Monday, November 2, 2009

On the Other Side of the Tracks

This week the class ventured back to the downtown area where we looked at the lots on South Elm Street. We were supplied with documents showing the properties and business names along this street from 1925, 1975, and 2000 and we were then asked to go out and collected the same information for today. As I reflect on the data the first, most obvious thing I see is all the vacant or unlisted lots on the 400 block. In 1925 almost all of the lots were occupied by a businesses, but as time has progressed the listing for the lots have dropped off the directories. Today these lots are parking lots or roads. I assume this is because of the increasing need for parking as the decades have passed. I noticed while recording the types of stores over the years that there were at one point many hardware stores. I would think this is because all the services provided by specialists today were not around, leaving residents with the responsibility of doing all repairs to their property themselves. Multiple antique, consignment, and thrift stores are located in this area today and for a few years. This is just a characteristic of this part of town, known for the artsy feel of things. Some residential spaces were listed, but by no means is this or was this area mostly used for living. I like this part of the city, and enjoyed looking back through time for this assignment.

1 comment: