Would you rather live in Hiroshima or Detroit?

[ballen0351]

Wow Some of the buildings in the Detroit Pics looked like at one time they were amazing its sad to see how they look now

 

[Carol]

Rehabilitation is possible. This is Lowell, Mass. In the 1960s, efforts were put forth to restore and preserve the great old mill buildings from its heyday in the mid 1800s. The city is still a work in progress -- but after nearly 50 years of efforts, there has been a lot of progress. I captured these photos last May.

The old Lawrence Mills...


Where we have PRIDE in our product by Sikaranista, on Flickr

.....is now Renaissance on the River (condos)


Renaissance On The River by Sikaranista, on Flickr

With grounds that look like this...


Lowell's DNA by Sikaranista, on Flickr

...and a nearby park that looks like this...


Lowell 2 441 by Sikaranista, on Flickr






Ruins from the old Boott Mill...


Lowell 2 327 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Lowell 2 326 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Lowell 2 344 by Sikaranista, on Flickr



And its rehabilitation...note the broken glass or boarded up windows on the right, and the modern windows on the left.


Renovations In Progress by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Part of the finished product:


Lowell 2 324 by Sikaranista, on Flickr




Some fully restored and/or preserved buildings:

Wannalancit Mills -- residential and university space for UMass Lowell

Wannalancit Mills by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Storage Building No. 1: Yarn storage for Boott Mills, preserved as part of Lowell National Park.


Storage Building No. 1 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


The mills on the stretch of the Pawtucket Canal called "Industrial Canyon" are now modern lofts.

Lowell 079 by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Boarding House Park -- the park itself is used for concerts and other public events in the summer. The boarding houses behind it were boarding houses for the workers at the Boott Cotton Mills and is now living space.

Boarding House Park by Sikaranista, on Flickr


Market Mills -- Retail, galleries, office space, residential space

Peeking at Old Glory -- Day 5 of 365 by Sikaranista, on Flickr

Mills in the background are multi-use. There is also a lot of public art around the city:

Mill City Girls by Sikaranista, on Flickr

 

[Xue Sheng]

Hey if Hiroshima can recover why can't Detroit, but it will not happen over night

 

[David43515]

I`ve been to both and enjoyed myself immensely.......it`s a tough call but I`ve gotta pick Detroit. Both have hot humid summers, but I`d miss the snow in Hiroshima. (Of course I`d miss the huge numbers of Japanese girls in short skirts in Detroit, so it balances out.)

 

[Big Don]

Part of the reason Detroit looks like it does: LANGUAGE WARNING

 

[granfire]

Hey if Hiroshima can recover why can't Detroit, but it will not happen over night

If they nuked it, maybe

 

[crushing]

If they nuked it, maybe

I was also thinking that often it is easier to build new than to re-build over old.

I first thought of Dresden for comparison, then started a google search of before and after photos when I found this site: 12 unrecognizable before and after views of cities

 

[Big Don]

If they nuked it, maybe

But, both had BILLIONS of American tax dollars poured in, one flourished, the other floundered.

 

[granfire]

But, both had BILLIONS of American tax dollars poured in, one flourished, the other floundered.

Well, I am not going to try to pick up a turd by the clean end... the reason it don't work are manyfold...and many have no interest in having Detroit succeed...

 

[Big Don]

Well, I am not going to try to pick up a turd by the clean end... the reason it don't work are manyfold...and many have no interest in having Detroit succeed...

Yeah, I guess you can't point to 49 years of Democrat mayors...

 

[granfire]

Yeah, I guess you can't point to 49 years of Democrat mayors...

No, that was not where I was aiming at, but it shall do.