Today took me a closer to downtown, into the East End area north of Midland and east of Third Street.  This was a tale of two neighborhoods, with older houses along portions of Nelson and Withrow and a large infill development in the rest of the area.  There were some perhaps expected contrasts, though the area still felt cohesive; for example, the older houses felt more forward-facing, with fenced front yards and porches.  But the newer houses still exhibit a sense of outward facing-ness, for lack of a better term, for example by keeping their garages as a living space (something that in my experience is unique to this part of the country).

That this area contained a new neighborhood was a bit surprising to me, but it became clear when the 2008 map I used to navigate to the area didn’t show most of the streets. Infill it is, and walking through provides some insight into the successes of the 2009 East End Small Area Plan (and perhaps disappointments, as Third Street still has numerous empty buildings and is still hoping for a commercial renaissance).

My impression is that things are hopeful; the neighborhood feels open, and children seem to be comfortable farther from home than in other neighborhoods I’ve seen so far.