West Side (Charleston), West Virginia
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West Side (Charleston), West Virginia
The West Side is a neighborhood in the city of Charleston in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States containing about 9,900 residents. Located along the Kanawha River and the Elk River, the West Side is bounded by U.S. Route 60 to the north (W Washington St) and west (Patrick Street), the Kanawha River to the south and by the Elk River and Interstate 64 to the east. Like much of Charleston, the West Side suffers from large tracts of urban decay with 31% of West Side buildings vacant as of 2019 as Charleston overall has lost roughly 45% of its peak population and is part of the Rust Belt. Over 40% of children on the West Side are living in poverty, more than double the national average (17.5%). Points of Interest * Luna Park Historic District - Site of the former Luna Park amusement park. Homes were built mostly after the demolition of the park and are the nicest example of this era on the West Side. * Magic Island - a public park along the Kanawha River and off of Kanawh ...
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Neighborhoods In Charleston, West Virginia
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition, but the following may serve as a starting point: "Neighbourhood is generally defined spatially as a specific geographic area and functionally as a set of social networks. Neighbourhoods, then, are the spatial units in which face-to-face social interactions occur—the personal settings and situations where residents seek to realise common values, socialise youth, and maintain effective social control." Preindustrial cities In the words of the urban scholar Lewis Mumford, "Neighbourhoods, in some annoying, inchoate fashi ...
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Urban Decay
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay which is why it can be hard to encapsulate its magnitude. Urban decay can include the following aspects: * Deindustrialization * Depopulation * Counterurbanization * Economic Restructuring * Abandoned buildings or infrastructure * High local unemployment * Increased poverty * Fragmented families * Low overall living standards or quality of life * Political disenfranchisement * Crime * Elevated levels of pollution * Desolate cityscape known as greyfield land or urban prairie Since the 1970s and 1980s, urban decay has been a phenomenon associated with some Western cities, especially in North America and parts of Europe. Cities have experienced population flights to the suburbs and exurb commuter towns; often in the form of white ...
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Big Boy Restaurants
Big Boy Restaurant Group, LLC is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Warren, Michigan. Frisch's Big Boy Restaurants is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Big Boy name, design aesthetic, and menu were previously licensed to a number of regional franchisees. Big Boy began as Bob's Pantry in 1936 by Bob Wian in Glendale, California. The restaurants became known as "Bob's", "Bob's Drive-Ins", "Bob's, Home of the Big Boy Hamburger", and ( commonly as) Bob's Big Boy. It became a local chain under that name and nationally under the Big Boy name, franchised by Robert C. Wian Enterprises. Marriott Corporation bought Big Boy in 1967. One of the larger franchise operators, Elias Brothers, purchased the chain from Marriott in 1987, moved the headquarters of the company to Warren, Michigan, and operated it until bankruptcy was declared in 2000. During the bankruptcy, the chain was sold to investor Robert Liggett, Jr., who took over as Chairman, rena ...
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Shoney's
Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates restaurants in 17 states, primarily in the Southern United States, South with additional locations in the Midwest and lower Mid-Atlantic states. Founder Alex Schoenbaum opened the first Parkette Drive-In in 1947, and became a licensee of Big Boy Restaurants in 1952. Two years later the name was changed to Shoney's, and aggressive subfranchising followed. Thirty years later, having outgrown its Big Boy territory, Shoney's dropped the Big Boy affiliation. Shoney's is owned by Scott Steiner who purchased the company in 2006 through Royal Hospitality Corporation in Atlanta. History 1947-1958: Early years as Big Boy franchisee In 1947, Alex Schoenbaum opened the Parkette Drive-In next to his father's bowling alley in Charleston, West Virginia. After meeting with Big Boy founder Bob Wian in 1951, Schoenbaum became a Big Boy Restaurants, Big Boy franchisee on February 7, 1952, now calling his ...
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Gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification often increases the Value (economics), economic value of a neighborhood, but the resulting Demography, demographic displacement may itself become a major social issue. Gentrification often sees a shift in a neighborhood's racial or ethnic composition and average Disposable household and per capita income, household income as housing and businesses become more expensive and resources that had not been previously accessible are extended and improved. The gentrification process is typically the result of increasing attraction to an area by people with higher incomes spilling over from neighboring cities, towns, or neighborhoods. Further steps are increased Socially responsible investing, investments in a community and the related infrastruct ...
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Magic Island (West Virginia)
Magic Island is an island (now connected to the mainland) in the Kanawha River near its confluence with the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia. Kanawha Boulevard separates Magic Island from Charleston's West Side neighborhood. It serves as a public park for the city. The island gained its name due to the rise and fall of the river level in the Kanawha, which caused the island to slip underwater, as if by "magic". The sandy area towards the easternmost tip of the park is known unofficially as Rockaway Beach to many of the local park revelers. See also *List of islands of West Virginia This is a list of islands of West Virginia. See also * List of islands on the Potomac River {{Authority control * Islands in West Virginia, List of West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and South ... Geography of Charleston, West Virginia Islands of Kanawha County, West Virginia Kanawha River River islands of West Virginia Municipal ...
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Luna Park, Charleston
Luna Park was an amusement park on the West Side of Charleston, West Virginia, United States, that was open to the public from 1912 until 1923. Located on the western side of Charleston on the north bank of the Kanawha River, the park was a popular destination that featured a roller coaster, a dance pavilion, a public swimming pool, a roller rink, and live entertainment. Admission to the park cost 15 cents per person; a ride on the Royal Giant Dips roller coaster cost one dime per trip.20th Century Images: Cooling off at Luna Park
– Richard Andre, '''' 1 September 2008
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Luna Park Historic District
Luna Park Historic District is a federally designated national historic district located in the West Side neighborhood of Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia. It encompasses 444 contributing buildings in a predominantly residential section of Charleston. The majority of the homes in the district were constructed in the mid to late 1925s and early 1930s and a portion of the district was the location of a local amusement park, Luna Park, from 1912 until 1923. The houses reflect a variety of popular architectural styles including American Foursquare, American Craftsman / Bungalow, Tudor Revival, and Colonial Revival, including Dutch Colonial Revival. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ... in 2012. References ...
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Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions and cities primarily in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S., including Allentown, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Jersey City, Newark, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Toledo, Trenton, Youngstown, and other areas of New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Upstate New York. These regions experienced and, in some cases, are continuing to experience the elimination or outsourcing of manufacturing jobs beginning in the late 20th century. The term "Rust" refers to the impact of deindustrialization, economic decline, population loss, and urban decay on these regions attributable to the shrinking of the once-powerful industrial sector especially including steelmaking, automobile manufacturing, and coal mining. The term gained popularity ...
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Interstate 64
Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bower's Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. I-64 connects the major metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri; Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky; Charleston, West Virginia; and Richmond and Hampton Roads in Virginia. Route description , - , MO , , , - , IL , , , - , IN , , , - , KY , , , - , WV , , , - , VA , , , - , Total , , I-64 has concurrencies with I-55, I-57, I-75, I-77, I-81, and I-95. I-64 does not maintain exit number continuity for any of the overlaps, as each of the six north–south routes maintain their exit numbering on their respective overlaps with I-64. Of all the overlaps, I-64 only goes northeast and southwest with I-55 and I-81, while going southeast and northwest with ...
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West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies the state as a part of the Mid-Atlantic regionMid-Atlantic Home : Mid-Atlantic Information Office: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics" www.bls.gov. Archived. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north and east, Maryland to the east and northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. West Virginia is the 10th-smallest state by area and ranks as the 12th-least populous state, with a population of 1,793,716 residents. The capital and largest city is Charleston. West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, and was a key border state during the American Civil War. It was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state, the second to sepa ...
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Elk River (West Virginia)
The Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, long, in central West Virginia in the United States. Via the Kanawha and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. Course The Elk is formed in the Allegheny Mountains in Pocahontas County by the confluence of two short streams, the Big Spring Fork and the Old Field Fork, which join near the community of Slatyfork. It flows above ground for several miles before it sinks into a network of caverns and flows underground for more than five miles. The old riverbed of solid rock, however, remains above ground in this section known as "The Dries." It follows a generally westward course across the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, through Randolph, Webster, Braxton, Clay, and Kanawha Counties, past the towns of Webster Springs, Sutton, Gassaway, Clay, Clendenin, and Elkview before joining the Kanawha River at Charleston. At Sutton, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concrete dam causes the Elk to form Sutto ...
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