Huntington Photo Thread

[SimCity]

Great pics, seicer! Huntington sure looks like it has good bones.

The West Virginia building reminds me of the Barringer building in Columbia, SC (although the bases are different):

[SimCity]

Now that I think of it, the West Virginia building, to me, bears an extremely striking resemblance to the Flatiron Building in NYC.

[seicer]

Welcome to a multi-part Huntington, West Virginia thread. In these posts, I will be poking around some Ritter Park neighborhoods, Pullman Square and then the downtown. You can see the rest at my Flickr account.

Ritter Park Neighborhoods: Lying east of Ritter Park, this neighborhood features a diverse collection of middle-income housing. Ranging from four-sided block apartments to World War II-era housing to everything in between, it was alive with activity when I strolled through Saturday, April 21, 2007. The college students out walking their dogs, neighbors conversing on front porches, starter-ups painting the front door and kids playing in the street added to the spirit that is embodied in this area. To the west is Ritter Park; to the east is Hal Greer Blvd. and Cabell Huntington Hospital. Here is a map of the area.

At the corner of Washington Avenue, Boulevard Avenue, and 14th Street.

Nice neighborhoods east of Ritter Park.

You know what is missing from the bland suburbs? Diverse homes!

At the corner of Washington Avenue and Grove Street.

WV 10 was once slated to be divided into two one-way pairs: Hal Greer Blvd. for northbound and 15th Street for southbound. Thankfully, the two-lane 15th Street, with its brick street, graceful landscaping, and stately homes, was not decimated for a four-lane concrete roadway. See this map at Photo Loc 1.

See this map for Photo Loc 2.

Houses and apartments along 15th Street.

Huntington Avenue houses are a tad bit more modern.

Looking down 13th Street, a dense collection of houses.

You can see the rest at my Flickr account. One day, these will make it up at UrbanUp

[seicer]

Welcome to a multi-part Huntington, West Virginia thread. In these posts, I will be poking around some Ritter Park neighborhoods, Pullman Square and then the downtown. You can see the rest at my Flickr account.

Downtown: The downtown saw its best years as the center of commerce during the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1970s, several department stores had moved to the 'suburbs' -- in East Huntington that creeped ever so further out towards Barboursville and Ona. When the Huntington Mall was completed in 1985, that sent a death notice to the downtown. It had already been hurt by the Superblock, a two-square block parking lot that was cobbled together out of the foundations of businesses, and by the major chains leaving (i.e. Stone and Thomas).

Today, thanks to Pullman Square and major downtown investment by an unlikely group -- young professionals and a changing climate that, yes, Huntington can rebound, you are seeing much growth. Upper floors of many structures are being converted into condos and lofts. Supporting businesses such as sundries and pet stores are seeing a comeback. Restaurants, coffee shops, and little nooks are reappearing. It's going to take time, but we are entering a new age in Huntington that will show promise, growth, and youth. Of course, you will always have the naysayers -- from those that still say Pullman Square is a failure for not having enough retail (it is not a mall), or for the Keith Albee becoming a performing arts center instead of a movie house (despite the fact its being renovated into its former glory after many years as a partitioned building), and the like.

Cabell County Courthouse.

Looking east towards the newer Holiday Inn on the left and Pullman Square in the background. Traffic was converted from four-lanes westbound to one-lane in each direction a few years back despite objections of heavy 'congestion' -- the same ones who also predicted that Pullman Square would fail -- were proven wrong. Traffic slowed down as predicted, and the street is coming back with much life. Condos, retail, restaurants, bars, it's all here.

Big Sandy Arena, in glorious 1970s architecture. Oddly enough, a plan in the early 2000s called for the razing of the civic center with a ... baseball stadium. This idea by a small group never ventured far.

The Coal Exchange building, at right, dominates the eastern downtown skyline along 4th Avenue. 4th Avenue will soon be reconstructed from four-lanes with parking to two-lanes with a landscaped median, bike lanes and parking.

The Pullman Square Plaza is a former Radisson Hotel. The parking garage behind it is much older though, and has ramps indicating it was to be much larger.

The Keith Albee is in the background.

The rear of the Fifth Third Center houses the St. James, being renovated into condos.

The Prichard Building is slowly being renovated into mixed-use apartments, condos and businesses.

The corner store is being renovated into a pet shop, perfect for the downtown dwellers!

9th Street was converted from a failed pedestrian mall (that was haphazardly converted to an automobile throughfare) to this more efficient street.

The Downtown Depot will offer unique gifts and crafts, similar to the Tamarack, and sundries for downtown employees and residents.

The entryways into the former 9th Street Plaza feature a spire from the former 6th Street Bridge.

The Marshall Hall of Fame Cafe is at the corner of 9th Street and 3rd Avenue.

Enjoy part 2! You can find more at my Flickr account.

[seicer]

Welcome to a multi-part Huntington, West Virginia thread. In these posts, I will be poking around some Ritter Park neighborhoods, Pullman Square and then the downtown. You can see the rest at my Flickr account.

Pullman Square: See Part 2 (downtown) for the intro.

This entire block of 3rd Avenue has almost been fully restored. The lone building is the former Stone and Thomas Department Store building (the 6 level structure), which is slated for condos. Pullman Square is at left. Compare this to just four years ago, when the entire block was all but vacant. Today, it is home to the Le Cook Store, a culinary institute, Cingular Wireless, a jewelers, office, and future retail.

Pullman Square has single-handly helped spur revitalization in downtown Huntington. The most visible changes have been along 3rd Avenue, where many buildings are either under renovations or have been renovated. 9th Street, running south of Pullman Square, has been reconstructed, and 4th Avenue is slated for reconstruction.

And you know something? There are a few people who still think a two square-block parking lot is better than a thriving retail, entertainment, and restaurant hub. Go figure.

The West Virginia Bistro closed after Jack Whittaker failed to pay the bills. Remember him? Yeah, the now-broke lottery winner from West Virginia. No wonder.

The parking structure on the left can support an additional office structure on top.

The day previous in the late evening (Saturday), Pullman Square was insanely crowded. Not a bench was free and the wall was all but occupied. A book signing was going in in Empire News and Books, and a small band was playing in the shelter.

Many of the shops and eateries, such as Max and Erma's, Cold Stone Creamery, and EB Games, are some of the highest rated in their entire chain or district. (Cold Stone near the top in the entire chain; EB Games number one in its district; Empire News and Book saw a 39% jump from February to March, and triple-digits from the same time in late 2004 -- for a few instances).

Empire News and Books is an independent bookstore that features hundreds upon hundreds of magazine subscriptions, books, and local flare. It has been so successful that the owners will be building a localized store in Columbus, Ohio!

Flashback to the night prior: absolute madness. This is tranquility during a Sunday morning, although the restaurant to the top right is fairly packed and the park to the left fairly full.

Enjoy part 3! You can find more at my Flickr account.

[RestedTraveler]

Driving around looking for a parking space near Pullman Square and 9th Street (Plaza):

[Southron]

Great pictures of Huntington! From those pictures, it looks like Huntington was fortunate enough not to suffer too badly from tear-downs in the urban renewal period. I've never been there, but Huntington is a very attractive city in these pictures, and apparently has good leadership for the downtown redevelopment effort.