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  #1  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 4:01 PM
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Death on The Ohio, Wheeling, WV

Wheeling, WV has been slowly dying since the 1940's when it had a population of 61,000, today the town is just 28,000 and shows no signs of turning around. Unfortunately, its home to some incredible history and very beautiful row homes. Some preservation and restorations have been done and the city is trying to capitalize on its rich history for tourism but much more will be lost in the coming decades. These are from yesterday, was there just for a few hours.






DSC_5499 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5500 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5501 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5506 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5513 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5493 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5518 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5522 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5523 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5531 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5533 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5516 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5537 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5538 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5542 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5545 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5547 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5561 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5563 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5566 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5569 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5571 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5573 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5578 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5583 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5594 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5599 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5603 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5614 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5618 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5622 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5651 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5656 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5664 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5627 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5642 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5648 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5672 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5680 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5685 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5688 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5691 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5698 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5705 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5708 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5712 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5719 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5773 by photolitherland, on Flickr

Then here are some photos that I took yesterday in Washington County, PA, which is south of Pittsburgh and sits right next to West Virginia. There are dozens upon dozens of covered bridges all over the county, and the National Road cuts through it, so theres plenty of history and amazing late 18th century to early 19th century taverns and towns everywhere.


DSC_5464 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5445 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5414 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5399 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5386 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5381 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5378 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_5350 by photolitherland, on Flickr


DSC_4822 by photolitherland, on Flickr
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Last edited by photoLith; Jul 23, 2013 at 4:16 PM.
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  #2  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 4:26 PM
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Gorgeous!

And who designed that gothic building next to the Victoria theater? Looks like a Hale.
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  #3  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 6:24 PM
lio45 lio45 is offline
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WOW.

IMO "gorgeous" is actually an understatement...

This 'homogeneous heritage all around' character that I love so much is usually only present in cities that have been stagnating for decades (really logical and obvious in fact, when you think about it for a second...)

I hope Wheeling doesn't rebound, but stays afloat just enough so all that heritage gets preserved... 'cause if that town were to come back in a big way and boom, half the town's face would be different in a decade, and not for the better -- it would likely be bland and new...
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Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 6:28 PM
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Wow, this place is gorgeous! It's so sad to see so much in disrepair.
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  #5  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 6:43 PM
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Wheeling almost feels like Cairo, Illinois which is like wheeling but on a much smaller scale.
Here's my thread on Cairo I posted a few years ago.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=186776
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Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 7:52 PM
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I remember that Cairo thread, I was fascinated by it. I wiki'd the crap outta it afterwards.
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Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 10:58 PM
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This is the same situation my own city found itself in back in the 1970's and 80's. our downtown had a vacancy rate of 90%, and some of the buildings that are now restored had collapsed except for their facades.

What turned us around? Gays and artists, and the happy coincidence of being a rare spot of high-quality urbanity in this particular part of Appalachia. Wheeling has great bones, but it's just a face in the crowd -- West Virginia and Pennsylvania are teeming with lovely, well-built towns, and it's going to be hard for Wheeling to market itself and tell people why it's better than all these others like Huntingon, Parkersburg, Charleston, and all the smallish cities of Western Pennsylvania. However, if Wheeling could make an effort to reach out to artists and the LGBT community it might be off to a good start. Being an oasis for tolerance is another reason my city was able to turn itself around.
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 12:14 AM
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Gotta love photoLith with his wide-angle lens once more!

Aaron (Glowrock)
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 12:50 AM
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One of my very good galpal's Dad lived on this block; we went to Wheeling for a weekend roadtrip - so much potential but whether that will be realized...

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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 12:55 AM
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More Washington County, please!
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  #11  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 2:17 AM
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Incredible building stock. I love Wheeling
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  #12  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 2:47 PM
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Amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing.

I like Wheeling. There are many interesting houses. I like the great variety of colours and different styles.

Contrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 3:58 PM
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Great stuff - thank you.
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 4:21 PM
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Beautiful photos. That last one is a work of art. I wonder what the story is behind that half-painted building on the corner.
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 7:25 PM
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Probably someone up and left for greener pastures in the middle of painting.
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 7:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc View Post
This is the same situation my own city found itself in back in the 1970's and 80's. our downtown had a vacancy rate of 90%, and some of the buildings that are now restored had collapsed except for their facades.

What turned us around? Gays and artists, and the happy coincidence of being a rare spot of high-quality urbanity in this particular part of Appalachia. Wheeling has great bones, but it's just a face in the crowd -- West Virginia and Pennsylvania are teeming with lovely, well-built towns, and it's going to be hard for Wheeling to market itself and tell people why it's better than all these others like Huntingon, Parkersburg, Charleston, and all the smallish cities of Western Pennsylvania. However, if Wheeling could make an effort to reach out to artists and the LGBT community it might be off to a good start. Being an oasis for tolerance is another reason my city was able to turn itself around.
Something tells me that Wheeling is not ready to be an oasis of tolerance anytime soon, massive brain drain has left the town pretty well set in its ways.
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 7:59 PM
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Wheeling has been on my to-do list for a long time now. Looking forward to it even more after seeing these photos. I'll get there within a year, guaranteed. Thanks for sharing these.
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Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 8:10 PM
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Very cute buildings and great low down,wide angling stuff outta you.
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  #19  
Old Posted Jul 24, 2013, 8:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by photoLith View Post
Something tells me that Wheeling is not ready to be an oasis of tolerance anytime soon, massive brain drain has left the town pretty well set in its ways.
Even Wheelingman has left Wheeling.
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  #20  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2013, 3:08 AM
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It really is one of those stories about how a suburban shopping center (in Wheeling's case, a large mall to the west and a pseudo-lifestyle center to the east) can kill a downtown to the core. Such a shame.
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