What old money neighborhoods stayed intact?

[Docere]

In US cities, "rich flight" was well underway as early as the 1920s, and in many cities in the postwar years virtually all the wealthy had fled. What rich neighborhoods in city limits stayed intact?

[Steely Dan]

The Gold Coast is chicago's prime example.

[mhays]

Lots of Seattle examples, all single-family-oriented. Here are examples close to the core, some quite suburban:

Much of Queen Anne Hill:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6243.../data=!3m1!1e3

The back side of Capitol Hill:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6259.../data=!3m1!1e3

Some of the near side of Capitol Hill:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6252.../data=!3m1!1e3

Madison Park:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6298.../data=!3m1!1e3

Leschi:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.5992.../data=!3m1!1e3

Magnolia:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6385.../data=!3m1!1e3

[Chef]

Cathedral Hill in St Paul is one. It is a classic Victorian era upscale neighborhood that is still largely intact. I did a photo tour of it years ago:

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=190827

[Docere]

Seattle is almost like a Canadian city in this respect. The affluent never really left the city proper, although some newer money suburban areas developed in the eastern suburbs. You have upper class early 20th century SFH neighborhoods in city limits. Meanwhile, you have a large swath of blue collar suburbs in the southern sector, akin to maybe Surrey, BC or the area around Pearson Airport in Toronto.

[Crawford]

You mean maintained their status, really, right? All the old money circa-1940 Detroit neighborhoods are intact, but none maintained their status. Grosse Pointe is intact and still very prosperous, but is no longer the region's wealth center, so has been knocked down a few notches. There's also a small wealthy enclave in Dearborn that was full of auto execs, and it's still nice and desirable, but real wealth moved elsewhere.

[Docere]

Yes, remained their status/position would be more accurate.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Docere

Seattle is almost like a Canadian city in this respect. The affluent never really left the city proper, although some newer money suburban areas developed in the eastern suburbs. You have upper class early 20th century SFH neighborhoods in city limits. Meanwhile, you have a large swath of blue collar suburbs in the southern sector, akin to maybe Surrey, BC or the area around Pearson Airport in Toronto.

It's an uncomfortable conversation, but the U.S. cities demographically most like Canadian cities (i.e. marginal population of African Americans) had almost none of the racial trauma of postwar America and more or less developed like Canadian cities. Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis to some extent, are Canadianish. Postwar wealth flight was limited in the absence of rapid racial change. American postwar carnage probably had less to do with freeways and stupid planning policies than race.

[Wigs]

This playlist of the history of cities Millionaire's Rows is interesting
Cities featured:
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
St. Louis
Detroit
Manhattan
Chicago
Seattle
Buffalo
Philadelphia
Mobile, AL
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...Ys69WErJOlhJr9

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Crawford

It's an uncomfortable conversation, but the U.S. cities demographically most like Canadian cities (i.e. marginal population of African Americans) had almost none of the racial trauma of postwar America and more or less developed like Canadian cities. Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis to some extent, are Canadianish. Postwar wealth flight was limited in the absence of rapid racial change. American postwar carnage probably had less to do with freeways and stupid planning policies than race.

Isn’t that largely limited to Seattle and maybe Minneapolis though?

Both Portland and Denver had and have massive racial issues.

[pj3000]

Pittsburgh

Fox Chapel, Highland Park, Mt. Lebanon, Sewickley, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill

All founded as wealthy areas. All remain wealthy areas.

[benp]

Buffalo Old Money areas that have maintained wealthy residents.

Delaware District - central core between Allentown neighborhood up to Olmsted Parkways, includes Millionaires Row - homes mainly from 1830s to 1910s, along with turn of the 20th century luxury apartments

Bidwell - Along and near Olmsted Parkways south of Delaware Park - mainly from 1870s to 1910s

Park Meadow - Nortwest of Delaware Park on former grounds of 1901 Pan American Exposition

Central Park - North Buffalo - mainly from 1890s to 1930s

Parkside - East of Delaware Park - Olmsted designed from 1880s to 1910s

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Isn’t that largely limited to Seattle and maybe Minneapolis though?

Both Portland and Denver had and have massive racial issues.

How so? Portland and Denver have relatively tiny black populations.

Both cities have no devastated urban neighborhoods, no race riots, and in both, the wealth remained in the city proper. They both seem very Canadian.

[pdxtex]

Portlands skeleton in the closet is the Albina neighborhood. Black migration was mostly a result of the war effort. A hastily built neighborhood called Vanport was built up on the Columbia to house workers
After a massive flood destroyed it, black Portlanders were steered towards Albina which subsequently prospered after WW2. Along comes the 60s and urban renewal, and like other east coast cities, black neighborhoods were leveled for a highway, giant arena and later a hospital. Along comes the 80 and 90s and white gentrification effectively priced out the rest of black Portland.

Concerning the topic, our old money neighborhoods are well intact. Those include Alameda, Irvington, Laurelhurst, the West Hills, West Slope and Eastmoreland. The west hills is something else. Its basically Beverly Hills built on a mountain. Its awesome.

[pj3000]

This thread topic… I don’t think we’re going to uncover anything here.

Every rustbelt city has neighborhoods that have remained wealthy, desirable areas since the 1920s

[Docere]

Originally Posted by pj3000

This thread topic… I don’t think we’re going to uncover anything here.

Every rustbelt city has neighborhoods that have remained wealthy, desirable areas since the 1920s

Within city limits?* Sounds like most of the wealth departed Cleveland in the 1920s and was pretty much all gone by the 1950s?

https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/10

* I guess I should have made that clearer in the OP.

[James Bond Agent 007]

In Kansas City, anything around the Country Club Plaza.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Docere

Within city limits?* Sounds like most of the wealth departed Cleveland in the 1920s and was pretty much all gone by the 1950s?

https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/10

* I guess I should have made that clearer in the OP.

I don't think any prewar wealth concentrations are in Metro Detroit either, at least not to the same extent as in the past. All are still reasonably desirable neighborhoods, none have the same status. Palmer Woods, the richest neighborhood within city proper, is very nice, but no way is it among the top regional wealth concentrations.

Cleveland might have no such neighborhoods within city limits, however. But Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights are more or less the same thing.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I don't think any prewar wealth concentrations are in Metro Detroit either, at least not to the same extent as in the past. All are still reasonably desirable neighborhoods, none have the same status. Palmer Woods, the richest neighborhood within city proper, is very nice, but no way is it among the top regional wealth concentrations.

Cleveland might have no such neighborhoods within city limits, however. But Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights are more or less the same thing.

Pretty much every North American metro (except maybe Phoenix or Orlando or Las Vegas) has a 1920s era wealthy SFH area I think.

[Docere]

Palmer Woods is in Detroit city limits but it has a population of 800 people. It's predominantly Black.

Nothing in Cleveland city limits. According to Statisticalatlas, the highest income census tract has a median HH of $77k.