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So I was thinking (which can be lethal), and I was wondering what Charleston would look like if it had continued to grow in population instead of decline. I looked at Charleston in 1960, which appeared to be around its peak population of 85,796. I then looked at its growth from 1930-1960 (3 decades worth) and saw that Charleston grew from 60,408 residents in 1930 to the 85k figure in 1960. That's an increase of 25,388 over the 30 year span, an average of 846 (roughly) a year. https://population.us/wv/charleston/
Using that information, I was able to project out what Charleston's population would look like if it continued to grow at the minimum of 846 new residents each year. This of course is a flawed exercise given the rise of suburban migration and other factors, but that's beside the point. Assuming that Charleston continued to grow by 846 people a year from 1960, Charleston city proper would have 136,556. This of course does not include the growth of surrounding communities like South Charleston, Dunbar, Saint Albans, etc....
If that happened, Charleston would be a completely different city than it is today. It would be very densely populated in the developable land along the river. I would imagine that things like the Town Center would have never appeared due to the concentration of development that would have taken place in that section of the city between the 60s and 80s. The interstate highway might have been reimagined in this scenario. There might be taller building downtown. Maybe even a larger airport.
This of course is all fantasy, but it's something to think about given the current state of the city. The city would no doubt be more of an economic engine than it is today. The suburbs would have completely changed the look of the area. Imagine Elkview looking more like Cross Lanes does today.
I think it would be nice if it could've continued on that trajectory. I remember in the early to mid 90s when I was growing up the Pinch/ Elkview area was considered to start becoming the 'next' Cross Lanes. Jackson County was going to be the next Putnam County. Eleanor and Frasiers Bottom were going to be extensions of Teays Valley, etc. There was going to be a connector or bypass type road to link up Cross Lanes area with Sissonville and I-77. The Kanawha Bank and Trust building was going to be fancy new condos- was called 'Renaissance Tower.' NorthGate was going to build out quickly into a big business hub. A lot of plans. You unfortunately need a growing regional economy to do that and things started going downhill regionwide really fast in the late 90s/ early 2000s. Dow laid off/ transferred 2,000 employees alone in 2000 and many others further downsized and or left. The planned big growth in these areas simply never materialized.
Last edited by NOVAmtneer82; 03-08-2022 at 12:50 PM..
Was there any thought after Dow left to trying to entice smaller to-mid size tech and white collar jobs? Obviously, there's a balance - you don't want too much as it would throw off some of the city's character but you need enough to keep a sustainable population, tax base, and humming economy.
It seems like there wasn't a lot of realization that you needed investment until a bit later in the game.
Was there any thought after Dow left to trying to entice smaller to-mid size tech and white collar jobs? Obviously, there's a balance - you don't want too much as it would throw off some of the city's character but you need enough to keep a sustainable population, tax base, and humming economy.
It seems like there wasn't a lot of realization that you needed investment until a bit later in the game.
I suppose it's never too late though...
I think that the problem was never the effort to attract new business here, but the instead the attractiveness of the area to new business. The chemical industry saw success here because of access to the resources it needed to sustain business. There's not really any incentive for tech or other white collar businesses to relocate here. The state government and their policies have always been a burden to economic growth over the years. The city government has always lacked the vision required to attract employers. Leadership is Charleston's biggest weakness.
Some of that character that you're referring to is why I love Charleston. It's a charming and down to earth. I see so much potential for the city, but there's a lot of factors that hinder improvement.
I think it would be nice if it could've continued on that trajectory. I remember in the early to mid 90s when I was growing up the Pinch/ Elkview area was considered to start becoming the 'next' Cross Lanes. Jackson County was going to be the next Putnam County. Eleanor and Frasiers Bottom were going to be extensions of Teays Valley, etc. There was going to be a connector or bypass type road to link up Cross Lanes area with Sissonville and I-77. The Kanawha Bank and Trust building was going to be fancy new condos- was called 'Renaissance Tower.' NorthGate was going to build out quickly into a big business hub. A lot of plans. You unfortunately need a growing regional economy to do that and things started going downhill regionwide really fast in the late 90s/ early 2000s. Dow laid off/ transferred 2,000 employees alone in 2000 and many others further downsized and or left. The planned big growth in these areas simply never materialized.
I've heard many of those plans over the years, and pretty much everything in Charleston falls through at some point. It was a miracle that the Civic Center and library renovations actually came to fruition, but those are both public projects.
You mentioned a connector road between Sissonville and Cross Lanes. I've always thought that it made too much sense, and would be a natural catalyst for growth. With the elimination of the inventory tax, Charleston is a logical location for distribution centers. A connector road there would open up land that is much easier to develop due to the mild nature of the terrain in that part of the county. There's 3 interstates, plus US 119 and 35, that spread our in every direction. Charleston is within 3-4 hours of Cincinnati, Lexington, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and not much further to Charlotte. I believe that this was a missed opportunity for the region.
This would be an alternative universe for almost all US cities not in the sunbelt. Even places like Atlanta got hammered by population loss in it’s city-limits.
This would be an alternative universe for almost all US cities not in the sunbelt. Even places like Atlanta got hammered by population loss in it’s city-limits.
That's true, but Charleston has been among the fastest shrinking cities for at least 20 years now. It would be different if the suburbs growth out paced the inner city's population loss.
For all the times I've passed through Charleston, WV on roadtrips, I've always wondered what that city would be more like if it had continued to grow at the pace it did in the early 20th century myself. It's sad to think the population is(of Charleston city proper) now only just over 48,000, and if it had continue to grow at its pace until the 1960 Census would be more like 136K.
And from what I've read, Charleston Town Center has slowly been starting to lose stores in the last few years as well. It's too bad, since it seems like that mall was once nice back in the day. Although to be fair, malls all over the US have been slowly struggling in more recent years.
For all the times I've passed through Charleston, WV on roadtrips, I've always wondered what that city would be more like if it had continued to grow at the pace it did in the early 20th century myself. It's sad to think the population is(of Charleston city proper) now only just over 48,000, and if it had continue to grow at its pace until the 1960 Census would be more like 136K.
And from what I've read, Charleston Town Center has slowly been starting to lose stores in the last few years as well. It's too bad, since it seems like that mall was once nice back in the day. Although to be fair, malls all over the US have been slowly struggling in more recent years.
Town Center started to lose stores slowly a few years ago but that turned into a mass exodus. There's pretty much nothing of value left in that mall anymore- the few remaining decent ones should hedge their losses and follow Buckle to Southridge or try to get something on Capitol Street. If JC Penney was smart they'd either try to move to the old Stone & Thomas on Capitol Street or go to Southridge or the new Park Place development in South Charleston.
Your last sentence is only partially correct- Malls in overbuilt or economically depressed markets in the US are struggling- well run malls in thriving areas might lose a store or two (including an anchor) here and there but are easily able to refill the space with something different or tear down and do more mixed use. Charleston's persistent population decline and the presence of other shopping areas like Southridge makes this difficult - add in so many people moved out to the Teays Valley area where they can drive to the Huntington Mall in Barboursville (although that mall isn't that great either- one should probably just keep driving to Lexington or Columbus if they want a larger collection of nice retail options) versus the Town Center. Huntington Mall does at least still have a Macys- for now.
I've heard many of those plans over the years, and pretty much everything in Charleston falls through at some point. It was a miracle that the Civic Center and library renovations actually came to fruition, but those are both public projects.
You mentioned a connector road between Sissonville and Cross Lanes. I've always thought that it made too much sense, and would be a natural catalyst for growth. With the elimination of the inventory tax, Charleston is a logical location for distribution centers. A connector road there would open up land that is much easier to develop due to the mild nature of the terrain in that part of the county. There's 3 interstates, plus US 119 and 35, that spread our in every direction. Charleston is within 3-4 hours of Cincinnati, Lexington, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and not much further to Charlotte. I believe that this was a missed opportunity for the region.
Agree 1000 percent Chris. Charleston is one of only a few US cities where three interstates converge - and is located close to a ton of major population centers. Unfortunately Charleston politics (and largely WV general) are so parochial and short sighted you end up getting nothing but continued less than mediocrity. Other officials are literally operating in an alternate universe- i.e. people like Kent Carper who are always saying things 'aren't that bad and looking up' when companies continue to flee and have been for decades! It's really a shame because in the 60s and 70s there were mayors who worked to make the city something- Town Center is a prime example of that. Or was I guess...
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