Curious about what happened in that 70 year gap of images we’re missing. I suspect the highway did more displacement than the Wally World…
SexDrugsLobsterRollssays
Except that the 2011 picture is taken from a different angle, and the Walmart was built into the side of the mountain that is seen in the other pictures. Apparently many of the buildings shown in the earlier pics flooded and were abandoned.
Sammweezesays
Seems kind of patronizing to assume that the entire town consists of 4 buildings, and those would be weirdly large buildings for a town that has nothing else. Wiki says that 1000 people live there. And if they just erased the town to build a Walmart, who would shop at the Walmart? It’s a weird claim and there are so many good reasons to dislike Walmart; use those.
dogmeatwhereareyousays
For those wondering where the parking lot is, like I was, there is a parking garage underneath walmart
clarke_thecreatorsays
Whoa this is very interesting to see something from my neck of the woods like this; my grandparents lived in Grundy before they passed and I grew up not far outta there. The parking is actually in a garage below the actual store; Grundy sits in a pretty nasty flood plane that strip mining has made worse, so having the parking underneath in a garage makes a lot of sense.
As for the loss of architecture, it was indeed gone before Walmart ever step foot close by. The entire central Appalachian region was slave to the coal barons and once coal and railroad jobs started to dry up in the 1970s the small family run businesses went with them. Large chains outside Walmart and Dollar General refuse to come in to a lot of these places because there aren’t as many people, but that makes it incredibly hard to get out, as there are no jobs in the area. This coupled with inadequate healthcare and a huge drug problem has made the area horrible to live in. So yes, this and lots of other architecture was lost, but Walmart didn’t do it.
Kalibossays
Uhhhh, no it wasn’t? The walmart is clearly on the opposite side from the buildings.
davs34says
The clock tower in the 1940s picture is in the 2011 picture. It’s the building directly across the street from the red bridge.
raff_riffsays
This sub was originally about remarkable architecture that’s been lost for a variety of reasons, not anti-corporate circle jerk junk like this (misleading as it is). There’s nothing particularly appealing about what’s lost, and the utter absence of any context leaves lots of room for alternative explanations. What happened between 1940 and 2011? And what’s wrong with Wal-Mart, unless you have problems with people having access to affordable goods. You have to build stores somewhere.
MotoEndurosays
This Wal-Mart did not displace any buildings and instead was built on a strip mine.
I looked up the Google Earth historical imagery for Grundy, VA.
MrApexIt says
Curious about what happened in that 70 year gap of images we’re missing. I suspect the highway did more displacement than the Wally World…
SexDrugsLobsterRolls says
Except that the 2011 picture is taken from a different angle, and the Walmart was built into the side of the mountain that is seen in the other pictures. Apparently many of the buildings shown in the earlier pics flooded and were abandoned.
Sammweeze says
Seems kind of patronizing to assume that the entire town consists of 4 buildings, and those would be weirdly large buildings for a town that has nothing else. Wiki says that 1000 people live there. And if they just erased the town to build a Walmart, who would shop at the Walmart? It’s a weird claim and there are so many good reasons to dislike Walmart; use those.
dogmeatwhereareyou says
For those wondering where the parking lot is, like I was, there is a parking garage underneath walmart
clarke_thecreator says
Whoa this is very interesting to see something from my neck of the woods like this; my grandparents lived in Grundy before they passed and I grew up not far outta there. The parking is actually in a garage below the actual store; Grundy sits in a pretty nasty flood plane that strip mining has made worse, so having the parking underneath in a garage makes a lot of sense.
As for the loss of architecture, it was indeed gone before Walmart ever step foot close by. The entire central Appalachian region was slave to the coal barons and once coal and railroad jobs started to dry up in the 1970s the small family run businesses went with them. Large chains outside Walmart and Dollar General refuse to come in to a lot of these places because there aren’t as many people, but that makes it incredibly hard to get out, as there are no jobs in the area. This coupled with inadequate healthcare and a huge drug problem has made the area horrible to live in. So yes, this and lots of other architecture was lost, but Walmart didn’t do it.
Kalibos says
Uhhhh, no it wasn’t? The walmart is clearly on the opposite side from the buildings.
davs34 says
The clock tower in the 1940s picture is in the 2011 picture. It’s the building directly across the street from the red bridge.
raff_riff says
This sub was originally about remarkable architecture that’s been lost for a variety of reasons, not anti-corporate circle jerk junk like this (misleading as it is). There’s nothing particularly appealing about what’s lost, and the utter absence of any context leaves lots of room for alternative explanations. What happened between 1940 and 2011? And what’s wrong with Wal-Mart, unless you have problems with people having access to affordable goods. You have to build stores somewhere.
MotoEnduro says
This Wal-Mart did not displace any buildings and instead was built on a strip mine.
I looked up the Google Earth historical imagery for Grundy, VA.
Grundy, VA in 2003
Grundy, VA in 2011