Streets raised from the dead

[empirestate]

So the city of Rochester, NY seems to have quietly re-established a street that, some 50 years ago, was vacated and built over. Cortland Street used to run pretty much right through the center of the action in the downtown core, but was completely obliterated with the building of Midtown Plaza and other developments in the 60s and 70s.

Now that Midtown has been razed and a street grid re-established on the site (actually a denser grid than was formerly there), this ghost street has been resurrected, apparently keeping its old name. (A "new" street, Andrew Langston Way, actually comprises part of the old ROW of Elm Street that was later subsumed into Euclid Street; the existing stub of Elm will now be extended E-W instead of its former NW-SE path).

Where else is there an old street that has been completely de-mapped (not just closed to traffic or converted to other use, but totally removed), only to re-appear some years later? And what's the longest span of time after which this has happened?

[Pete from Boston]

All Cortland(t) Streets come back.  Cortlandt, Dey, Fulton, Greenwich, Washington, and Liberty in New York are being run through the WTC block that erased them 50 years ago.

[empirestate]

All Cortland(t) Streets come back.  Cortlandt, Dey, Fulton, Greenwich, Washington, and Liberty in New York are being run through the WTC block that erased them 50 years ago.

Good point, although those street were only partially vacated; each has extant sections outside the WTC site.

[froggie]

In DC, a section of 10th St NW is being restored between H St NW and New York Ave NW, through the "superblock" that previously housed the city's convention center.  I believe Eye (I) St NW is also being restored in the vicinity.

Nearby, a capping and air-rights development project over I-395 between E St NW and Massachusetts Ave NW will potentially restore that segment of F St NW.

Good point, although those street were only partially vacated; each has extant sections outside the WTC site.

I believe that segments of streets that were eliminated to create "superblocks", then restored later, are a valid subset of this thread.

[andrewkbrown]

O Street NW between New Jersey Avenue and First Street NW recently was reconnected. The old Dunbar High School building cut it off when built back in the 1970s.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=38.908308,-77.013967&spn=0.002379,0.005284&t=h&z=18

[1995hoo]

In DC, a section of 10th St NW is being restored between H St NW and New York Ave NW, through the "superblock" that previously housed the city's convention center.  I believe Eye (I) St NW is also being restored in the vicinity.

Nearby, a capping and air-rights development project over I-395 between E St NW and Massachusetts Ave NW will potentially restore that segment of F St NW.

....

You're correct about I Street. Both those streets re-opened last winter, I believe shortly before Christmas. I Street doesn't go all the way through the old convention center site, however–it connects 9th Street and the new segment of 10th Street, but it does not continue through to 11th. Oddly, the new segment of 10th Street through there is a two-way street (one lane in each direction) despite the pre-existing segments of 10th Street to either side of that area being one-way (towards the National Mall). We used those segments of 10th Street and I Street quite often through April en route from my wife's office to the garage where we park for Capitals games. I assume we will do so again once the new season starts in September.

Also near that area, about 10 years ago or so a segment of G Street NW between 9th and 10th Streets that had long been a pedestrian-only area (the space in front of the public library) was turned back into a street allowing vehicular traffic. I seem to recall some press reports at the time saying it had failed to take on the lively character they had hoped for as a pedestrian space (well, when all that's on the block is the library, two churches, and a Catholic Charities office, what do you expect?!) and that many people were avoiding that block out of fear of some of the panhandlers and homeless people who frequented it.

In Southwest DC, 4th Street was restored between M and I Streets a few years ago. The block in question runs through the former site of Waterside Mall, which had a Safeway and a liquor store and some office space on top that was notorious for being the subject of some "sick building" litigation, which was rather bizarre given that the office space housed satellite offices for the EPA! (There were other retailers there, I just don't remember what they were.)

[empirestate]

I believe that segments of streets that were eliminated to create "superblocks", then restored later, are a valid subset of this thread.

Let's see how it goes. Valid, indeed, but I've a feeling if we include partial streets we're going to get simply flooded with examples.

[triplemultiplex]

Is there a substantial difference between an entire street being brought back and only a segment of a street being brought back?

[nexus73]

Central Street in downtown Coos Bay OR was the main east-west route for decades.  It was turned into a downtown mall on the eastern half while the western section was where the new Coos Bay city hall was built.  This took place in the Seventies.  During the later Eighties the roof sections were taken down and the street was reopened on the eastern section as a pedestrian-friendly street.  Today this area has a farmer's market going on from spring to fall on Wednesdays and there are two major local festivals during the summer which close up the street but otherwise it is open.

Rick

[empirestate]

Is there a substantial difference between an entire street being brought back and only a segment of a street being brought back?

Substantial? No, it's a pretty ethereal difference, to be honest. But it sounds like you feel strongly about mentioning a partial example, and I sure won't stop you if you do. I just feel that such instances are commonplace enough that I wouldn't be inspired to start a thread about them, but if they strike others' fancy, then have at it!

Central Street in downtown Coos Bay OR was the main east-west route for decades.  It was turned into a downtown mall on the eastern half while the western section was where the new Coos Bay city hall was built.  This took place in the Seventies.  During the later Eighties the roof sections were taken down and the street was reopened on the eastern section as a pedestrian-friendly street.  Today this area has a farmer's market going on from spring to fall on Wednesdays and there are two major local festivals during the summer which close up the street but otherwise it is open.

Also slightly beyond the scope of this thread, as it was never vacated, but just converted to different use. And actually, I believe there is another thread for just this topic.

[Scott5114]

Is there a substantial difference between an entire street being brought back and only a segment of a street being brought back?

I would think that if just a segment is deleted and then brought back, it would be obvious that the "new" road should be an extension of the old one and thus the old road would be restored name intact more often than not. If the entire thing disappears, it's more likely that it would be given a new name (probably after someone with more recent accomplishments) rather than someone digging up old records to see if there was a road there years before and what it was named.