Luckily urban renewal came along and removed most of this density for the lovely 2 block wide interstate highway and blocks upon blocks of surface parking that make our downtown such an accessible place today.
Just look at all of the lovely development that has found its way into the heart of our city! The blue highlights indicate buildings that were leveled and replaced with either empty lots, parking lots, or interstate highways and off/on ramps. The yellow indicates buildings that were replaced with newer construction. The blue / yellow ratio seems to favor blue, eh?
This last image is included to orient the viewer, with a clear demarcation of I-70's location. This aerial shot is looking south from roughly 5th street in the North End at the area that used to tie this part of our fair city seamlessly into the central business district. The view is roughly from Oak/Grand in the east to Baltimore in the west... and is only a fraction of the renewal we have enjoyed since world war 2. The delirious and unprecedented access to downtown allowed by all of this "breathing space" didn't seem to aid the city in retaining even a fraction of its business population, instead draining a great urban center and reducing it to one of the many regional employment centers focused on the automobile and vast amounts of available parking.
But if you are reading this, you probably already know this....
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