UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:_November 2, 2007__ I, __Aaron Cowan___________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy in: History It is entitled: A Nice Place to Visit: Tourism, Urban____________ Revitalization, and the Transformation of Postwar American Cities This work and its defense approved by: David Stradling, Chair: ___David Stradling______________ Wayne Durrill __ Wayne Durrill_____ ________ Tracy Teslow ___Tracy Teslow _______________ Marguerite Shaffer Marguerite Shaffer Miami University Oxford, Ohio A Nice Place To Visit: Tourism, Urban Revitalization, and the Transformation of Postwar American Cities A Dissertation submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in the Department of History of the College of Arts and Sciences 2007 by Aaron B. Cowan M.A., University of Cincinnati, 2003 B.A., King College, 1999 Committee Chair: Dr. David Stradling Abstract This dissertation examines the growth of tourism as a strategy for downtown renewal in the postwar American city. In the years after World War II, American cities declined precipitously as residents and businesses relocated to rapidly-expanding suburbs. Governmental and corporate leaders, seeking to arrest this decline, embarked upon an ambitious program of physical renewal of downtowns. The postwar “urban crisis” was a boon for the urban tourist industry. Finding early renewal efforts ineffective in stemming the tide of deindustrialization and suburbanization, urban leaders subsidized, with billions of dollars in public finances, the construction of an infrastructure of tourism within American downtowns. By the latter decades of the period, tourist development had moved from a relatively minor strategy for urban renewal to a key measure of urban success. This dissertation traces the development of postwar urban tourism in the cities of Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis. Each city provides a case study for a different type of urban tourist development – hotels, convention centers, stadiums, and “festival marketplaces.” Such tourist development fulfilled a multiplicity of desires and needs in the postwar city. First, tourism catered to the growing consumerist ethic of postwar America, in which not only goods but experiences became consumer objects – thus cities were remade into easily “consumable” entities. Secondly, it offered opportunities for urban revitalization that required little in the way of sacrifice from middle-class Americans, an attribute that became especially attractive after the “conservative backlash” of the late 1960s. Finally, tourist development allowed city leaders to project an image of urban vitality even while much of their cities remained in dire straits. While much of the scholarship on urban tourism has either celebrated its ability to renew cities or condemned its “inauthenticity” and i delocalizing tendencies, this dissertation argues that tourism‟s often exploitative nature had little to do with its inherent characteristics but rather lay in the choices of leaders who saw a revitalized downtown as their highest goal, and were often willing to sacrifice the traditional measures of civic improvement to achieve that end. ii iii Acknowledgements Scholars almost always open their works with an acknowledgement of the debt they owe others for the content that follows. Until I undertook this work, I always thought they were just being nice. I cannot imagine even getting off the ground without the contributions of so many people. David Stradling, my dissertation advisor, read each chapter several times over and sorted out my often scattered thoughts into a more cohesive narrative and argument. Beyond the mechanics of the dissertation, he has provided a daily example of scholarship as a real profession, and shown limitless patience and wisdom. I thank him for his guidance, and the countless coffees and Chinese food. The committee members, Tracy Teslow, Wayne Durrill, and Marguerite Shaffer of Miami University, provided helpful feedback and criticism that improved this project and shaped the way I will approach my research in the future. Other scholars have also been generous with their time and advice. John K. Alexander whipped an earlier version of Chapter 4 into shape – as only he can – as part of his research and writing seminar. I thank Joseph Heathcott for a caffeine-fueled summer-morning tour of St. Louis that forever changed how I conceived of that city. Mark Souther took time to share insights from his own excellent research, and Alison Isenberg provided very useful and influential criticism on an early draft of my dissertation prospectus. Comments by scholars at meetings of the Society of American City and Regional Planning History and the Urban History Association also improved Chapters 2 and 4. I was also fortunate to have an active and lively group of scholars in my fellow graduate students, who in our semi-regular meetings as ―Dissertations Anonymous‖ provided support, sympathetic ears, and critical eyes when I most needed them. I thank Dan Glenn, iv Rob Gioielli, David Merkowitz, Krista Sigler, Feay Coleman, Jim Streckfuss and others for their camaraderie and intellectual stimulation. Outside of the high-minded realm of scholarship, the practical realities of finances often dictate the quality of graduate student life, and I have been grateful for the continuous support of the University of Cincinnati in that regard. A generous scholarship and assistantship sustained practical needs throughout my time there. The University Research Council provided support for summer research, and the Charles Phelps Taft Memorial Fund offered a full year in which to focus solely on research and writing. The History Department has kindly provided me with travel grants and teaching opportunities, as well as a lively and collegial work environment. Hope Earls, the department‘s secretary, kept everything running smoothly and proved a valuable guide for navigating the workings of graduate school. Even with all the resources listed above, this project would have been impossible without the support of friends and family, who, from the outside looking in, tried as best they could to sympathize and encourage me in this endeavor. I thank Brandon Forbes for his willingness to comment on my work and skill in helping me forget about it when needed. My parents, Buddy and Sharon Cowan, have been a constant source of support and encouragement. It was they who instilled in me a love and respect for the past, and never discouraged me from the long and convoluted process of turning that interest into a profession. Finally and most importantly, I owe an immeasurable debt to my wife, Melissa, who has put up with the stress, late nights, and meager income of a doctoral student, and has shown remarkable grace and love to me throughout the whole process. Nolan Cowan was no help at all on this dissertation, but his love, humor, and unending enthusiasm always placed it in proper perspective. v Table of Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements iv Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Urban Decline and the Search for Solutions in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis after 1945 30 Chapter 2: From Social Center to Convention Center: The Changing Function of Downtown Hotels in Postwar Cincinnati 73 Chapter 3: ―FEAR and GREED‖: Race, the St. Louis Convention Center, and the Decline of Liberalism in the Postwar City 108 Chapter 4: City of Champions: Professional Sports, Stadiums, and Urban Revitalization in Pittsburgh 156 Chapter 5: Tourism, Image-making and the Festival Marketplace in Baltimore‘s Inner Harbor 196 Epilogue 234 Bibliography 238 vi INTRODUCTION Tourism and the Postwar American City Two hours past midnight on April 7, 2001, a Cincinnati, Ohio police officer shot and killed an unarmed nineteen-year-old black man during pursuit following an attempted arrest. The shooting was the fourth killing of an African-American male by Cincinnati police over the course of six months. As word spread of the latest death, simmering racial tensions boiled over into violent action, and hundreds of residents of Over-the-Rhine, the city‘s predominantly African-American inner-city neighborhood, vented their anger and frustration in several days of riots and looting. National media carried images of the riots and city‘s efforts to quell them, which eventually included the establishment of a city-wide curfew and more than 280 arrests. Later that year, several different action groups formed in Cincinnati to continue protesting racial discrimination in the city and the city‘s failure to reform the police department. By July 2001, many were calling for an economic boycott of downtown Cincinnati.1 On September 10, 2001, the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati proclaimed a ―Cincinnati Boycott Against Economic Apartheid.‖ In a public statement, the group declared, ―First and foremost, we call for a boycott of the Cincinnati metropolitan area by conventions, tourists, and other travelers.‖ The group went on to call for a boycott of all the city‘s downtown businesses, and closed with a call to potential tourists. ―Make things right in Cincinnati!‖ the statement urged, ―Withhold your dollars from the city. Economic pressure 1 ―Groups Call For Boycott of City Until Demands Met: Lack of Progress Cited on Racial Issues,‖ Cincinnati Enquirer, 15 July 2001. 1 will force the city‘s leaders to find solutions. Our friends all over the country, all over the world can help us make Cincinnati a prosperous, safe and welcoming city for all its citizens.‖2 The boycott of tourism might have seemed an odd choice of protests given the tragic death, the violent riots that followed, and the central issue of police-community relations. But in the context of Cincinnati‘s postwar history of urban development, it made perfect sense. The Coalition for a Just Cincinnati clearly understood that by attacking the city‘s downtown, and specifically its tourist industry, they were striking at the economic heart of the city.