places and we went to Port Arthur from Corpus Christi and my mom had lived in Port Arthur for many years hurt her grandfather James C rolling was actually a millionaire he was one of those overnight millionaires from all the oil and he lived over there on Park Place and they really brought back a lot of memories
In 1995-96 I used to unload cargo from ships. I lived in Houston but my occupation was a stevedore. When I drove down Houston St. in Port Author at night I saw drums barrels with fire all down the street. The longshoremen ask me what street I drove down and I stated Houston St. They looked all over my ford explore looking for bullet holes. I ask “what do they not like Ford vehicles and longshoremen told me. Know they hate whites.” Me being ex-navy with a Bronze Star I drove out the same way. I heard thuds but just drove home. Two holes in my driver side door. I never drove down Houston St. again.
Motiva is the largest refinery in the nation & used to be Texaco.
The other big refinery is Valero, formerly Gulf. Both Texaco and Gulf were birthed by Spindletop, and both would ultimately merge with Chevron. Motiva, which began as a joint venture of Texaco and Shell, is now owned by the Saudis.
@@gregsells8549 you are correct motiva is now owned by Saudi oil company. I've worked in both Valero & motiva quite a bit in the last 20 years. My pawpaw was one of the highest in supervision over the entire refinery back on the Texaco days. He retired from Texaco 1985 a year before I was born after 35 years there & started an air condition company. I actually have his old metal Texaco hard hat & it actually fits me perfect
I am born, raised, and still live in Port Arthur. And yes downtown has declined, but what downtown hasn't? There are many other parts to the city that could have been explored. Comparing it to Detroit is extremely far fetched.
Growing up in Bridge City when we said we were going dinner and a movie in Port Arther, it really meant we were going to Nederland and Port Neches. Pretty much every to do is around Central Mall
You do notice how clean Port Author is. It doesn't even come close to how the people of Detroit treated their city.
I moved to the Beaumont/Port Arthur area late in life. Many of my friends who were long-term residents grew up in Port Arthur and have fond memories of clean streets, luxurious stores, bakeries, and other services. Port Arthur could use a renaissance, but for now, most of the people who had the means to move have related to neighboring towns like Nederland, Port Neches, Groves or Bridge City. While real estate in Port Arthur is inexpensive, crime and frequent hurricanes have become deterrents for those contemplating the lower costs of living in Port Arthur. To its credit, Lamar University has a campus in Port Arthur that services the population and hopefully build a new generation who focuses on possibilities rather than wallowing in the pain and misery of their previous generations.
As a native Galvestonian and my mother being from port Arthur with family still there to this day this is extremely interesting. But all my life PA has been abandoned. Beaumont was always a more lively city. But I always looked at the area as a transition area for ppl moving from Louisiana to eventually Houston. Some just may not have had the money to get to Houston.
Great video 😊
It was all downhill after they demolished the UGK mural.
I would have added a more of an emphasis on the racism in the area, also that entire area is considered to be an "EPA Sacrifice Zone" where you are more likely than not to die of cancer at some point in your life time if you live in close proximity to these refineries. Look up the "EPA Sacrifice Zone" ProPublica Report and pollution heat map that they provide on their website.
I ran across that report when I was researching, I also found this one that covers a lot of the history both of residents dealing with refineries and the social issues (racism, white flight, etc.)
environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Port-Arthur-Report.pdf
Racism!? LMAO I've lived in this area for 44 years! Where are you from?
@@michaelharmon7052 I am from here also.
@@ScottDaileyCZcams Thanks for sharing this article, I am very interested in such research. I've always wanted to help our community here, I went to law school and graduated a couple years ago, and my thesis paper was over the Key Stone XL Pipe Line, and the exploitation that our community has faced at the hands of fossil fuel oligarchs.
@@perrymason4208 what racism are you talking about? I've never experienced any of that.
Thanks for the video. Its really sad to see. I was there with a ship in 1992, and really thought this was a cozy little town. 😪
I live in Nederland now but was raised in Port Arthur and everything he said is true. It’s sad every time I have to drive though Port Arthur and see what it’s turned into.
Harvey droped more than 62" total rain on Port Authur. It dumped 51.88 inches in my area some 45 miles away. The official gage broke in my area before the rain stopped.
The Lutcher and Moore lumber company in the area was one of the largest sawmills in the south during in the early days also . It brought massive money and business to Port Arthur as thousands of acres of east Texas longleaf and loblolly pine trees were cut out.
And they have grown back even greater. There are more forests in the USA in recorded history, and also worldwide.
@@thomaswayneward majority of what exist today are not forest (natural settings with numerous species of trees and plants) most today are loblolly, short leaf and slash pine trees that are grown and sprayed (to keep other species of trees out) like crops in huge plantations owned by corporate timber companies and mills and Longleafs are being planted the same way in larger numbers but they are still only 5% of what they were in the past .
I’m not a tree hugger and have no problem with how things are set up because lumber is a necessity and using the rotating crop method keeps the industry fed. But the only forest remaining are state and federal lands that none of the harvesting is allowed or at least kept to a minimum. That area of true forest acres pales in comparison to what corporations own and use for the crop process.
@@benniebarrow348 Bennie, I only go by the facts and what I said is a fact. Just to give you an example; between Nacogdoches and Alto there were only cotton fields, all the trees had been cut down. That was about one hundred years ago. Now the same area is covered by pine forests, as it was originally.
@@thomaswayneward that being more northeast Texas I can see some of that . I’m speaking of southeast Texas east of Hwy 45 from Conroe over to Beaumont up through Livingston, Diboll to the Lufkin area that’s pine plantation big time . Alabama and Georgia timber companies own most of the big lands in those counties and Pine crops are all they know and do ( they’ll spray and kill hardwoods and any other native species that get in their way). Thin at 12 years and 17 years and clear cut at 22 to 25 years and start over . It’s been the repetition for the 60 plus years I’ve been around. Stream management zones and national forest have a little natural forest but not much .
This is great. Most people from the Golden Triangle wish it didn't look like this, but with the flooding and pollution, it's not hard to explain why.
So many houses. While so many people live in tents on the pavements of the inner cities. How can that be?
There was also white flight! Very important to mention that most people now living in Port Arthur are African American and immigrants, mostly from Mexico. A lot of White Americans fled to neighboring cities when Brown v. The School Board of Education was overturned.
In Addition, all the families that can, avoid the Port Arthur school system like the plague because it has become the worst in the area. Some even lie to PNG (Port Neches - Groves) schools to get their children there even though they can't afford to live in that area. I've heard the school makes random home visits to make sure you actually reside where you said you did.
The community college in PA and the DMV are right there in downtown, so it's depressing to pass by the abandoned buildings so often. I hope they find a way to revive it.
Port Arthur is no longer majority Mexican like how it was in the 1990s-2010s and early 2020s in recent years especially in the 2020s Alot of people from
Honduras Guatemala El Salvador Nicaragua Cuba Dominican Republic Puerto Ricans and some what South Americans from Colombia Venezuela Argentina Peru have moved to Port Arthur although Mexicans still hold the majority of the Jefferson County Hispanic Population its also important to remember that Port Arthur is no longer majority African American in 2021 Hispanics became the majority of the City although Beaumont is majority White and black
My aunt/uncle lived there. This mainly happened because the entire town stunk like chemicals.
I hated visiting them due to the stink and couldn't fathoom why anybody would live there.
As someone from the area, Port Arthur reminds me of the pictures of East St. Louis, IL
ESL is much worse
My great grandfather George Craig founded Port Arthur for Stilwell. His daughter left me all kinds of documents from which I am writing the family history that goes back to Bentonville bank robberies and early Virginia. Craig in a series of letters written in 1936 or so predicted the demise of Port Arthur due to the lack of vision of John gates for whom Craig worked. He said if Stilwells vision had been maintained which Craig tried to do running his bank Port Arthur would have flourished. But gates was only interested in profiting from the oil. He abandoned all the many industries Craig had set up with Stilwells money. I was there in 1958 as a young man and it was still a bustling city. But everyone with money lived in Beaumont. Craig died in 1950.
Merchants National Bank ran into the ground by Jack Craig when he sold all those bearer bonds to pay his gambling debts?
Just a rumor I heard back in the day. Jack was a good man tho...
I was born in 1970in Port Arthur Texas. I watched the decline of the city it was prosperous in The 70’s and 80’s. I left for the Navy in 1990. I been living in Houston since 1995. When I visit the city I love I can’t believe the downfall of the city. I blame majority on Port Arthur Politicians that do not have the experience to run the city. Also refineries should employ 20% to 25% of their workers from Port Arthur Texas.
PA Resident here. Anywhere outside of Downtime PA is always better than downtown PA.
Downtown PA has become the wrong side of the tracks.
Ill tell you what has not fallen off in Port Arthur, the cooking. Best cooks in texas come from PA
I was born in Port Arthur in 1960, same hospital that Janis Joplin was born in.
Great video Scott. I’m working in PA right now. - Godlesstitan
That's great what Motiva is doing with those buildings!
I’ve lived here for 20 years it’s miserable the people the place everything had a old friend overdose yesterday from fentanyl and another killed himself a couple months ago it’s sad because my family has been here for almost 100 years and everybody is about ready to leave
Sorry for your losses. Lots of despair down there.
I'm from deep west and I'm 35 and growing up there was like menance 2 society, a small town with all the dope u can use. We had moores auditorium, neutral zone, Tiffany's, and I can't remember the spot by proctor that stak5 brother got killed at.
people will never understand how much the people who lived there loved it…it wasn’t always like that…Port Arthur had three high schools, there are bigger towns near Houston with barely 1….
I thought they were going to start talking about Austin 😅
Make the whole city a modern ecologically oriented, futuristic business Park preserving the green spaces. Allocate the waterfront if possible to tourism/ beach like Rio. Just need some imagination. Build all new buildings with an open space ground floor, so any floods will not affect. I look at this and see opportunity.
Serving our kids for the past 22 yrs💞🙏🏾 Lots of info #PALibrarian
U Should do one on Beaumont Texas
Motiva stopped the rebuild of the downtown buildings 2 years ago.
Born and raised in Texas. It's getting too hot and too crowded.
Just to let ya’ll know, the whole city of Port Arthur don’t look like this. That’s the downtown area. If you come to Port Arthur and my neighborhood and others, it damn sure don’t look like this. If you wanna find out about a city, come here.
So many don't understand the attraction limonite lignite and a mostly navigable river had in the wwi and wwii eras.
I worked there many times as temporary work at the refineries. It's not a place I enjoyed. The last time was in 2002
Some people in this area like to lie about the racism issues in this area but they are scars from it and still an issue today. There was a lot of white flight like another commenter said, that's why some of the neighboring towns got a population boom. Also that's why some of the school districts are the way they are, crossing over certain city lines. Hence how Taft is Port Neches school district but that small neighborhood right next to it, is technically Port Arthur.
That's another reason why Lumberton is having such a huge boom, cause it's another white flight happening out of Beaumont. Until they make a system that essentially makes that impossible (which yes their are ways) this will continue to be an issue.
Before this video, the only time I've heard of Port Arthur was that Janis Joplin was from there.
Also rapper pimp c from ugk
Raised and live in bridge city texas right across the river from Port Arthur. That's where all the rich and upper middle class lives. Also Nederland on the other side of Port Arthur. The rich and upper middle class work in the refineries in Port Arthur but don't want to lice next to the refineries so only the poor live next to the refineries in Port Arthur. The refineries are still making people rich just gotta actually work in one
Interesting history of Port Arthur. It's great that Motiva will help revitalize the downtown area.
I love Port Arthur I can bring it back to life with a lil help and determination and dedication and we’re back and Better Together
Sad, this is all over America.
It does not surprise me. Nearby Beaumont is not safe including flooding. And Houston too.
Houston elevation is at 45' in downtown. It'll be fine. Beaumont is 20 ft which is fine. It'll flood like any other city gets from heavy rainfall but as far as rising tides and concerns of New Orleans like Katrina type even, that won't ever be a problem in Houston. I can guarantee that at 45' and 40 miles inland. Port Arthur is different at 2 ft elevation. That is a problem.
Nice! ❤
Hey that's my hometown.
The problem with PA is not jobs, its just no one can pass a drug test. It has the largest refinery in the country and huge LNG terminals. Plenty of high paying jobs.