Boomtowns?

[BigCityAttitude]

Which of our major cities (or up and coming major cities) were/are boomtowns? I know Seattle and Los Angeles were boomtowns... But I don't know of any else... Las Vegas I tink would count as a boomtowm, as it's population increased by 80% from 1990 to 2000.

[DallasTexan]

Dallas

Houston

Atlanta

[Chow]

Detroit was a boomtown.

It's growth during the rise of the maufactoring industry was very close to that of the sunbelt cities of today. Thats one of the reasons that Detroit was never built to hold its peak 1.8 million residents. There was a severe housing shortage that resulted in many homes being split into multiple units. There was severe over crowding in many parts of the city.

Do yourselves a favor and read "The Origins of the Urban Crisis." It is an amazingly informative and interesting book.

[Brickell]

Seems most of our big cities were boomtowns at some point.

New York has had several booms.

San Fran.

Chicago.

Miami.

Vegas, Phoenix and pretty much the whole state of Florida are currently in the midst of minor booms, but seem fairly tame compared to the gold rush days of years past.

[EvanK]

I think Birmingham is getting ready to become a boomtown. Construction is literally everywhere you turn, with the majority before having been in the 'burbs. Now, even in the city itself things seem to be beginning to pop.

It's actually about time. Birmingham has been treading water long enough, so it's time for it to grow a bit.

[Ivory Tower]

Detroit was a boomtown.

It's growth during the rise of the maufactoring industry was very close to that of the sunbelt cities of today. Thats one of the reasons that Detroit was never built to hold its peak 1.8 million residents. There was a severe housing shortage that resulted in many homes being split into multiple units. There was severe over crowding in many parts of the city.

Do yourselves a favor and read "The Origins of the Urban Crisis." It is an amazingly informative and interesting book.

My dad tells me of Detroit in the fiftys, he said it was very hard to find a house or apartment and that two familys sometimes would share the same quarters.

And the actual peak came in 1948, though unofficial.

The estimate was right at 2.1 million.

If you were to include Hamtramck and Highland Park(which is totally surrounded by Detroit), it would have been about 2.2 million within about 140 sq. miles

This generations boomtowns would include Dallas, Houston, San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville.

[PghUSA]

Wasn't the BOOM (the rapid growth 100%+) of population for the industrial Northeast during the turn of the century 1890-1920?

Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Buffalo and to a lesser degree St. Louis doubled or tripled in size during that 3 decade period.

The south and west (sunbelt)'s came about in the 1950s-1960s-1970s and in some areas (Las Vegas, Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte) came in the 1980's and 1990's and continues today.

An interesting reason for this shift from the NE Quadrant of the country to the remaining 3/4ths to the west and south was that because of the Cold War reality the defense department poured billions into the Atlantas, Houstons, Seattles, Los Angeles' and Phoenixes, (think of those "sleepy" towns in 1950 and how the biggest and newest industry was either Lockheed, Boeing, NorthrupGrumman, or a military base (Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami with HomesteadAFB, SD), bombing range (Las Vegas, the land between SD & LA) or command center (Johnson Spaceflight in Houston)!) The reason behind this was that one or two well placed nukes in Ohio could wipe out 95% of our Military/Industrial complex. The fact that air conditioning was becoming affordable at the same time helped too (the heat could be worse then the snow and cold up north). So really the assimilation of the west and south into the industrial base of our nation in the 1950s and 1960s (and continuing today) was a result of WAR and the government and the Pentagon made the initial investments in making the south and west have "big" cities with "big" industries.

[PghUSA]

Talking about BOOMTOWNS, consider something very interesting about where our chosen leader comes from:

1896 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Ohio)

1900 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Ohio)

1904 Election NORTHEAST WIN (New York)

1908 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Ohio)

1912 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Virginia/D.C.)

1916 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Virginia/D.C.)

1920 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Ohio)

1924 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Massachuettes)

1928 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Iowa)

1932 Election NORTHEAST WIN (New York)

1936 Election NORTHEAST WIN (New York)

1940 Election NORTHEAST WIN (New York)

1944 Election NORTHEAST WIN (New York)

1948 Election NORTHEAST WIN (Missouri)

===================================

1952 Election SUNBELT WIN (Texas)

1956 Election SUNBELT WIN (Texas)

================================

1960 Election NORTHEST WIN (Massachuettes)

================================

1964 Election SUNBELT WIN (Texas)

1968 Election SUNBELT WIN (California)

1972 Election SUNBELT WIN (California)

1976 Election SUNBELT WIN (Georgia)

1980 Election SUNBELT WIN (California)

1984 Election SUNBELT WIN (California)

1988 Election SUNBELT WIN (Texas)

1992 Election SUNBELT WIN (Arkansas)

1996 Election SUNBELT WIN (Arkansas)

2000 Election SUNBELT WIN (Texas)

If instead of Democrats vs. Republicans we were Northeasterners vs. Sunbelters, look at how the Sunbelt has dominated National Politics in the Presidential Election AFTER 1950 and the Cold War! Look at how much the Northeast dominated before 1950 because of the power of the Industrial Northeast (no major league team west of St. Louis and South of Washington, D.C.!) Just goes to show the ultimate power whichever region has that can cobble together the most BOOMtowns!

[Richhamleigh, DC]

I would argue that 1988 was a Northeast win (Bush from Connecticut; home in Maine). Heck Bush 2 was born in Connecticut.

In any case, you make a good point.

[Cotuit]

I'm fine with Texas claiming the Bushes.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

I'm fine with Texas claiming the Bushes.

Ah come on...we all know they're carpetbaggers from New England!

[Cotuit]

Actually Bush 1 was born in Mass. There was a big todo during his campaign about the number of 'home states' he was trying to claim. Massachusetts was having nothing to do with him claiming it as a home state. Maine was largely OK with it though.