If the author is attempting to use the transformation of Pittsburgh's "Point" as an example of "bad" use of eminent domain and urban planning, he just shot himself in the foot Big Time.
martin, do you have any pics 'before' and 'after' the Renaissance handy???
Show everybody that the jagoff author doesn't know what he's talking about.
Well, maybe you're from the Burg (you did invoke "jagoff"), but the author did not shoot himself in the foot. If you want to say that the buildings put up in the 50s were bigger and better (technologically) and "prettier" (a subjective issue, that one), I probably won't argue.
But it's hard to argue that the vibrancy is better; that the unique, only-in-Pittsburgh character was not destroyed. When you're smack in the middle of "dawntawn" Pittsburgh, the only way you can be sure you're not in a similar sterile area in Cleveland or Erie or South Bend or You Name Your Small to Midsized city, is if a Pittsburgh cop comes over and says, "Yens can't park here!" The Point sucks. Forget the artificial "festivals."
These raze-and-raise projects put up, at best, artificial environments that tourists and the lamebrained are steered to; at worst, they make urban areas dead zones, especially after hours or on Sunday afternoons (and the so-called jumping nightlife of downtown doesn't count, as young people will go just about anywhere if there's even a slight chance of getting laid. Now, the South Side area is a different story, as the bureaucrats were focused on "the city." But somewhere is a pencil pusher who sees the sidewalk traffic there and must be thinking, If we just tear down all those old, one- and two-story buildings that have restaurants and shops in them, we can build much more valuable buildings that will give us a lot more taxes, and be able to accommodate even more people! Of course, that would kill the South Side completely.) We've seen the pix and documentaries and read the articles of the now-gone Wiley Avenue neighborhood, which was once a national destination for blacks, and jazz aficionados. If it were still here, if it hadn't been bulldozed, and a way of life destroyed, today it would be a WORLD destination for travelers, and we couldn't put up enough hotels here for them. It would have that "unique American art form," jazz; great food; "marquee" value (meaning, people from all over would want to be able to say they'd "been to Wiley"... nowadays, people talk about WHICH Hard Rock Cafe they've been to... as if, once inside one, you can really tell if you're in Seattle or Atlanta).
I talk about other angles on this subject in my post #6.
Hey, the Steelers suck, and Cowher's a clown. Nah, just making sure you were listening.
But what the hey - someone's house might be in the way of one of your beloved choo-choo's.
In the 1950s, there was no "Riverfront Park" downtown. It was an ugly mess and had been for decades because it was a flood plain and serious owners did not want property there. I remember riding through the streets towards the decrepit Point and Manchester bridges, and all that was there were empty industry buildings and a closed railroad station. It was not "bustling" in any sense of the word. It was ugly and empty. It was nothing but broken down, empty warehouses and there were zero residences or citizens in the Point area.
Point State Park appeared only after the industrial slum was removed and I can not recall any owner being "forced" away from his property to make way for another private owner.
Gateway Center, further up town, was built by the Equitable Life Insurance Co. with some serious backing from the Mellons, and they purchased all of the land at market rates. Some of the buildings may have been condemned by the city, but they in all probability deserved condemnation. I remember nothing but ugly, ready to fall down buildings in that area.