Dresden Frauenkirche Then
A real-life example of the great atrocities of war is the German city of Dresden which was brought to almost complete ruin in 1945. Great efforts to reconstruct the Dresden Frauenkirche were carried out, despite the country’s then Communist regime’s refusal to rebuild the historic landmark. As a result, the ruins of the Frauenkirche church remained untouched for years—“a symbol against war and as a memorial for those who were killed.”
Finally, in 1989, following the monumentally historic fall of the Berlin Wall, the city of Dresden carried forward with a concrete plan to reconstruct the Frauenkirche church. This longstanding reconstruction project stretched on for decades. It was not until 2005 that the reconstruction of the city’s beloved church was finally officially completed. Despite annual neo-Nazi attempts to march in the area around the church in commemoration of its destruction every year on February 13, in recent years, these marches have been largely suppressed by an incredible human chain, linked together by more than 10,000 protestors.
Las Vegas's Freemont Street Then
While the Las Vegas Strip is the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Sin City, before this iconic strip of land, there was Fremont Street. Around since Las Vegas’s founding back in 1905, the street became the hub for all of the hustle and bustle of Vegas back in the day. Back then, it was considered to be an incredibly progressive city. By the 1980s, Las Vegas would experience an explosion of unexpected growth in the city’s population.
As a result, the annual population of Las Vegas would increase by an average of approximately seven percent. This rapid rise in population would eventually lead to the nearly doubling of the city’s population between 1985 and 1995—an astounding 97.6 percent from 186,380 to 368,360.
Las Vegas's Freemont Street Today
Of the many present-day developments in Fremont Street, the most obvious is The Golden Nugget, which as you can clearly see above, got a bright, glittery facelift. But above all, perhaps the most striking is the modern-looking barrel vault canopy that now hangs over the street. The spectacular $70-million canopy, which hangs above the mall offers tourists and visitors the chance to witness a mesmerizing show of light and sound
It is the main attraction of the Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian mall with an array of attractions for those who are knowledgeable enough to venture off the strip and into Downtown Las Vegas.
Dresden Frauenkirche Today
Though the Church was largely destroyed as a result of World War II attacks on the city of Dresden, thankfully, the Martin Luther Statue placed in front of the church was far luckier. Originally built in the 18th century, this statue memorializes Martin Luther, the famed forerunner and leader of the Protestant Reformation. While prior to World War II, the city center of Dresden was majorly occupied by residential buildings, nowadays, only a few of these structures can be found in the area.
Today, most of the buildings in the center are taken up by shops, museums, hotels, restaurants, and office spaces. Though a large part of the city has in fact been successfully restored to its former glory pre-WWII, this restoration is far from over. Upon visiting the city today, visitors will still find a myriad of construction sites scattered throughout many areas and streets of the city.
The Lincoln Memorial Then
The Lincoln Memorial was built to commemorate the president’s tragic assassination in 1865. In the end, it took more than 50 years before the ground finally broke on the memorial project, and construction began. From here, it would take another ten or so years before the final monument was completed. In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was finally opened to the general public.
The dedication ceremony celebrated and unified both civilians and veterans. Sadly it did not succeed in unifying a large part of the population as those attending the 1922 dedication ceremony were divided along racial lines even if it appeared to advocate for equality.