Yearly Archives: 2010

Yearly Archives: 2010

The fall of Niagara Falls

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Sherman Cahal in Northeast | Leave a comment

On a misty night in late October, a stringy-haired newspaperman bellied up to the bar at Frankie G’s, a musty dive in Niagara Falls, the decrepit city in western New York State that sits atop one of the natural wonders of the world. The editor, Mike Hudson, slapped down some cash and ordered a round of Labatt’s for the house, which consisted of five people, including the proprietor. Hudson, the founder of the weekly tabloid Niagara Falls Reporter, freely refers … →

Mary Haven Home for Boys threatened with demolition?

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Sherman Cahal in Midwest | 1 Comment

Known as the Warren County Orphan Asylum and Children’s Home, the Mary Haven Home for Boys in Warren County, Ohio is a notable historic landmark for the southwestern part of the state. The three-level brick building, in a state of deterioration, could be demolished if the Warren County Commissioners receive their favorable outcome in a court hearing.

End of the line for the Oakley station

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Sherman Cahal in Midwest | Leave a comment

There is more unfortunate news from Cincinnati, Ohio, and this time it involves the former Marietta & Ohio Railroad train depot in Oakley. Reported from the Cincinnati Enquirer, the station was purchased in 1991 by Doug Master, who sought to restore the depot to its former glory. After suffering 20 years of neglect after the station closed in 1971, the property was utilized as a cooper and recycling business. But CSX Transportation, who owns the land the station resides on, … →

Trying to overcome the stubborn blight of vacancies

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Sherman Cahal in Midwest | Leave a comment

In its heyday in the 1930s, this Rust Belt town called itself the City of Homes, a place where a working-class man could be master of his own castle.

But when it fell upon hard times, thousands of homes fell into foreclosure in one of the first modern mortgage crises. Thirty years later, many of those houses still sit, their boarded-up windows staring like dead eyes into Youngstown’s streets.

Newly built ghost towns in Spain

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Sherman Cahal in Other | Leave a comment

It is a measure of Spain’s giddy construction excesses that 250 row houses carpet a hill near this tiny rural village about an hour by car outside of Madrid. Most of these units have never sold, and though they were finished just three years ago, they are already falling into disrepair, the concrete chipping off the sides of the buildings. Vandals have stolen piping, radiators, doors — anything they could get their hands on. Those few families who live here … →