Hard times’ silver lining for urban heritage and polka fans
Tags: decay, decline, downturn, economy, freeway, Gastown, heritage, preservation, Vancouver
Mike’s post about silver linings to bad economic times struck a chord in my mind. One upside, as he pointed out, can be necessary structural change. A second kind of silver lining might be the preservation of buildings or land uses that in good times would be uneconomical. These could be valuable for cultural, community or heritage reasons.
Maybe I am just feeling philosophical because I spent the evening attending St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Gastown. This well loved heritage district in Vancouver has plenty of character, and is home to architecture dating mostly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This makes it one of the oldest neighbourhoods in an absurdly young city.
Gastown photo by Sea Turtle
From the 1930s to the 1960s, Gastown was in decline. Not much new was built, changed, repaired or demolished. Finally, after several decades of decay, urban renewal and freeway projects threatened large-scale demolition of the area. In the 1960s, locals fought successfully to preserve the place and gain protection for its historic buildings. Thank goodness they did – so much could have been lost.
Yet – what if the local economy of Gastown had never stopped booming in the mid-twentieth century? Would so many heritage buildings have survived long enough to be appreciated for their historical significance? Or would the whole place have been incrementally redeveloped into something newer and different?
In Jessup, Maryland, the “economic downturn” has made the residential redevelopment of a long-time dance hall temporarily uneconomical. Development is on hold, and the old folks have their polka back, at least for now.
“Economic downturn a gift for dance hall’s polka fans“ (My apologies for the lack of embedded video. Wordpress does not like CNN’s embedding code.) Thanks to vcormier’s Twitter feed for the link.
