As much as I dislike sparkling new subdivisions built on cleared land denuded of trees or any other natural vegetation, this then and now set is a reminder that even many of the older, tree-lined neighborhoods we love so much today didn’t always look that way. So maybe there’s hope for those far-flung McMansion districts too, assuming their tight-assed HOAs ever allow anything to be planted. Or maybe not…

Thoughts and links for a Thursday morning in February:

• It’s nice to read good news about a mid-century building once in a while, although it’s sad that the good news in LA is not universal. Too many preservationists believe that all history ended about 1920 and that any urban context from any subsequent era is useless (and probably just plain evil) and thus not worthy of our attention. Fortunately, more people are now coming to the realization that we pretty much said the same thing about turn of the century buildings in the 1950s that we’re saying about mid-century buildings now, and that mid-century buildings (particularly those constructed as infill) are an important part of urban texture.
• No major commentary on this one. It’s just cool.
• I really hope there’s still a roof there when we get back to Pittsburgh.
• Just what the world needs: a “My Harris Teeter” ringtone.
• I haven’t digested all of this article on the decline of the Washington Post (too depressing for work), but as Rebuilding Place notes, it’s impossible not to notice. In fact, it’s probably even more pronounced for me since I have irregular access to the print edition, so it’s seemed even less gradual to me. Of course, the same could be said for the LA Times, the SF Chronicle, and the Chicago Tribune, which I was horrified last year to realize is now a tabloid.
• I’ve come to the recent realization that I like Echo & the Bunnymen more now than I did twenty years ago.

A sign of the times: Now it’s R.I.P. for JFG:

“Charlotte is a place that seems to have systematically removed any evidence it existed more than 15 minutes ago,” he said Sunday after learning the sign was coming down. “It’s good to keep some old things around to remind us how people have worked to create a city.”

Hanchett, by the way, is author of this book, one of the best books on southern urban history I’ve ever read. And he’s exactly right; this is just the latest predictable step in Charlotte’s seemingly endless quest to become the most bland and sterile city in the entire southeastern United States.

Just what urban areas need: big new malls with lots of parking (as long as it’s hidden underground so they can pretend it’s not really there, especially when it’s not being used anyway).

First time in days I’ve had a chance to do some reading:

• My neighborhood library branch in Pittsburgh is closing. It’s the oldest Carnegie Library branch in the city and has somehow managed to survive for 111 years,  and it’s a rather amazing space. I’m not happy.
• Google Street View has finally covered Toronto.
• On Jewish delis.
• Anyone for a wedding on the steps of the Capitol?

Today might be my last weekday at home for quite some time. I’m torn between trying to get ahead on schoolwork and sitting on my ass watching movies all day. Of course, there are lots of other things I need to do, so it won’t be a day of pure sloth (or academics, should I choose that route) anyway.