The West Side is a neighborhood in the city of Charleston in Kanawha County,

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

containing about 9,900 residents. KanawhaBlvdW

Located along the

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its watershed has been a significant industrial region of th ...

and the Elk River, the West Side is bounded by

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

to the north (W Washington St) and west (Patrick Street), the Kanawha River to the south and by the Elk River and

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...

to the east. Like much of Charleston, the West Side suffers from large tracts of

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. ...

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 The Rust Belt, formerly the Steel Belt or Factory Belt, is an area of the United States that underwent substantial Deindustrialization, industrial decline in the late 20th century. The region is centered in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (Uni ...

. 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 Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903), Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Islan ...

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 Kanawha Blvd W. * Elk City - a distinct sub-neighborhood within the West Side, currently undergoing

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

. *

Shoney's Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. As of April 2024, the company operates 58 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South ...

/ Big Boy Restaurant Museum - Roadside memorial at the site of the first Big Boy Restaurant.

References

Geography of Charleston, West Virginia Neighborhoods in Charleston, West Virginia Populated places on the Elk River (West Virginia) {{KanawhaCountyWV-geo-stub