Posted on 06/25/2006 5:05:58 AM PDT by edpc
Wearing work boots and carrying flashlights on a spring day last year, a band of architects and developers picked their way through the dim interior of the American Brewery. They looked like archaeologists combing through an ancient ruin, which, in some ways, is exactly what the brewery is.
Built in the 1800s, the American Brewery has stood empty these past 33 years, a ghostly reminder of a distant past when the city's manufacturing muscle was on display in working-class neighborhoods such as this one in East Baltimore.
Rain drips from a hole in the roof and puddles on the floor. Ankle-deep piles of pigeon droppings and feathers soil the concrete floors. Holes and graffiti deface walls. Rust has corroded most metal surfaces.
The deterioration doesn't end at the doors of the old factory, which stands at an isolated, impoverished corner of the city near the point where East North Avenue dead-ends at the Baltimore Cemetery. The view from the brewery's vacant arched windows is equally desolate.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
"It's depressing," said Leslie Funderburk, one mother who lives in the neighborhood. "How can you expect someone to have a positive outlook on life, when all they see is destruction?"
Pick up a broom and a hammer.
They provide compelling evidence that the revitalization so apparent in some sections of the city has left many other parts untouched -- a reminder of the continuing gulf between prosperous and poor Baltimore.
More like the reminder of continuously failed and wasteful leftist policies. Home ownership equals investment and pride in the property. Residents of public housing have no stake in the property. Few, if any, feel any responsibility for its upkeep.
Many streets and alleys are strewn with refuse, which provide the food for rats, just as the abandoned buildings offer them shelter....litter and discarded furniture remain problems -- the result of the willingness of illegal dumpers, transients and even some residents to sully an already degraded neighborhood.
Apparently, it's only a few people in the area who litter. The majority comes from people risking life and limb going to this neighborhood just to dump trash. I don't buy it.
Crime is "commonplace enough," she said, "that it's not something you get all worked up about."
Maybe that's part of the problem. Your lack of outrage is enabling the advancement of crime and decay. Rebuild this area on the government dime and I guarantee it returns to squalor in a decade.
Agree with you on all your points.
Absolutely spot-on.
You made some excellent points.....forward tham on to the author...
a reminder of the continuing gulf between prosperous and poor Baltimore.... my aunt fanny. What a load. As if the elitism of rich versus poor is such a BRAND, NEW idea.
Vote for Bob Ehrlich, Marylanders. He is not our ideal, but the alternative is what you read in this article and in the posted comments.
Exactly. We dont need O'Mally in Annapolis. He cant even run a city , much less a State.
Deficate where you live, move on when the smell and diseases overcome you, and repeat.
"Holes and graffiti deface walls. "
Alright, outsiders come in and dump their trash - Are we to assume that people from outside of the area also come in to create the holes and graffiti? This article is so deep into denial as to the cause of the decay that it is hard to believe it actually made it into print!!!
Another part of the problem. In Massachusetts it's called the lawyers and "deleading consultants" full employment act (my name). You can't even paint over the lead paint without failing the test done by overpaid stooges with lead detectors. I'm sure there's many other anti-landlord laws that the author isn't aware of or won't talk about.
Thanks, but if you ask any MD Republican, they will tell you the same thing. Trying to debate The Baltimore Sun (aka The Calvert St. Democrats Club) is a monumental waste of time.
You don't see anything here about any sort of community action. Not neighborhood watch. Nothing. People who live in these NE cities don't even know how to have a meeting, and if someone calls one, they don't know how to behave. So, they are at the mercy of whatever anyone else wants to do. Their only idea is that somehow the gobmint should do someting. What gobmint? They don't know.
Excellant comments!!!!!Your post responds to all the idiotic remarks.
;-)
We are always told that poverty causes crime. Perhaps it's the other way around...
Let's test that premise. Is there a city (or cities) in that size range that has been under conservative political control for long enough to warrant a comparison?
I strongly suspect that you are right, but we need to document it with factual comparisons.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.