Vinegar Hill demolition depicted
After the demoliton, Midway School (right foreground) was destroyed for a senior center while Lane High School (in purple) was renovated as the Albemarle County Office Building.PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER
A new booklet published by the Piedmont Housing Alliance shows in dramatic sepia tones what was lost when Charlottesville embarked on what was then dubbed "slum clearance" and "urban renewal." During the mid 1960s, the City erased 29 businesses, 154 dwellings, and one church and built a four-lane road called Ridge-McIntire through the middle of the predominantly black Vinegar Hill neighborhood. It wasn't until the 1985 construction of what became the Omni hotel that the 21-acre site was fully redeveloped.
In a footnote to history, Westhaven, the public housing complex built to house some of the 500 African-Americans displaced by the demolition (all 49 displaced whites found private housing), now faces the possibility of its own demolition.
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21 comments
This is pretty cool, but I wonder that the PHA was behind this project. Perhaps they regret that they didn't exist back then and were thus unable to take advantage of all that nice land. After all, the PHA is, in reality, a development company. They have a demonstrated record of demolishing homes in poorer neighborhoods so they can build newer fancier houses that sell for more.
of course the houses sell for more... would you honestly expect to pay the same amount for a new/renovated house as you would for those that were cleared/upgraded?
my knowledge of PHA is limited and dated, but I know they were struggling with how to keep the demographics in-line with the existing neighborhood. Don't they only sell to first time home owners of a certain income?
If the Hook hasn't already covered it - that would make for an interesting feature.. (PHA, what it does, challenges and the results of it's efforts for better/worse)
This is being portrayed from a civil-rights perspective and certainly there were civil-rights violations...BUT...
The real crime hear is violation of property rights, black and white. And if you have been watching the news, nationwide, this type of Eminent Domain exercise to give property to developers for private purpose is still going on. We need to make law locally and in Virginia protections to prevent plunder of property in the name of Eminent Domain for other than bona-fide public purpose.
Nowhere in those passages is property ownership by race is addressed, and property occupation isn't really addressed either. I remember Settle Tire, the Salvation Army, Coney Island Hot Dog, an appliance store were in the demolished area and were owned and operated by whites. There were also some black owned and operated businesses in the area, such as Bell's Store and Tonsler's A & A Cafe. Also, a number of the housing units were rented by blacks but were owned by whites. There is nothing in those passages that contradicts that.
"...especially for the Greyhound franchise..." There was no Greyhound in Charlottesville at the time, just Trailways, which leads me to think this was written not as a chronicalling of the time but rather a modern day attempt to reconstruct the history. If Trailways (owned by the prominent Jessup family) had wanted a north-south, as well as an east-west route in and out of the city, they wouldn't have moved their operations from 5th ST SW and Water (site of the current Melting Pot restaurant) to its current location, but to the corner of Emmet ST and Ivy RD (US250 and 29N). The hotel, gas station and Villa Capri were built later on that strip of land between 250W and the train tracks.
Rob from the poor = 1960's.
Rob from the park = 2010's.
I've seen this book. It's a profile and history of PHA's 10th and Page Street neighborhood redevelopment. I think the point here is the contrast between how they were sensitive to the residents needs and neighborhood history when they rehabbed old homes and built new ones to replace unsound structures around 10th and Page, unlike the old-school racist disaster of Vinegar Hill.
I never knew what happened in Vinegar Hill until I saw a copy of the book while I was waiting for an appointment at PHA. It's an interesting read and it looks great. Call them if you want a free copy: 817-2436
The proposed Meadow Creek Parkway that will be sending cross town traffic right through there is the final phase of the project.
"Don’t they only sell to first time home owners of a certain income?" No.
"...unlike the old-school racist disaster of Vinegar Hill." Somebody ought to tell that to Settle Tire. I've heard that more white-owned property was confiscated than black-owned. The interesting thing about Westhaven is that whites were not allowed to live there at first because of segregation. The white public housing units were suggested for Cherry AV, but the residents there fought it off. I wonder why they didn't include the Garrett-Sixth Street razing around this time.
Well this is all happening again down on Longwood, off of Harris. Houses will be torn down by our special landlord who attempted to escpae odium by changing things to Neighborhood Properties and getting nice yellow shirts. Who cares what will happen to the poor residents when he builds his PUD. They can go wherever, at the taxpayer' s expense while the developer pockets the profits.....
This was not only a civil rights and a property rights fiasco, the Vinegar Hill removal was also an environmental disaster. It was the centerpiece of efforts during this period of history to convert the city from a vibrant walking town into a place where you would be expected (required?) to ensconce yourself in 2000 lbs of steel or fiberglass before moving yourself around. It's telling that the road was the only project to actually get built right away. For many years the vision of a "Motor City" captured the hearts of officials around the country, and we are still suffering from the realization of their dreams.
"It was the centerpiece of efforts during this period of history to convert the city from a vibrant walking town...It's telling that the road was the only project to actually get built right away." Not quite. The razing of Vinegar Hill was decided upon in the fifties. It was razed around 1960. The land laid fallow for about 11 years without development. In order to spur development on the site, it was suggested that the plat be divided into smaller plats to help induce the private sector to purchase the land and develop it into shopping centers. The first building I remember was the Citizens Commonwealth Building. Only when I-64 was considered in the seventies did the idea evolve to run a four-lane highway straight through the center of town (MCP). The downtown merchants, believing they needed salvation from the growth along 29N, embraced the idea and the county saw it as a straight shot to I-64. The issues of traffic on Park Street, straightening of Rio Road, accessibility to the Park, etc. came later. At least, this is the way I remember it. Downtown is still trying to complete development. Water Street has a garage and Garrett-Sixth is full of subsidized housing simply because nobody wanted the land. It is somewhat encouraging that there is new development along Monticello AV. In my estimation the whole urban renewal project has been somewhat less than successful for the last 40 years and now the renewal needs renewal, at least according to Mayor Dave Norris and the Housing Authority.
"Water Street has a garage and Garrett-Sixth is full of subsidized housing simply because nobody wanted the land."
I disagree with that statement. Places like Gleason's and other businesses in that area were under pressure as a result of the housing development. As another observer noticed, Charlottesville downtown commercial district was pretty vibrant, and what was really going on was more like ethnic cleansing. In the process a lot of businesses were wiped out, and who wants to return if they think they might have problems with a housing development next door?
really, its the typical stupidity of tampering with an already active community
As far as Monticello, there is no real ' new development' going on there. There had been a long time healthy business district running its life separate from the rest of Charlottesville. What is going on now is much more similar to the Vinegar Hill fiasco where the city is deciding which business are desirable, and which are not, and killing an already happy healthy community.
"Places like Gleason’s and other businesses in that area were under pressure as a result of the housing development." I don't understand what you mean. H.M. Gleason's lasted 40 years after urban renewal.
"...and what was really going on was more like ethnic cleansing." I still don't understand. How can you have ethnic cleasing when the resulting population was more "ethnic" than before?
"As far as Monticello, there is no real ââ?¬Ë? new development’ going on there." Have you seen The Gleason housing complex abutting the boutiques and restaurants reclaimed from the old buildings?
"There had been a long time healthy business district running its life separate from the rest of Charlottesville." I think I don't understand "life separate from the rest of Charlottesville." I felt that area, before the western end of Garrett Street was blocked off with the redesign of the Ridge Street, was very accessible to the City and frequented Gleason's every year.
Quite frankly, I have no idea of what the City thought it was doing, because what it said it was trying to do, revitalize downtown by introducing attractive suburban-type shopping venues, didn't happen. As far as removing black people from the area didn't really happen either. I do know I have no faith in government urban planning and the government shouldn't either. If the City had been successful, then it would want to tear it down today because it doesn't follow the new urbanism, smart growth development that is in fashion today.
Zino: "I never knew what happened in Vinegar Hill until I saw a copy of the book while I was waiting for an appointment at PHA."
You still don't know. I haven't seen the book yet but plan to add it to my collection of revisionist history.
Cville Eye: "The razing of Vinegar Hill was decided upon in the fifties."
Not so.
"Public Housing in Charlottesville: The Black Experience in a Small Southern City"
"On March 11, 1960, the city council received an application by the CRHA under amendment 14A: Title 36 VA Code 1950.1 (This section, referred to as the McCue amendment, required a referendum vote on public housing projects; it was overturned in 1971.) The application called for the redevelopment of the Vinegar Hill area and the construction of public housing on Ridge Street and Hartman's Mill Road. The purpose of the project was to clear a substandard area for several reasonsââ?¬â?to facilitate the expansion of the downtown business district, to improve traffic flow, and to provide housing for many of the families who would be displaced as a result of the redevelopment.
Although the redevelopment of Vinegar Hill was viewed by many as beneficial to the city, the proposed Ridge Street and Hartman's Mill Road locations for public housing met with strenuous opposition. Three other sites were then considered, with- the Westhaven site ultimately being selected. In March of 1963, CRHA received authorization from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to award a contract for the first public housing development in the city of Charlottesville. The 126 units in Westhaven were completed in 1964." -- Published May 1988. William M. Harris, Sr. and Nancy Olmsted. Originally appeared in The Review of Black Political Economy, Vol. 46. http://www.iath.virginia.edu/schwartz/vhill/harris.html
Cville Eye: "I don’t understand what you mean. H.M. Gleason’s lasted 40 years after urban renewal."
If you shoot someone who dies 6 weeks later from gunshot wounds, then you're not guilty of murder? How much wealth can be seized incrementally before you go broke? What about the 14.5 acres the city seized from Gleason in 1976? That's 33 years ago, not 40. You guys are confusing biased reporting with factual reporting. Like saying we haven't had a world war since the 1940s, therefore we haven't had any wars since the 1940s... or if we only mention the Great War of 1914, the effects of World War II will not exist.
Click on my name for my blog, the biggest, most factual online source for urban renewal in Charlottesville, with actual historical documents and research. Why do you think the Housing Authority won't release its archives (6,845 documents and 1,189 photos, 189 blueprints and maps) to the public? Councilor Holly Edwards was first asked for help to publish and preserve this history on Feb. 12, 2009 on the Rob Schilling Show. The assistant city manager Rochelle Small-Toney was first asked March 25, 2004. This is part of the history of urban renewal and it did not happen 40 years ago.
Is it possible the true history contradicts the oral history you've been fed from folks intimately involved in urban renewal like Councilor Satyendra Huja and many other prominent local leaders? Why is there an aerial photograph of Vinegar Hill but not Garrett Street?
I forgot to change the title of this post so it has the title of my my recent post.
"Public Housing in Charlottesville: The Black Experience in a Small Southern City" Who? When?
Cville Eye: "How do you know that I wasn’t on the board of CRHA at the time?"
Were you? What years? Why don't you speak directly? I've learned that being on the board does not mean you know anything that happened with the agency during your service. I know that Huja claimed urban renewal happened before he became city planner 1973 and he had nothing to do with Vinegar Hill. I've named this "The Vinegar Hill Myth"-- the false notion that urban renewal = Vinegar Hill, end of story. This is not the place to identify all the participants of urban renewal who are perpetuating this myth. My blog names names as I discover them pretending urban renewal is history instead of current events, or at least more recent than the '60s.
"Not so. Yes, so."
You're speculating. Notice when I said 1960, I referenced a source hosted by the University of Virginia and a link to read the entire article. Are you saying you are a witness to this planning in the '50s? How do you know the decision wasn't made in January 1960, paperwork done and submitted in March? Did you read something in the paper prior to that? What is your basis for the pieces of history you present? Notice I don't talk much about things for which I have no documentation of some sort.
"It is clear from your quote that the CRHA was in existence by March 11, 1960 and had prepared an application for HUD approval of a project needing Council’s approval. Then CRHA MUsT have been formed in the fifties. Then the question remains, if the City wasn’t interested in a large urban renewal project, why was the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority formed in the first place? For redevlopment."
CRHA formed 1954 for redevelopment AND public housing. CRHA had a new power, the authority to use eminent domain for TWO types of private use (1) Private ownership of those wealthy enough to build something new after CRHA had seized, purchased and cleared the property. (2) Private residences to rent to the displaced renters and homeowners. CRHA was formed to exercise this new power in the name of economic development, blight removal, helping the poor and elderly. The same reasons you hear today.
Thanks for taking an interest in this topic and telling what you know. In 2002, with the debate to close Jefferson School, all the local papers could report about urban renewal was "Vinegar Hill"-- just those 2 words. Today people can talk about the process (eminent domain) and specifics like A & A Cafe and Coney Island. So we have made a tremendous amount of progress. More is on the way.
There have been some Virginia legislators who are trying to do just that. Who are the biggest roadblocks to curtailing eminent domain for private purposes? Local supervisors and councilors.
"I’ve heard that more white-owned property was confiscated than black-owned."
Uh, not quite. A little Google searching reveals this:
"Vinegar Hill was largely demolished in the mid-1960's as a part of Charlottesville's "urban renewal" campaign. The political forces within the city saw a derelict slum that had developed on the hillside immediately adjoining the downtown district. At the same time, peripheral areas beyond downtown had begun to draw commerce away from the central district and some form of revitalization was seen as necessary to staunch the flow. In addition, there was no smooth north-south connection through the downtown area of Charlottesville, and ease of automobile and bus transportation was seen as a high priority, especially for the Greyhound franchise which stood at the top of Vinegar Hill on Main Street. All of these factors combined with available federal money and a very thinly disguised racist agenda of slum clearing in an area so close to the reputable downtown business district to produce the nearly wholesale destruction of a neighborhood that was uncommonly rich in its own heritage, traditions and lore within Charlottesville."
The elimination of the principal area of commerce for the African-American population of Charlottesville, in close proximity to the city high school, cannot be seen in isolation. While the community only temporarily succeeded in avoiding integration, the destruction of Vinegar Hill has had a profound and long lasting effect on the identity and economic health of a formerly cohesive neighborhood."
"Why is there an aerial photograph of Vinegar Hill but not Garrett Street?" I have confidence that you will continue your efforts and eventually more of this important information will unfold. Who knows, the information you uncover may one day be used to reign in the allowable uses of eminent domain. I can only hope. As far as my relying upon Mr. Huja or Professor Harris to tell me definitely about what happened here in Charlottesville in the fifties or sixties, it will never happen. Neither of them were here then and I haven't examined Harris' book.
"Cville Eye: ââ?¬Å?The razing of Vinegar Hill was decided upon in the fifties.”
Not so." Yes, so. I did not say that the decision to build public housing in a certain location was made in the fifties, I said the decision to raze Vinegar Hill was made in the fifties, two intersecting but not overlapping processes. It is clear from your quote that the CRHA was in existence by March 11, 1960 and had prepared an application for HUD approval of a project needing Council's approval. Then CRHA MUsT have been formed in the fifties. Then the question remains, if the City wasn't interested in a large urban renewal project, why was the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority formed in the first place? For redevlopment. Unfortunately HUD required that housing be built and offered to the displaced residents. Yes, CRHA wanted to use the cheaper zoned-residentail land in the Ridge Street area, but later settled on the more expensive land on razed Cox's Row and Run Street just off Tenth and Main. All this says is that redevelopment is a multi-year planning process that can span over a decade. Look at today, CRHA hired someone to head the redevelopment of existing public about 8 years ago and they have just hired WRT to start guiding the process. Obviously, to be to the point of opening Westhaven in 1963, CRHa must have started years before.
Since you have been saying how difficult it has been for you to gain complete access to CRHA's records, I would be careful questioning the validity of what others have to say. How do you know that I wasn't on the board of CRHA at the time?