Part I of this photo-heavy blog article provided an overview of the history of the Village of Kiryas Joel, a rapidly expanding enclave of Satmar Hasidic Jews tucked in the woods of Orange County, about 60 miles north of New York City. Surrounded by what would appear to most viewers as pretty standard post-war suburban
It has been a long time since this blog has included a fundamentally photo-driven article, so this one is long overdue. It’s a novelty in a few other ways as well: my first article in the State of New York, and the first since Afghanistan where I was entrenched in a community where I was
A multitude of American cities have experienced resurgences in their urban centers over the last decade. Nonetheless, it typically seems that one city in particular enjoys the lion’s share of favorable publicity for a few years…and then passes the baton to another. New York wore the crown through much of the late 90s, with a
When it comes to particular quirks that appear in an otherwise relentlessly average landscape, the devil is often in the details. Something odd is always there, even if it’s hidden in plain view. A home for sale in the suburban outreaches of Indianapolis shouldn’t raise any red flags; a “for sale” sign really wouldn’t elicit
Baby Boomers remain the largest generation by volume of any recorded in the history of the United States. This label, part of common parlance from coast to coast, imposes artificial bookends upon a group of people whose only real commonality is that they were conceived in the years following World War II—a spike in the
My latest is up at Urban Indy. It focuses on a charming Victorian double in the historic neighborhood of St. Joseph, immediately north of downtown Indianapolis, perfectly visible in this Google Streetview image. At least, that’s how it looked in the summer of 2009. This is what it looks like now: It’s gone. Demolished. One
My latest post is at Urban Indy. It focuses on two small multi-family apartment or townhome developments in Fountain Square and Bates-Hendricks, neighborhoods on the near south side of Indianapolis’ downtown that, while still very gritty, have become increasingly trendy in recent years. Both neighborhoods still have their fair share of dilapidated housing and some
In the previous section of this three-part article, I began exploring some of the affordable housing initiatives of St. Louis that have helped it, to some extent, stem its precipitous decline, particularly in comparison to Detroit, its peer city in terms of population loss. If this survey (you could almost call it “home tour”) seemed
In the previous part to this study, I explored the similar population trends of two major Midwestern cities, St. Louis and Detroit. Both cities have endured significant losses since their peak in the 1950 census. Interestingly, Detroit seems to absorb the lion’s share of critical attention for its persistent economic malaise, yet St. Louis has
In the most decentralized of American cities, much of the urban fabric that prospered until at least the Great Depression (if not later) suffered such devastation in the second half of the twentieth century that one could claim it was wiped off the face of the earth. Huge swathes of what were once densely settled
Part I of this photo-heavy blog article provided an overview of the history of the Village of Kiryas Joel, a rapidly expanding enclave of Satmar Hasidic Jews tucked in the woods of Orange
It has been a long time since this blog has included a fundamentally photo-driven article, so this one is long overdue. It’s a novelty in a few other ways as well: my first
A multitude of American cities have experienced resurgences in their urban centers over the last decade. Nonetheless, it typically seems that one city in particular enjoys the lion’s share of favorable publicity for
When it comes to particular quirks that appear in an otherwise relentlessly average landscape, the devil is often in the details. Something odd is always there, even if it’s hidden in plain view.
Baby Boomers remain the largest generation by volume of any recorded in the history of the United States. This label, part of common parlance from coast to coast, imposes artificial bookends upon a
My latest is up at Urban Indy. It focuses on a charming Victorian double in the historic neighborhood of St. Joseph, immediately north of downtown Indianapolis, perfectly visible in this Google Streetview image.
My latest post is at Urban Indy. It focuses on two small multi-family apartment or townhome developments in Fountain Square and Bates-Hendricks, neighborhoods on the near south side of Indianapolis’ downtown that, while
In the previous section of this three-part article, I began exploring some of the affordable housing initiatives of St. Louis that have helped it, to some extent, stem its precipitous decline, particularly in
In the previous part to this study, I explored the similar population trends of two major Midwestern cities, St. Louis and Detroit. Both cities have endured significant losses since their peak in the
In the most decentralized of American cities, much of the urban fabric that prospered until at least the Great Depression (if not later) suffered such devastation in the second half of the twentieth