Butler, PA Historic Producer of the Pullman Steel Rail Cars

It’s hard to define the exact limits of Dwtn Butler. I included areas that were mostly commercial in character with some residential only areas. I used Washington and Franklin Street as the western and eastern borders, respectively. Penn St as the northern border and the railroad as the southern.  By 1817, the community was incorporated as a borough with the first settlers being Irish or Scottish descent. In its heyday, the city of Butler was another steel producing hub in Western PA remains home to an AK Steel factory. In the early 20th century the City produced  all-steel rail cars for Pullman-Standard.

Downtown Butler’s strength is it mostly in-tact 10 block historic main street and county court house. Lots of great shops fill these historic buildings. There are all a fair amount of cultural amenities with a unique art museum dedicated to Chinese & Japanese art, historic house museums and nice array of restaurants, bars and Cafes. Many of the City’s schools are also located downtown. Yet there is still a fair amount of blight and disinvestment surrounding the Butler main Street due to the economic decline of the City. Major areas for Butler to improve from an urban perspective include dedicated bike lanes, new parks, and mixed-use infill construction. 
Click here to view the entire Butler, PA album on my Flickr page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* High quality sidewalk and ADA infrastructure.
* Great connectivity with Dwtn Butler’s street grid.
* Over half of all households are family households.
* Fair amount of cultural amenities including a couple historic house museums, restaurants, bars & cafes, a community theater, several art galleries and the unique Maridon Museum- dedicated Chinese and Japanese art.
* Nice array of shops running down Butler’s quaint main street… a drug store, post office, library, a butcher shop, a couple book stores, and nice array of boutiques, specialty shops, and antique stores.
* Very nice historic commercial running down Main Street along with a wonderful County Courthouse. Several historic mid-sized bldgs as well.
* High quality urban form and streetscape along Main Street but this quickly falls apart as one travels away from Main Street. Lots of surface parking lots here.
* Nice array quality schools in and near Downtown Butler. 4 schools within the Dwtn area.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Over 50 minute drive to downtown Pittsburgh, bus access is pretty much non-existent.
* Bike infrastructure is non-existent.
* Some economic diversity but generally Butler is pretty poor. 27% of the population lives in poverty. Limited Racial diversity as well.
* Fair amount of for-sale housing in the Dwtn area but not much diversity in price point. Most homes sell btwn 50K-100K. Some nicer historic homes sell for more than 100K. Rentals are very limited but inexpensive.
* Recreation and Park amenities are limited to a dwtn YMCA and the plaza outside of the Butler County.
* Not much modern in-fill and what exists is generally unattractive.
* Some street trees but not great tree canopy.

Pittsburgh’s Brookline, another solid Urban Neighborhood in the South Hills

Brookline was linked by streetcar to downtown Pittsburgh in 1905 by Pittsburgh Railways who built a single line south along West Liberty Avenue (the district western edge). The neighborhood continued developing and mostly filled in by WWII.  The soul of the Brookline is built around its main street on Brookline Blvd. The community has successfully stabilized its main street through a streetscaping program and incentives to bring many new businesses. Brookline also has a stable housing stock but moderately priced making it an ideal place for young families to settle. With a light rail line and decent bus service, Brookline is also served by good public transit. Areas Brookline could improve include doubling down on sidewalks, ADA modernizations, and bring bike lanes and bike stations to the community. It would also be nice to see more apartments in the neighborhood. 
Click here to view the entire Brookline Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Solid public transit access including a light rail line running along the eastern edge of the neighborhood.
* Only about a 10-20 minute drive to dwtn and a 30-45 min commute via public transit.
* Excellent economic  and generational diversity and decent racially diversity.
* Nice array of 2 & 3 bedroom rentals at reasonable rates. Limited 1-bedrooms. Stable for-sale housing generally ranging btwn 130-280K depending on size and condition.
* Good array of neighborhood amenities mostly focused along Brookline Ave including several ethnic grocers, a drug store, public library, post office, a florist,  and much more. Other retail amenities along Liberty Avenue but this is very auto centric.
* This is a very safe community overall.
* 3 solid elementary schools within Brookline and a Catholic High School just south of the neighborhoods.
* Good urban form & streetscape along Brookline, terrible along Liberty.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* No bike infrastructure in Brookline.
* Only two parks in Brookline, but what exist have strong amenities including a recreational center, tennis courts, a swimming pool, and recreational fields.
* Culturally Brookline includes a nice array of restaurants & bars and a local theater.
* ADA infrastructure is hit or miss due to the neighborhood’s terrain. Sometimes its completely missing but along Brookline and other flatter streets its very good.

Blawnox, another Pittsburgh Rivertown built on Steel.

The town was founded in the late 18th century, with the name Hoboken. Steel was the community’s major industry, with the area being home to the Blaw Steel Co., Knox Welded, and Pressed Steel Co. The City changed its name in the early 20th century to Blawnox Borough to reflect the Blaw Steek Co. The town peaked at around  2,200 people in  1950. Now the population is down to  around 1,400. Not a terrible population loss for an old Pittsburgh steel towns. Part of the reason is likely because the steel mill is still open along with Blawnox being in the coveted Fox Chapel School District.

Urban wise Blawnox’s strengths include a nice main street with several restaurants, bars, and shops along with a strong for-sale housing market. Blawnox is also only a 20 minutes drive to Downtown and a 30 minute bus ride. To improve from an urban perspective it would be great to see better sidewalk and bike infrastructure, and urban infill along with a supermarket and drug store. Hopefully Freeport will see more new businesses and eventually new urban infill to bolster its urban form.
Click here to view my full Blawnox Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Good access to downtown via both private car and public transit. Public transit to other parts of the region are pretty limited.
* Very good middle class neighborhood with goo economic diversity.
* Blaxnox has a surprisingly strong housing market. Plenty of for-sale homes selling in the 100Ks and 200Ks. Some more rundown homes sell below 100K.
* Decent neighborhood retail including  several vintage & antiques,  shops, a bank, and hair salons.
* Generally a pretty safe community but a bit gritty.
* Some nice historic buildings especially along the historic main street on Freeport. Also good urban fabric and streetscape.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Outside of the main street of Freeport sidewalks are pretty hit and miss. Also no bike infrastructure in the Borough.
* Not a very diverse community. Over 90% of the population is White.
* Rental houses are pretty inexpensive but limited.
* Park spaces are limited to really just a ballfield.
* Cultural amenities are limited to some restaurant, bars, and cafe.
* No supermarket, drug stores, or larger retail.
* Blawnox does not have any schools within the Blawnox Borough limits but it is in the coveted Fox Chapel School District.

Beaver Falls, the Historic Heart of Beaver Valley

I included in the evaluation the downtown core and the area around Geneva County. Beaver Falls is located about 30 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh thus this Rivertown Borough is both part of the Pittsburgh metro but also separate as part of the micro region of the Beaver Valley area. Beaver Falls was founded in 1870 and soon after waters Geneva College was founded in 1880. The town was built around the college and industry along the Beaver River. But like most industrial towns in the region, the population has declined significantly since WWII.

Beaver Halls certainly hasn’t had the same level of reinvestment as it neighbor Beaver, but still a good amount of urban fabric and downtown retail here. Generally the historic housing is gritty with mostly worker housing. What the town needs to improve from an urban perspective is simply more investment and new businesses. Not sure this will happen anytime soon given the economy of Beaver Valley, so this type of reinvestment would need to be more grass roots oriented.
Click here to view the entire Beaver Falls album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Decent historic architecture on the main Street. Residential is generally pretty plain.
* Culturally Beaver Falls has a community arts Center,  a couple of art galleries,  several low key restaurants & cafes,  & bars. Geneva College also bring a fair amount of performing arts and live music.
* Neighborhood activities includes several drug stores, a supermarket and local fruit & veggie stands. Also an interesting mix of antiques, furniture stores, and clothing stores. Other neighborhood amenities include a paint store, historic library, post office, and medical centers.
* Several walkable schools but mixed ratings.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Sidewalks are Ok and generally there are curb cuts, but most don’t have the modern ADA infrastructure.
* Public transit is pretty limited and access to dwtn is at least a 45 min drive.
* Very limited bike infrastructure.
* Some rentals but all very inexpensive. For sale housing is very inexpensive, mostly below 100,000. Some housing in the 100Ks.
* Recreation space limited to sports fields surrounding the City’s schools. Some nice green space in Geneva College.
* Pretty gritty but not necessarily any dangerous spots.
* modern in-fill is limited, but what exists is generally pretty crummy.
* Tree cover isn’t great.
* Buzz is not great here. 

Aspinwall, a well off Pittsburgh Historic Suburb

My evaluation excluded the more suburban portion of Aspinall north of state route 28. Aspinwall began as an upper middle class river town for those who wished to be close to Downtown for commuting but away from the craziness and pollution of the City. But unlike Sewickley this was mostly younger families with children. Aspinwall has maintained its stability even with dropping from 4,000 to 2,700 residents since WWII. This is aided by its attractive historic housing, nice village feel with attractive neighborhood retail, location in the prized Fox Chapel School District, and convenience to the Water works shopping district.

Areas that Aspinwall could improve from an urban perspective include more bike infrastructure, racial diversity, and walkable schools within the borough boundaries (as opposed to being in surrounding suburban communities). A large multi-family, mixed-use development along the river would be a nice population boast to the borough as well, but not sure if this is possible with the flood plain.
Click here to view the entire Aspinwall photo album on my Flickr page

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Convenient access to Downtown via transit and an easy 15-20 minute drive/
* Very walkable village feel with compact residential streets and several streets with neighborhood restaurants, bars and some retail.
* Pretty Dense community.
* Pretty good age diversity and large percentage of family households.
* For sale housing generally on the high end but pretty good diversity. 2-bedrooms in the 200ks low 300ks, 3-bedrooms 300Ks and low 400ks, & 4-bedrooms 300K-600Ks.
* Recreational amenities include a very interesting riverfront park and the Aspinwall Recreation area.
* Culturally Aspinwall has a nice mix of restaurants, bars, and cafes, and a few art galleries but not much else.
* Lots of locally owned boutiques, unique shops, and a bookstore. Plenty of retail amenities just outside of Aspinwall but in a strip mall (i.e. a movie theater, hospital, supermarket, banks, a Walmart, staples, and several chain retail stores).
* Very safe community.
* Attractive historic housing.
* Generally good ADA infrastructure. Up to date ADA curb cuts is hit or miss.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Limited bike infrastructure.
* Very white community (90%). Some economic diversity.
* Rentals are pretty limited but what exists is generally medium prized.
* Only the Catholic Elementary school is within Aspinwall. But Aspinwall is part of the prized Fox Chapel School District, all of which are in suburban, auto centric areas.
* Limited modern in-fill. What does exist is hit or miss.

Sanford, FL Historic Orange Producing Capital of the World


I included only the Historic core of Sandford between the lake and 13th Street and French & Locust Streets.

Known as the “Historic Waterfront Gateway City,” Sanford sits on the southern shore of Lake Monroe at the head of navigation on the St. Johns River. The town started to grow in the late 1800s when the South Florida Railroad ran a line from Sanford to Tampa. This helped propel Sandford and the surrounding area into the largest shipper of oranges in the world. The City waxed and waned for many years but eventually found its footing. A City streetscaping project in 2004 helped breath new life into Downtown and many new stores and businesses opened.

Sanford has a well invested and extensive historic main street across several streets, along with great waterfront parks. South of here are many attractive historic streets with turn of the century architecture. To become a great urban core there are is significant in-fill and additional density needed here along with the remediation of a fair amount of blight. Plenty of vacant lots and surface parking surrounding the historic core of Downtown.
Click here to view my Sanford, FL album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent street grid and connectivity.
* Nice array of Bike lanes across Sanford.
* Excellent racial and economic diversity.
* Diverse array of for-sale housing starting around 100K to 400K.
* Wonderful array of waterfront parks including the Sanford Riverwalk, Veterans Memorial Park & Ft. Mellon Park. Also several nice neighborhood parks.
* Culturally lots of great restaurants, craft beer & bars,  several historic theaters, and many live music venues.
* Decent amount of neighborhood amenities including a drug store, supermarket, and lots of boutiques, and socially stores Dwtn. All a public library, post office.
* Several nice elementary schools and a public middle school just outside of Historic Sanford.
* ADA infrastructure is generally good but some areas with less than ideal sidewalks and curb cuts in the residential areas.
* Great urban massing in the blocks where the historic buildings are still in tact. 

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Sanford is only a 30 minute drive to dwtn Orlando but really no bus service.
* Family households are pretty limited.
* Rentals are limited especially 1-bedrooms. Price points are pretty average.
* Generally safe area but some blighted spots.
* Modern infill is mostly auto centric.
* Fair amount of surface parking, open space (not parks), and auto centric areas. 

Cold Spring NY, a quaint Hudson Valley Town

Cold Spring is one of many attractive historic towns running along the Hudson frequented by many vacationing New Yorkers. The central area of the village is on the National Register of Historic Places due to its many well-preserved 19th-century buildings. The town grew around the West Point Foundry  in 1818.

Cold Springs has gracefully transitioned from a minor industrial hub into an attractive historic town that is well preserved and hosts a vibrant main street full of unique privately owned shops and plenty of bars and restaurants to serve tourists, especially in the summer. The City also takes advantage of its gorgeous views down the Hudson with an excellent waterfront park. For the year round resident, schools are good and most things you need are within walking distance. Highland State Park, one of New York’s best, is literally a mile away.

I’m not sure I’d want to see this town overdeveloped, but it would be nice to have some more quality urban in-fill outside of main street along with bike infrastructure. Cold Springs also lacks racial and economic diversity. 
Click here to view my Cold Spring album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Lovely, well maintained historic main street.
* Along the Hudson Commuter Line which provides convenient access to towns up and down the eastern side of the Hudson and eventually NYC.
* Gorgeous riverside park with amazing views of the Hudson and Catskills Mountains. Parks within the City are pretty limited but Hudson Highland State Park and the Constitution Marsh Audubon Center are less than a mile away.
* Culturally there are many restaurants & bars, several community theaters and art galleries. Several nice historic sites as well.
* Many wonderful boutiques and locally owned shops as one might expect for a tourist town. But also important neighborhood assets including a drug store, supermarket, public library, post office, and medical center.
* Very safe town.
* Nice array of decent-good schools all within walking distance.
* Great sidewalks and ADA infrastructure along the Main Street and core, but walkability drops off a bit in surrounding streets.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Not very dense. Much of the local businesses are supported by tourists. But it gives the locals a level of amenities they could never have without tourist.
* Lack of density is also not as much of a factor since everything is still very close in such a small town.
* Removed from major employment centers including over 1 hour by driving and 2 hours via transit to NYC. Although West Point is only a 1/2 drive.
* No biking Infrastructure here.
* Poor economic and racial diversity. Generally a pretty affluent White community.
* Generally pretty expensive housing. Limited smaller for sale product in the 200Ks & 300Ks. Most housing selling btwn 400K-600K.
* Rentals pretty limited. 1-bedrooms go for around 2K and 2-bedrooms around 3K.
* Modern in-fill is very limited and what does exist is generally more auto centric. 

Don’t Forget about Downtown Kansas City, Kansas

Click here to view the full Downtown Kansas City, KS album on Flickr
Downtown Kansas City, KS is overall a pretty rough downtown centered along Minnesota Avenue between 5th and 10th Streets lined with 2-3 story commercial buildings. The occasional mid-sized buildings is sprinkled throughout especially surrounding the heart of downtown, Huron Park between 6th and 7th Streets. I extended the evaluation area to be between Washing Blvd and Orville Ave. This captures portions of residential areas like Strawberry Hill & Riverview. I evaluated this as a neighborhood because it is not a major employment hub for the region.

It seems like most of what remains in Downtown Kansas City, KS are government office and services. Some retail remains downtown, but more of the main street type. Few non-governmental offices buildings left. But some positive momentum and initiatives happening downtown with the creation of the Downtown Kansas City Shareholders, formed around a voluntary business improvement district in 2008. Also, there is some positive momentum with renovations of historic homes, specially in Strawberry Hill. This area also hosts some decent urban retail on 6th & 5th Street. But overall there is a lot of blight still in the residential areas.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Some positive momentum and initiatives happening downtown with the creation of a business district improvement district in 2008 and efforts to fill retail vacancies.
* Pretty good public transit access. Easy driving access to Downtown MO, but pretty poor transit access, especially considering how close it is.
* Highly connected Street Grid.
* Pretty good income diversity although it skews poorer.
* Great racial diversity and pretty good economic and generational diversity.
* Along with Minnesota, some nice urban comm along 4th & 5th Ave.
* Nice array of walkable elementary schools ringing dwtn. Reviews are mixed. Great Arts & Science High School within Dwtn. 

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Significant blight and vacancy
* Not a lot of vibrancy downtown. This is also due to the linear, east to west lay out of downtown.
* Rental options are very limited, but what does exist is very cheap. For sale housing  is generally on the cheap end and somewhat blighted but some nice renovated housing in the high 100ks.
* Some parks but not the greatest.
* Cultural amenities are a bit limited. They include a theater, a local museum, some restaurants and bars, a casino.
* Some neighborhood amenities… salons, banks, a drug store, a family dollar, dwtn library & post office.
* Pretty gritty and a fair amount of blight throughout.
* Fair amount of surface parking downtown and dead space.

Historic St. Augustine- America’s oldest City

Click here to view my full Historic St. Augustine Album on Flick
St. Augustine is America’s oldest City and not surprising has a ton of interesting History. It was founded in 1565 by the Spanish and served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years.  Eventually Florida was ceded to the US in 1819. After much stagnation, the City experienced a late 19th century renaissance when  Henry Flagler, a co-founder with John D. Rockefeller of the Standard Oil Company, spent the winter of 1883 in St. Augustine and found the city charming. He dedicated much effort to modernizing the City’s hotels and transportation systems to make St. Augustine a winter resort for wealthy Americans. This lead to the construction of two ornate hotels, many churches, and the incredible Flagler College. After a post WWII period of decline, the City doubled done on its historic architecture and preserved much of its architecture helping to create Historic St. Augustine as a major tourist destination.

Historic St. Augustine (especially between Cordova and the Matanzas River) is highly walkable lined with cute shops and lots of restaurants, bars, and historic sites. The City converted St. George St. into a pedestrian only way and invested heavily in public space including its waterfront and Plaza de la Constitution. What is still missing from an urban perspective is more neighborhoods serving retail (i.e. supermarket & large retail), bike infrastructure, quality public transit, and affordable housing. There is still room for modern in-fill along the northern edge and western half of St. George Street, which still hosts a fair amount of surface parking and auto centric uses.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* While transit and bike infrastructure is poor, this is still a highly walkable neighborhood.
* Good economic and generational diversity.
* Park amenities include a modest but attractive waterfront, a great historic Spanish plaza (Plaza de la Constitution) and a large sports themed park. Also some nice quad space in Flagler College.
* Culturally lots of bars, restaurants & cafes, historic sites & museums, and live music venues. Flagler College also brings a lot of cultural activities especially in the performing arts. Because of the tourism the many annual festivals as well.
* Lots a typical tourist stores like boutiques, gift shops, clothing ,specialty and home good stores. .Some more traditional stores like banks, post office, and small gourmet grocerias. No larger retailors nor a supermarket or drug stores.
* Excellent ADA infrastructure bolstered by a dwtn pedestrian street (St. George St.).
* Strong sense of place with a combination of distinctive historic architecture, pedestrian paths and pretty good neighborhood boundaries.
* Overall great urban form, but still pockets of surface parking and more auto centric streets on the edges of the district.
* Great pedestrian activity in the historic district. Less so in the more residential portion of the neighborhood west of Cordova St.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Dwtn Jacksonville is over a 45+ drive with poor transit access. Some jobs in dwtn St. Augustine with Flagler College and the tourist industry.
* Public transit is pretty limited.
* No dedicated bike lanes but there is a dockless system in the City.
* For sale housing rather expensive. 2-bedrooms start in the mid 200ks and 3-bedrooms sell generally btwn the 300Ks-500Ks. 4-bedrooms are 500k or higher. Really no 1-bedroom condo product. Rental product is pretty limited and a bit on the expensive side.
* Both a quality public and catholic elementary school within walking distance. But no middle or high schools.
* Modern architecture is limited.

Galveston, Texas’ original Port City

Click here to view the Galveston Album on my Flickr page
I consider Dwtn Galveston to be between W 25th and W 19th Streets and Broadway and the Ocean. Given that this is not a major employment center for the Houston Metro, I am evaluating it as a neighborhood.

Galveston is one of the most interesting cities in Texas in my opinion. It was founded 1825 when Mexico established it as a port city. Soon after Galveston served as the Capitol of Texas for a brief time. The City quickly developed into a strategic gulf port only out matched by New Orleans. Because of its ethnic mix of Mexicans and Germans, Galveston was very sympathetic to union causes and was a Republican stronghold in the south. It welcomed 3,000 freeman blacks after the Civil War. By the end of the 19th century, the City had a population of 37,000 Along with being a port city the Strand became a major banking center. This prosperity all came crashing down with the devastation of the 1900 hurricane killing upwards of 8.000 souls, the deadliest natural distracter in US history.  Galveston never returned to its levels of national importance or prosperity. During this time Houston developed a major shipping channel supplanting its port. Galveston, however, did emerge as a regional tourist destination, first as an open “red light” city in the 20s & 30s and eventually settling in as a beach, party, and cruise ship destination. The City also invested heavily on preserving its historic architecture, easily the best in the Houston Metro and perhaps the state of Texas.

Real estate values have increased in downtown Galveston in the past two decades. This is promising for urban in-fill to replace blighted and vacant lots blustering its urban form, but if not managed appropriately, could lead to hardships for its large minority populations. I also hope that real estate investment will translate to other infrastructure improvements (i.e. streetscaping, parks, waterfront, ADA infrastructure, and tree canopy).

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Gorgeous late 19th century architecture.
* Generally most intersections have curb cuts but few have modern ADA infrastructure.
* Great racial and economic diversity.
* Good variety of rental options with one-bedrooms ranging from 700K-2,000 in rent; 2-bedrooms between 1-2K.
* Lots of variety with for-sale as well. 1 & 2 bedroom condos near the waterfront sell anywhere from 225K-400. Historic homes start around 175K up to around 400K.
* As this is a major tourist destination for the Houston Metro its not surprising there are good cultural amenities in dwtn Galveston including restaurants, bars, live music venues, several community theaters, and lots of art galleries. Also several museums as well.
* Lots a typical tourist stores like boutiques, antiques, gift shops, and a bookstore. But also more traditional stores like banks, post office, dwtn library, and cafes. No larger retailors nor a supermarket or drug store.
* While no schools within the Dwtn area, there are several surrounding it within walking distance.
* Urban form is good throughout dwtn especially on Post office and Strand St. There areas also have the best streetscaping as well. 

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Modern buildings are pretty ugly, mostly from the 60s & 70s.
* While not the best public transit system, downtown Galveston is served by a streetcar.
* Given that there are few non-service/entertainment jobs and it’s a 55+ drive to downtown Houston, I felt that access to job center is fair at best in Galveston.
* I believe only 19th street hosts dedicated bike lanes. No public bike shares but several private ones set up for tourists.
* No 3-bedrooms for rent.
* Recreational space limited to a couple plazas and an ocean park along the pier. Shipyard and industrial really limit waterfront green space. Saengerfest Park, however, is well activated and laid out.
* While I generally felt self in dwtn Galveston, there is plenty of blight here.
* Modern in-fil is pretty unspring 60s&70s style.
* Fair amount of surface parking lots. Streetscape is uninspiring in a lot of spots.
* Street tree canopy not the best. Dead spots especially in surface parking lots.