Last Stop - Wheeling in West Virginia

[JivecitySTL]

I loved every pic. Wheeling is such a great town from a visual perspective. Such a weird town otherwise. Love it.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by montréaliste

I think it is easy to notice the wholesale abandonment of downtown Wheeling in its street retail sector. That is typical of many threads where you can imagine that not far from town are a number of shopping malls where business is brisk, parking lots are filled with cars. The same cookie cutter homedwellers need the repetitious architecture of a Walmart or Sam's Club to satisfy the urge for sameness.

A gigantic suburban shopping development opened a few miles east of Wheeling a few years ago.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

A gigantic suburban shopping development opened a few miles east of Wheeling a few years ago.

That'll do it.

I guess it has to do with the lure of new tax dollars. If only the same folks who run the political show could wake up to the fact that a mall type setting could be created in the downtown. Why not use existing structures and enhance the environment of a downtown and thus avoid sprawly waste of space in the countryside?

[Wheelingman04]

Originally Posted by montréaliste

That'll do it.

I guess it has to do with the lure of new tax dollars. If only the same folks who run the political show could wake up to the fact that a mall type setting could be created in the downtown. Why not use existing structures and enhance the environment of a downtown and thus avoid sprawly waste of space in the countryside?

They did try to create a mall downtown linking the department stores together. Downtown Wheeling had 7 department stores in the 1950s. The downtown mall never happened of course because our dumb politicians failed. So ultimately they built a big mall with over 100 stores just a few miles west in Ohio in 1979. Now it has numerous shopping plazas surrounding it etc. And they built the Highlands just east of Wheeling outside the city limits which is what Evergrey was referring to. So the city is being squeezed dry even faster than ever.

[MayDay]

Originally Posted by montréaliste

That'll do it.

I guess it has to do with the lure of new tax dollars. If only the same folks who run the political show could wake up to the fact that a mall type setting could be created in the downtown. Why not use existing structures and enhance the environment of a downtown and thus avoid sprawly waste of space in the countryside?

Most developers aren't capable/willing to use the creative thinking you're referring to - those countryside sites allow them to plop down whatever square footage they want in their shareholder-approved footprints, without having to consider any existing context. Those running the political show in places where the population is stagnant $ee only one thing and don't dare risk putting the developers off.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Thanks everyone.

I agree it sucks that such historic old towns like Wheeling have taken what might be a near fatal blow from the sprawl surrounding them. So sad.

Wheels, I appreciate the extra info.

[Wheelingman04]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

Thanks everyone.

I agree it sucks that such historic old towns like Wheeling have taken what might be a near fatal blow from the sprawl surrounding them. So sad.

Wheels, I appreciate the extra info.

No problem Thanks for your amazing urban photography of an array of cities small and large! Truly I can't say that enough.