Old Town is a remnant of the original Central Business District. The CBD once stretched for ten blocks, until the construction of the Memorial Bridge interchange severed Old Town from Downtown. Some of the best preserved examples of turn-of- the-century buildings are located between 301 and 415 North Riverfront Drive. They give Old Town its character.
BACKGROUND STUDIES
The commercial core of Old Town on Riverfront Drive between Plum Street and Madison Avenue has been the subject of several revitalization, traffic, and streetscape studies over the past 20 years. A summary of the recommendations from these studies, also illustrated in Figure III-5, follows:
THE OLD TOWN CONCEPT PLAN, 1978
OLD TOWN-WASHINGTON PARK REVITALIZATION PLAN, 1997
OLD TOWN REVITALIZATION, 1998
Summary of Analysis: Old Town Figure III-5
Design Objectives & Recommendations
Participants in the Issues Workshop and Visual Preference Survey identified the most pressing issues facing Old Town and suggested methods to address these challenges. Issues and objectives identified for the Old Town area reaffirm the objectives stated within the previous studies and are summarized below and illustrated in Figures III-5 and III-6.