In Seattle, an ugly viaduct highway that separated downtown Seattle from Elliot Bay was torn down—a reverse act of engineering that corrected a long ago mistake. But the pandemic and various other forces have prevented the city from creating a new identity for that open space. It used to be parking lots shadowed by the viaduct and now it's parking lots open to the air.
I've only been to Seattle a few times, so I had to look up some images to get a sense of what that might look like. Seattle seems to have a pretty functional city government (?) so hopefully those parking lots eventually make way for a place that's multi-functional and at least somewhat of a commons. Louisiana doesn't have much of a state budget, but I feel like there's got to be a way to make progress on this by avoiding the usual bureacratic channels. And one of New Orleans's superpowers, for better or worse, is the creative workaround. : ) So we'll see.
What a tragic story, literally. Seattle took a heroic step by managing to bring together enough people and dollars to tear down a viaduct that not only blotted the skyline but served as a daily reminder of urban planning hubris. However, with the pandemic, even natural forces conspired against bringing the project to completion. Imagine what Sophocles could have done with this material.
Thanks, Jim. Yes, I want to take a deep dive into those video oral histories and the building-by-building account of the neighborhood, that online history project did such a great job of trying to capture the people and places that were lost. It reminded me of sitting with Bob Moore, the Arch Historian, as he scrolled through his photo archive of buildings that once stood near the river, all demolished to make way for the Arch Grounds (which remained a big, muddy parking lot for 10+ years....with no pandemic to slow things down). It also reminds me of Mill Creek Valley. If you haven't read it, Vivian Gibson's "The Last Children of Mill Creek," is such a beautiful little lightning bolt of a book. I know where my copy is and can bring it to STL next month if you want to read it. It's just a lovely memoir, but it explains Mill Creek more perfectly than anything else I've read. It was published regionally but made a pretty big splash - here's the LA Review of Books Review: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/black-childhood-as-idyll-on-vivian-gibsons-the-last-children-of-mill-creek/. She moved to New York in the 1970s to work as a fashion designer, and she's working on that memoir now - I'm really psyched to read that one!
I drove through Mill’s Creek once during a flash flood. The water was already halfway up the car doors and still rising. Even the V-shaped concrete aqueduct couldn’t contain the rain that was still pouring down. But we made it safely to the road that leads up a steep hill toward Shrewsbury.
I remember the title The Last Children of Mills Creek, and wondering whether flooding has something to do their being the Last children. So yes, please bring a copy of Vivian Gilbert’s book with you on your next visit. I look forward to reading it. Jim
In Seattle, an ugly viaduct highway that separated downtown Seattle from Elliot Bay was torn down—a reverse act of engineering that corrected a long ago mistake. But the pandemic and various other forces have prevented the city from creating a new identity for that open space. It used to be parking lots shadowed by the viaduct and now it's parking lots open to the air.
I've only been to Seattle a few times, so I had to look up some images to get a sense of what that might look like. Seattle seems to have a pretty functional city government (?) so hopefully those parking lots eventually make way for a place that's multi-functional and at least somewhat of a commons. Louisiana doesn't have much of a state budget, but I feel like there's got to be a way to make progress on this by avoiding the usual bureacratic channels. And one of New Orleans's superpowers, for better or worse, is the creative workaround. : ) So we'll see.
Um...our city government has only recently re-prioritized its interest in infrastructure...
From the Midwest and the South, Seattle looks like a super-functional, badass city, so ... good to know!
What a tragic story, literally. Seattle took a heroic step by managing to bring together enough people and dollars to tear down a viaduct that not only blotted the skyline but served as a daily reminder of urban planning hubris. However, with the pandemic, even natural forces conspired against bringing the project to completion. Imagine what Sophocles could have done with this material.
Well done.
Thanks, Jim. Yes, I want to take a deep dive into those video oral histories and the building-by-building account of the neighborhood, that online history project did such a great job of trying to capture the people and places that were lost. It reminded me of sitting with Bob Moore, the Arch Historian, as he scrolled through his photo archive of buildings that once stood near the river, all demolished to make way for the Arch Grounds (which remained a big, muddy parking lot for 10+ years....with no pandemic to slow things down). It also reminds me of Mill Creek Valley. If you haven't read it, Vivian Gibson's "The Last Children of Mill Creek," is such a beautiful little lightning bolt of a book. I know where my copy is and can bring it to STL next month if you want to read it. It's just a lovely memoir, but it explains Mill Creek more perfectly than anything else I've read. It was published regionally but made a pretty big splash - here's the LA Review of Books Review: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/black-childhood-as-idyll-on-vivian-gibsons-the-last-children-of-mill-creek/. She moved to New York in the 1970s to work as a fashion designer, and she's working on that memoir now - I'm really psyched to read that one!
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I drove through Mill’s Creek once during a flash flood. The water was already halfway up the car doors and still rising. Even the V-shaped concrete aqueduct couldn’t contain the rain that was still pouring down. But we made it safely to the road that leads up a steep hill toward Shrewsbury.
I remember the title The Last Children of Mills Creek, and wondering whether flooding has something to do their being the Last children. So yes, please bring a copy of Vivian Gilbert’s book with you on your next visit. I look forward to reading it. Jim
I'll make sure to bring it - it's a fast read, but a very cinematic one, a really powerful book.