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The arterial project did indeed split the city into two and negatively affected the city and its communities. The project destroyed many residences and isolated many on the East End from downtown. Eminent domain was used to appropriate the space for construction; “The city used eminent domain only when owners balked at offers of appraised values. The city bought the remaining properties, which included 40 structures. Thirty-three of them already have been razed” (Langzettel 1968, p.21). More than 120 properties were acquired to build the arterial. High and State Streets also cut across the peninsula, developed into one-way, two-lane streets in order to help improve traffic flow. The difference between the two projects is that the Franklin Street neighborhood was demolished and an expressway was put in its place. State and High Streets were largely left intact, adapting the higher traffic volumes to its surroundings. This is certainly because they were important historical, higher income neighborhoods.
| This is a photograph of Lincoln Park before urban renewal and the neighborhood had been ripped out. This is also before the Franklin Arterial took roughly a third of the park for its construction. |
| These are the last of the buildings on Franklin Street. The top photograph is of two apartment buildings and the bottom photograph is an office building. The city took over 120 buildings by eminent domain in order to construct Franklin Arterial. Photos by Ryan Foster. |
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