John S.

Thanks! I couldn't recall if it was Sullivan & Adler or Burnham & Root. I know Wright was fired from the firm after he was caught "bootlegging" architectural designs for private clients. He went on to form his own firm and the rest is history.

Addendum: Ink, a couple of web sites did confirm that the Home Building Association in Newark, Ohio, now an ice-cream parlor, was indeed a Louis Sullivan design. Frank Lloyd Wright was an admirer of Sullivan's work. I will have to make a trip someday to Newark just to see one of the rare surviving examples of Louis Sullivan's architectural legacy.

djc3e, Nice set of photos...I find it disturbing to see impressive historic buildings in a few of the photos all boarded up but I guess it's a sign of the times. The Queen Anne/Colonial Revival style home with the "insane" porch undoubtedly was originally open and probably featured an impresive balustrade with columns/posts around it. Enclosing the entire porch area in that manner is functional but also a little disingeneous. My only constructive comment regarding the photos is that they could have been enlarged a little more to "fit" the page, but otherwise they are quite nice. Thanks, and I hope you will post more in coming days...

Nice photos, Ink. Didn't see much in the way of "grit". (except for some of the contemporary buildings. There were two photos I was curious about- the first was the "Home Loan Association" building and the other showed a colorful "Old Home" sign-both of these look amazingly like some designs by famous architect Louis Sullivan. Are they old buildings? Second, could they actually be Louis Sullivan designs or perhaps by one of his contemporaries?

Ink, What a loss for a small town. Italianate style commercial buildings of this type graced many town squares in the 1860's and 1870's-it was a fine, intact specimen. Massive collapses of walls like this do not usually happen out of the blue. Did a car or truck crash into the wall? Another possibility is that water got into the masonry and weakened it. In any event, a structural failure of this kind can often be stabilized and repaired, if the owner and municipality code dept. allow it. Given that is is on a major street corner and code/building safety inspectors tend to err on the side of caution, repair or stabilization were probably never even considered. Another historic building lost forever.

Ink, In this group you've taken photos of the good, the bad, and maybe some ugly thrown in for good measure. The first two images are absolutely pefect for a calendar-so picturesque! Of course, being the Victorian architectural nut that I am, I really liked the reddish towered Queen Anne house-looks like it needs some TLC but it is architecturally impressive. Some of the other early 1900's houses looked impressive as well. I hate to see grand old houses boarded up but that is a current sign of our times... Thanks for sharing.

Ink, Columbiana looks likes anywhere U.S.A., better kept up than some of the other recently shared small towns, but nothing to get excited about-there's more to see in tiny Shawnee than in a dozen Columbianas. I did think the diguised "peace symbols" in the theater doors was kind of neat-probably purely coincidental, though.

Ink, not much I can say about Antwerp except it must have had better days 100 years ago. Now it looks like a typical tired little farming community of the type found across the Midwest from Nebraska to Pennsylvania, Ohio included, of course. Small towns of this type stuggle to stay alive as many of the younger generation take off for bigger cities and greener pastures. It looks like the folks in Antwerp are doing the best they can with what they have and the town does look clean in the photos. Having said that, I can't think of any special reason to make a trip there unless it would be for business purposes.

Nice photos Ink! Interesting town architecturally....that last house was a castellated, whatcha-ma-callit, guess it would be considered an "ecclectic" design. I know my Victorian architecture, but that one doesn't easily fit into any particular style such as Italianate, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, etc. Thanks for sharing another good collection. You should author an small town Ohio guidebook-there's lots to see in the hinterlands of the buckeye state. John S.

Nice photos Ink! Bellevue is architecturally grounded in the 19th century yet there doesn't seem to be much of a conscious effort to play up it's historical assets. Were there no historic homes in town worthy of photographing? When I visit smaller towns, I first photograph interesting buildings in the downtown area then start moving outward a street or two at a time until I find the beginning of the residential area. It is often there that one often finds the oldest and most interesting historical houses. Although traffic may have been heavy in Bellevue, from a survival of downtown standpoint, lots of traffic usually equates enough people stopping by for local businesses to keep their doors open. Far too many smaller town businesses have suffered greatly when a new local highway by-passes the downtown area. Not to mention certain big-box discount retailers which often set up operations on the edges of town and then proceed to suck the economic life-blood out of downtown Mom and Pop businesses. Within a few years, downtown is mostly boarded up and vacant. Traffic is GOOD for business! John S.

Nice photos Ink. Despite it's name, this farming community (grain silos in the background) looks fairly prosperous and there's a good sampling of historic buildings surviving, most in good repair. However, architecturally, I did not see any standouts. John S.

Great photos of a town I've never heard of. The two buildings with the metal mesh cladding to cover up their (probably historic) facades, really stand out. That metal cover up stuff is ugly when it is brand new, but when it becomes old and rusty it is REALLY ugly!!! Talk about urban "blight"! It should be illegal to cover up a building with that junk. John S.

Ink, I wince every time I see photos like these...the poor economy is driving a lot of vacant home and unused building owners to consider demolition to lower property taxes and reduce maintenance. This was originally a nice, 1870's or 1880's vernacular Italianate style home in an area which obviously has other standing historic structures. (notably, the mansard-roofed Second Empire house in the background) The loss of even one structure creates a gap-toothed appearance in the streetscape. Eventually, a gradual loss of structures creates a demolition "greenspace" consisting of a large section of vacant land-I've seen these "greenspaces" in cities and towns from Texas to Michigan. With such vivid photo documentation, maybe someone will be motivated to stave off future demolitions-saving our built heritage is a never-ending, uphill battle. John S.

Nice photos, Ink! And yes, I'm almost certain that building was a firehouse at one time, I've seen many historic photos of firehouses that looked almost identical. Paulding has some nice historic urban architectecture and has not re-muddled too many of it's old buildings. I'll put that on my list of places to visit in the future. Thanks! John S.

"I'll give you points for a fair answer, except in regard to the music industry, that statement is not totally accurate. " Very well, I hereby acknowledge that I'm no expert in urban contemporary music. Therefore, any knowledge to the contrary you may wish to share would be appreciated. Fairness in answers works both ways, of course. Please, if possible, maintain the connection to the topic thread-I tried to show how some forms of music reflect the frustrating conditions, flaws, and inequalities found in urban neighborhoods. These inequalites must be adequately addressed if there is to ever truly be a renaissance in America's larger cities. (which I believe most who post here are wanting)

"wow this went from cities to race, once again. John what information did you use to come to that conclusion?" One cannot ignore race as part of the urban picture. It is but one component of many in the urban experience. Historically, minorities have settled in inner-city areas, not so much by choice but driven there mainly by economic hardship. The middle and upper classes, which have traditionally been predominantly white, have had the economic means to relocate to the more attractive yet also more expensive surburbs to buy their version of the cute cottage with the rose garden and picket fence. I'm not sure what conclusion you were focusing on. I merely claimed crime is mainly born from hardship and despair-people who are well off usually don't rob others just for the fun of it. As for Rap/Hip Hop, I had focused on the "gangsta" genre as being negative because many of it's role models are outlaws and criminals in mainstream society's eyes-it's glorifies the urban ghetto plight and hides the dispair felt from living in a bad 'hood with a sense of anger and toughness. Katrina proved that, if given the means to relocate to better surroundings, many poor inner-city residents would gladly leave their crime-ridden neighborhoods to live in peaceful surroundings with better opportunities. It is true some of those relocated took their criminal activities with them but the vast majority just wanted a better life somewhere else. My opinion (and that's all it was) was to work to alleviate the conditions in urban neighborhoods with high crime rates not by tougher law enforcement (which fills up prisons but doesn't solve the root causes of people turning to criminal activity for economic survival) but rather by trying to educate, organize, and provide the means for neighborhood residents to better their condition. As one old anti-drug campaign slogan used to say: "No young kid says he wants to be a drug dealer when he grows up." As for my credentials, since 1989 my family and I lived in a predominantly minority inner-city neighborhood. College graduate, with experience in the corporate world as well as long-term self-employment. My son (now 23) was the only white kid in 3 of his elementary grades. As a so-called "urban pioneer" I reclaimed a derelict historic house and from day 1 have tried to reach out to my neighbors in fellowship as equals. I too have experienced times of economic hardship and extended unemployment. While that was the exception for myself, for many of my neighbors that has always been the norm. Nightly gunshots from drive-bys were common in the early days and my garage was gang tagged in the first years. Fast-forward to today, we've had a neighborhood association, a crime watch and patrol group, a police storefront, and families with kids happily walk through the neighborhood. The racial demographics have changed very little but development and higher proerty taxes now threaten many of limited means. While I had a furniture/antiques restoration shop, I employed a man, at good wages, who hadn't had a job in 11 years and helped him to learn skills he could use in the future. Now, almost 20 years later, my neighborhood is being carved up by developers (even in these tough times) and my property is for sale. Upon selling, I intend to give Cincinnati a fair look and while crime may be an important factor to consider, race will not be. I agree diversity and race are sensitive issues and there's enough blame to go around from all sides, but united we stand and divided we fall. The ideal urban experience celebrates diversity, different cultures, and provides equal opportunities for all. Sorry if anything previously posted was taken negatively or if anyone was offended. John S.

"Middle-class folks will do just about anything to avoid the possibility of being physically assaulted." Really? I guess that means the upper-class and working class folks, don't mind the occasional bump on the head from strangers. (lol) Crime is everywhere these days as anyone from rural areas can assure you. The criminal elements in neighborhoods can be encouraged to move to other digs provided law-abiding residents support crime reduction through crime watch and neighborhood patrols. Police storefronts in high-crime areas are another deterrent. Ultimately, finding the cause of high-crime activity and addressing the root cause (drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic abuse, chronic unemployment, hopelessness, mental illness) rather than incarcerating more people will reduce crime. We can only hope that if Barack Obama is the next pres, he will use some of his Chicago street smarts (if he actually has any) to address the social ills of the inner-city and provide the down-and-out with a means to lift themselves out of poverty. The problems of drugs, primarily crack and crystal meth in inner cities is nation-wide and obviously, the so-called war on drugs is not working. Either we need to ramp up penalties for drug use and possession to levels like Malaysia, (where the death penalty is often given) or we need to take a more enlightened approach like Holland and recognize that a certain segment of our population will always be drug-dependent, no matter what steps are taken to curtail that behavior. Drug addiction, like alcoholism, is an illness that is best treated in a medical clinical or hospital setting, not by sending an addict to prison for years only to quickly relapse after being released back into society. No quantity of social remediation programs or anti-poverty programs will ever reduce crime to zero. The problem today is, part of our urban culture glorifies the "outlaw" (or gangster) lifestyle as an acceptable alternative to mainstream culture. People living in urban areas need to find new role models to define themselves, a lot of the destruction and murders in these areas are part of the "tough" inner-city culture, but do nothing to improve the lives of those affected by it. At it's root, the so-called "Gangsta" culture is self-destructive, self-loathing, and negatively impacts impoverished inner-city residents the most. The gangsta rap, hip-hop heros are tough guys ("thugs" some like to call themselves) and sometimes play out their musical images with violent action and fatal results. How can that be viewed as a positive? In its place should be: Love is the answer, now what is the question? This would represent an 180 degree change from the tough "F" you mentality. There certainly are more problems in the inner-cities than high-gas prices. Until the residents feel inclusive in mainstream culture, they will continue to lose hope and turn to criminal activity as a legitimate means to get ahead. John S.

If I had to bet on a future alternative fuel source to petroleum, it would be for electricity powering our cars, not by batteries alone but powered by some type of grid connection like subways and trolleys use. In any event, storage batteries of the Lithium Ion type are still improving; Exxon-Mobil, of all companies, is touting in their ads how one of their engineers came up with a major improvement for the battery, so we shall see. The holy grail of electric cars would be one which gets 500 miles or more between charges; that equals about a full day of driving for most people. Both wind and solar generators create electricity, so as a long term sustainable and non-polluting energy source, it is the best. It would not hurt, however, for people to re-discover walking and bicycling, they not only provide fuel savings but are healthy for most folks too, John S.

StowCbus, This was an interesting video but not an all-encompassing journalistic essay on the current decline of American suburbs. I did learn a new term from this video, though, "Ghostburbs". That term conjurs in my mind images of future exurban tract developments with hundreds of McMansions collapsing in ruins, overgrown with weeds, and where trees are sprouting in the decaying streets. Doubtful that will ever happen because the current administration has a vested interest in maintaining the old petroluem-based Economy status quo. Hence, Dubbya's comments about tapping into the vast oil shale deposits and seeking extended off shore drilling. Marketers are talking about "demand destruction" going on in oil right now; that is where prices are so high that consumers of the product are cutting back on their use and looking for cheaper alternatives. I'm afraid the 'Burbs will stay around for a while and may actually pick up where they left off if cheaper energy alternatives are rushed to the market. For now though, high energy/fuel prices are giving a significant boost to the back-to-the-cities movement. Regardless of the future of energy costs, we live in a time of increasing global scarcity which could only be reversed with a massive global human population decrease. No one wants that to happen, so conservation and sustainability are the only positive paths to the future. John S.

Shawnee is a rare architectural diamond in the rough-an entire historic town almost frozen in time. It was especially sad to see the architectural salvage (turned columns etc.) taken from the town's homes, for sale in the last photo. I'm afraid if there isn't some serious investment in stabilizing this little town there's a real risk of it disappearing before too long. Haydenville, obviously like Shawnee, (and many Ohio towns) had a booming ceramics/pottery industry in the past. The local products were cleverly integrated into the town's architecture creating a unique streetscape. I've got to find some time (and $$$) to visit these places soon. Thanks for sharing, this was a great set. John S.

Didn't know Ohio had an "outback" region or very much Eco-tourism but there's an office photographed showing both. Great photos showing the character of Nelsonville. Loved the folksy expressions of free speech, essential in a free society. Also noticed the Geo. Bush stencil on the boarded up window, perhaps a way of placing blame for the decline that led to boarding up? Thanks, John S.

Modern company towns or company sponsored enclaves within a larger community as done in Japan, seem to work very well and benefit the employees and their families. There's also the concept of urban intentional communities, or co-housing with varying degrees of success for past and present examples. A failed company town model would be like Pulllman, Illinois, where the company the town was named after took advantage of the employees and their families. Since privatized, Pullman is now a desireable neighborhood of historic homes. I think the success of company towns depends on the company. Also, historically one-industry towns have not faired well as business climates change over time. Economic diversity seems to create stability and the largest cities are those that have the most economic diversity. John S.

Excellent article, KJP! It really highlights well the differences between American and European cultures where high fuel prices have long been the norm. Bring on that TGV! John S.

If the suburbs are doomed then grass will grow in their streets and homes will be plowed under for expanded farmland. A few of the houses (not the McMansions) might be jacked up and moved closer to urban areas. Some suburbs are probably destined to become future slums-that has already happened in some places. (such as some former suburban neighborhoods I personally witnessed in Edmond, OK) Anyhow, the decline of peak oil has ramifications that will take decades to play out. I think the American public is incredibly resilient and will adapt and innovate as necessary. We survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, as well as the political turmoil of 1968-doubtful what is to come would be much worse than any of these national trials. John S.

What if a gallon of gas hit $10 a gallon? On MSN's Money section was posted this article: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/WhatIfGasCost10DollarsAGallon.aspx Interestingly, one of the conclusions reached if gas prices rose to $10 a gallon levels was that suburbanites would flock en masse to inner-city townhomes to avoid long commutes. I think even at the current $4 a gallon level, that trend is already picking up momentum. The fact is, abundant cheap energy seems to belong to the past and all of the American culture that was based on that premise is becoming obsolete. I think suburban sprawl has now met its worst enemy and will soon wither and die. Larger cities, which have traditionally been regional employment and housing centers, are now in for a renaissance. Ditto for the energy efficient but long neglected trains and railroads. Over-the-road-truckers are buckling under financially in record numbers as fuel costs escalate faster than they can recoup by raising their rates. American railroads of the past were one of the most efficient transportation and supply distribution systems ever created. American towns and cities lived or died dependent on their access to railroads. In a sky high fuel-priced world, railroads are still kings of efficiency. Railroads declined only because cheap fuel made the less-energy efficient trucking industry possible. I think someday we will look back to this period in time and say that is when things changed...much as folks in the early 1900's saw the automobile age and cheap fuel quickly making the old horse and buggy era obsolete. What comes next must by necessity be smarter, more efficient, and sustainable for the long-term. The days of giant SUV's, exurbs extending miles into the countryside, and run-away consumptive, gluttonous waste, are at an end. I can almost hear a collective "Amen" being said in the background. John S.