Syracuse in the 1800s.

As most European cities, Syracuse got extremely desolate and destructed during World War II, but they are doing everything possible to preserve the history of the architecture and preserve what is left of the cultural aspects of this. Sir Winston Churchill said "We shape our buildings, therefore they shape us." This is the perfect quote to depict my feelings toward historical buildings. They help shape our culture, our emotions, and our art. What amazes me is that even after a huge war, countries still manage to salvage a lot of their buildings and reconstruct them to preserve their history. Now, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the entire city was wiped out and they had to re-build the whole thing. This to me, is extremely sad. Every memory, every historical piece, was completely wiped away by a hurricane, which can be a lot less damaging then a full scale war. European cities with historical architecture prove to us that their cultures and memories are important enough to salvage and protect. Where I grew up in Europe, generations would grow up and live in one building. This was possible because buildings actually lasted!

The automobile industry started when a lot of the popular railroad routes were destroyed in the war. In those days, railroads got more damage then actual buildings, so when the automobile industry came in to the picture, it became "King". Since these cities already existed, roads had to be built around houses and towns, which created for much tinier and narrower streets. In the USA, streets were built before buildings a lot of the time, which is why we have bigger highways and streets. I will be discussing roadways and streets in Europe versus America in my next blog :)

Syracuse- A historic outline by Henry W. Schramm, http://syracusethenandnow.org/