[shane453]

There are some good photographs of the area inside the museum, too. I didn't realize that there had been so much demolition until I went into the museum.

I appreciate this thread, good work! American 1890-1930 urbanity was really, really great, and so much of it was destroyed in all our cities- I'd have to say STL's riverfront is the worst example I'm aware of.

I was recently in Guthrie, Oklahoma, which was the capital and most important city in Oklahoma for about 20 years before the capital moved to OKC. It had been a big boomtown, but overnight Guthrie became a ghost town for 70 years. That economic downturn literally saved its downtown from demolitions and renewals, so they have the largest historic district in the country (which is now one of the most active downtowns in the state). Walking those streets really makes you wonder what our cities would be like if the urban style had continued to flourish and the whole urban renewal thing never scarred the cities.