See The Idora Park Carousel : In New York

I imagine if your from Youngstown or have any memories of Idora Park, this video is very bittersweet. The truth is that I find this almost too upsetting to post about and I know almost nothing about this.

However, I can tell you as a former New Yorker, Your Carousel is very much alive--or at least perfectly restored and housed almost in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge cause i've seen it.



From The Wikipedia

"The park (Idora) opened as Terminal Park on May 30, 1899 which was Decoration Day. At that point in American history, it was common for trolley parks, or amusement parks, to sprout up at the end of trolley lines to generate weekend revenue. Without an admission fee, anyone who had the money for the trolley fare could go. The park's first season presented its guests a bandstand, theater, dance pavilion, a roller coaster, a circle swing, and concession stands. By the end of 1899, it was renamed "Idora Park" as a result of a contest.

When a bridge spanning the Mahoning River opened on Youngstown's Market Street on May 23, 1899, the entire South Side was unrolled for development. The trolley line linking the downtown to Idora Park ran south on Market, west on Warren, south on Hillman Street, Sherwood west to Glenwood Avenue, then cruised through Parkview Avenue (west) into the Idora terminal."



And then it died slow and ugly like a lot of things around those parts. But never forgotten.



Even more sad is that a lot of folks in NYC, don't even seem to want the Carousel--which to them is little more than an object, now so apart from the place that gave it meaning. Is there even a remote chance it could come back to Youngstown--perhaps as a centerpiece of it's downtown?

Interesting, that's for sure.

Root Shock Book Review Coming Soon

I finally got around to reading, Mindy Fullilove's amazing book, Root Shock and I promise to get on here with a review.

My reaction to the book, was much like the one I had when I first came across The Death & Life of Great American Cities, in that the author has come across a concept and way of thinking that is both eye opening and so obviously correct.

At the same time, one thirsts for more knowledge and detail. There should be a library on this subject alone. Why hasn't it been studied more?

To paraphrase Robert A. Caro, To really understand power, one must study it's effect on the powerless.

Worship The Cup @ The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum

"Thanks to the generosity of the Penguins organization, the National Hockey League, and the Hockey Hall of Fame, Pens fans can get up-close-and-personal with the Stanley Cup along with 10 additional trophies earned by the Penguins throughout the years, including the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, and the Prince of Wales Trophy.

Visitors will also enjoy a unique display of items from last year’s Stanley Cup victory, including game-used sticks from every member of the 2009 championship team.

*General History Center admission. No discounts apply. One photo opportunity per group.


Stanley Cup On Display at the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum

Thursday, April 1, 3:00 p.m. - midnight
Friday, April 2, 10:00 a.m. - midnight
Saturday, April 3, 10:00 a.m. - midnight
Sunday, April 4, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m."

"Thanks to the generosity of the Penguins organization, the National Hockey League, and the Hockey Hall of Fame."

Don't push it. You play in a stadium paid for largely by taxpayer "generosity" on land that was stolen through state armed power in a city that is mostly broke because of people like you. People who's lives you will never know were harmed by your actions.

No, you haven't done anything everyone else hasn't done, but you don't deserve a medal for good conduct either.

You owe the people of Pittsburgh, plain and simple.

Beyond The Motor City Documentary

Early next year a new 90 minute documentary about what went wrong in Detroit and the latest scheme to revive it. The consensus among even the dullest bulbs out there seems to grasp that something happened beyond just the decline of the big three car makers, which is pretty obvious since the city has been in drastic decline for years.

Most place racism and "white flight" at the top of the list, noticing the openly toxic trends in the region's social and political culture and a large number now acknowledge that-- perhaps the city's sacrifices to the car played a big role.

Gotta love the self important, "Yes We Can" beat to the trailer. It's part of The "Blueprint America" series!

What planet are these people from? Detroit, is the visible evidence left after the last two great hopeful, helpful, "Yes We Can" projects, the National Highway System and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and Urban Renewal programs. Yes, they did.

Near as I can tell from the trailer, the latest plan is to undo the last ones with major taxpayer "investments" in mass transit. (probably a better Blueprint than the last one)

But will, the film take an honest look at what really happened? Detroit, more than even most American Cities handed itself over to be experimented on by the nation's "best and brightest" urban experts and engineers who replaced it's normal street grid, street car lines and all the self organizing aspects of it's social fabric with central planning.

Remain calm, fair citizens of Detroit -- more help is on the way.

Hat tip to Rust Wire.

Sorry, can't seem to embed video.

Some Thoughts About The Blog

Hi, it's John. Many of you might have been wondering about the turn my posts have taken over the past month which since I'm the most active poster, have shifted the direction of the blog.

I have only so much time I'm refocusing my energies on the areas where I think I might be most helpful.

When the blog started there were far fewer blogs and online resources, no blogs giving art announcements or reviews, few blogs about things to do; almost no coverage of grass roots organizations and galleries and virtually no connections or interactions with the wider world outside Pittsburgh.

It's far from perfect, but more of these holes are being filled, making what I'm doing somewhat redundant. I think more and more people are increasingly aware of the many small things that make the city great.

However, in spite of what should be the obvious facts, far too people are thinking about what may be going wrong, that may threaten what's left of our social and economic fabric. You don't have to travel far around the Rust Belt to see how far we can still fall.

Jane's Walk Update

Since I first brought up the "Jane's Walk" idea, there's been a bit more buzz and talk about it,on this blog, Rust Wire and Null Space including several people interested in guiding a walk or helping in some way.

The official "Jane's Walks" are held in early May in cities and towns across mainly North America, so there's plenty of time to plan things out.

The central site's for info are:

Jane's Walk USA
JanesWalk.Net

All walks are free and there are no limits to how many a city can have.

Here's the comment I left on Rust Wire

"If I had to pick one walk, I think choosing an area with a variety of positive and negative issues might be best. For example, a functional or semi functional neighborhood divided by a major highway or a functional street grid cut off by a senseless mega block office park or even a poorly thought out park.

Also from my general knowledge, the issue of minimal concentration and population density is a big issue like it is on Pittsburgh’s North Side and Hill District both of which have big troubles supporting a supermarket, shopping district or mass transit.(even though both once had thriving shopping areas)

Remember, some of Death & Life’s chapter titles.

The uses of sidewalks: safety
The uses of sidewalks: contact
The uses of neighborhood parks
The uses of city neighborhoods
The need for mixed primary uses
The need for small blocks
The need for aged buildings
The need for concentration
The curse of border vacuums
Gradual money and cataclysmic money
Erosion of cities or attrition of automobiles

Sadly, I think in both Pittsburgh and Cleveland the best plan might be to walk the streets with a really old person with a memory of their neighborhoods before they were “improved” by government highways and politically organized mega projects.

Stay tuned, it looks like this will happen.

The Battle Of Brooklyn

Battle of Brooklyn Trailer
Uploaded by rumurtv. - News videos hot off the press.

Please watch the video. It's relevance to Pittsburgh and my recent posts should be obvious.

Be back with more tomorrow.