Worst Urban Transformation in American History

[Double L]

It would be so sad to know I lived in a city with that much history and that now it's all gone.

[Lakelander]

It's depressing but you move on from it and try and preserve what you do have. Btw, Houston has done the exact same thing with its downtown. Jax wasn't the only city that though urban renewal was a good thing during the mid 20th century.

[photoLith]

I want to go back in time and strangle the life out of all the epic cunt douchebags who thought destroying all of our cities was a great effing idea from the 30s-80s, and still to some extent to this day. It makes me so incredibly pissed off how much of Americas urban history has been totally destroyed by uncaring short sighted highway builders and moronic 1950s urban planners. Houston is still tearing down as much of its history as it can. In the past year, the beautiful old YMCA was torn down to be made into a grass lawn downtown, and the 1920s Ben Milam Hotel is most likely getting torn down soon when there are a billion vacant lots to be developed down here. Most of Houstons historic neighborhoods, like Montrose are getting quickly torn down and replaced by suburban styled apartments and condos with garages on the bottom surrounded by gates. Makes me sick. I would surmise that 80% of downtown Houstons history has been similarly destroyed like in Jacksonville.

[Jonboy1983]

Hey, I feel your pain. My hometown (Pittsburgh) actually did something similar to that. You know that the Steel City once had a very active, vibrant, yet geographically limited Chinatown? You know what all but killed that? Answer: the Boulevard of the Allies, an elevated bumper-to-bumper-traffic-infested hell... Nearby Crosstown Boulevard was no better. It established a physical boundary between Downtown and the Lower Hill, preventing those two neighborhoods from meshing rather nicely with each other...

So yeah, in some sense, seeing the rather sad state that became of Jacksonville made me think of all the backwards planning that was done where I grew up as well. As PhotoLith stated, many US cities have done this over the decades...

[M II A II R II K]

At least some of St. Augustine is still there.

[Double L]

I don't know what makes you such an expert on Houston Lakelander but I can go to Allens Landing or The Heights and experience old Houston. Keep in mind Houston didn't grow until after oil was discovered in 1901 so what we have now, we always had since then.

[photoLith]

Yes you can still experience it but it's not protected and there are tear downs every day all over the city unfortunately. Now the most intact neighborhood in Houston is the heights, of which large sections actually are protected from tear downs. You can also get a good feel for old Houston in the 6th ward which is protected and has some of the cities oldest houses that are left. Now the 3rd ward still has some sections which are mostly intact 1920s bungalows but it's pretty effing ghetto and the second it starts gentrifying I would surmise all of the old bungalows and shotguns will be torn down as well.