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| 11/15/2009 | Email this article • Print this article | Divided neighborhoods common in Amsterdam
Jessica Maher
Reporter
Now the Riverfront Center, the Amsterdam Mall has been targeted for the schism of not only Main Street, but of the entire city.
"That's what you call moronic planning versus urban planning, we are the model of the world for that," said Alex Torres, who identified the mall as the "Berlin Wall."
Those who remember Amsterdam pre-mall usually speak about it as if it were an entirely different city. According to 5th Ward Alderman Richard Leggiero, it almost was.
"We had a beautiful downtown and it was really bustling down there," he said. "The whole city changed basically when the mall came in. We really lost a beautiful city."
City Historian Robert von Hasseln agreed that the construction of the mall and arterial highways, which caused over 400 buildings to be lost, remains a critical issue in Amsterdam's history.
"It's a sad thing," he said. "After the mills started to leave, Amsterdam tried to recreate itself ... what was lost is what we really need right now."
Mayor Ann Thane agreed, calling Amsterdam the poster child for "the failed experiment that was urban renewal," but said she believes a division between East and West Main Street is more than physical.
"I don't know that the [East] end was ever truly prosperous," she said. "When I look at the archived photos of the city, I think it was always a working class area."
In fact, the East End was developed first, followed by the West End being developed as demands for housing increased and wealthier individuals could afford that housing, according to von Hasseln.
"There's more to it than [the mall]," he said. "Historically, there have always been divisions in neighborhoods."
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Contact Jessica Maher at jessica.maher@recordernews.com.
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