I love that this video makes it seem as though Quassy, Taft, and Westover are in Waterbury when they aren't. Waterbury used to actually be really nice prior to 1985--then it started going downhill really fast. It's a shame.
Born and raised in Waterbury. Most of my life was in Wtby and Ct. My military career took me away in 1982. All over the world and country. CT STILL HAS THE CLASS AND CHARACTER. I can say this without a doubt. I currently live in CA or better known as "the toilet bowl of America". Looking to move back to CT soon.
Waterbury, ahh yes I remember back at Westside middle school people used to call it "The dirty water" and it Didnt make sense to me because I lived in a nicer part. But I go on google earth and check it out from time to time and I see it is quite the armpit of society. Leaving to FL at the age of 13 in 03' was the best decision my mother could have made.
Boy have timed changed since the 1980s. General Data Com and Timex are both gone along with many other businesses. The outsourcing of jobs to China and other countries have decimated the Waterbury economy along with Connecticut's state economy. There are some careers and businesses that are still functioning at a high level such as personal injury law firms and family lawyers in Waterbury CT.
Waterbury is the best...The problem with Waterbury is that the people dont give a shit..Its easy to blame "waterbury"...Actions speak louder than words.
it wasn't because puerto ricans, it happened because the economy, many factories went out of bussiness because someone had the great idea to send the work to other countries like china because it was cheap, now china owns most of the american debt and the technology, because many hight tec american factories still do business, just ask apple, and many still do, now they make their own cars, cells, USA just became too expesive to have a factory home, last time I check I didnt own anything made in america, do you?
Now its a crime ridden dump, dirty, full of drug attics. 95% of the businesses mentioned here are not there anymore. Many of those 3 family houses are now section 8 or abandoned or knocked down due to lack of care. Even the mayor that was mentioned in the video is in prison. Its hard to believe the 180 Waterbury took. The city with great potential and no one does anything about it. Vote for a mayor who has once accomplished something in business this time. Dont be fooled by fast talkers.
Wanting a government to be run like a business? That's like demanding referees try to score goals during a sports match. Give people a reason to be proud of their home, and they will make a home to be proud of. I spent my childhood in Waterbury (1969-1979) and I thought the world of it, but man, don't ask me what it'll take to revive the place. Seems like a lot of people here are STILL blaming the influx of Puerto Ricans! I remember people whining about that crap from when I was in grade school! I also remember the Great Gypsy Panics that took place periodically in the mid-to-late 70s!
I live there now. Business just leaves and the place has downgraded a lot from the Brass City to dump. There are good areas though. Thank God I live in the outskirts.
Waterbury, like many industrial cities that thrived during both world wars, had been in a gradual economic decline since the 60s. And a big part of the decline was technology. We have not kept up with the technological advances. Plastic replaced brass, for instance. And smart phones and inventions like the iWatch have diminished the need for clocks and watches. Couple that with bouts of political corruption, and Waterbury wound up as the worst city to live in the United States by the end of the 20th Century (out of 300 cities!). There have been some improvements during the 21st Century. But Waterbury needs to re-invent itself and demolish/overhaul 3/4 of its buildings that were built before 1950.
What happened was project housing, people from nyc moving here, all the factories getting out of here, and a bunch of bums moving here. I moved out as soon as i could.
I think that where this video went wrong is in its failure to show such popular places as Fuzzy Wuzzy's, The Fox Cafe, and Mr. Happy's. They also did nothing to highlight the fact that you could go to Book World on East Main St. for some porno mags, videos, and booth action. And if you were brave enough to venture about a mile west, you'd be right on the green, where you could score some drugs. And let's not forget that just just a few yards north of the green, there were multiple opportunities to be robbed, beaten, or murdered by angry minorities. And come on, not one single mention of Cherry St. and the ladies of the evening that used to hang around there? Tsk tsk, Waterbury. Do you really think anyone cares about your banks?
All Gone... All the brass and machine jobs shipped to China and India. Sold out in the name of the shareholder and left the city in ruins. But hey don't worry it's all OK. The guys at the top got theirs...
Makes me want to withdraw some cash from Colonial Bank. For some reason, this was the second item in a youtube menu otherwise filled with Joy Division songs.
you'd rather live in waterbury than california?? How...why?? I'm dead serious- I really want to know....I'm trapped here for now, goin to cali or oregon the minute I can get out of here
Too many Puerto Ricans moved there and businesses moved out, that was the downfall of the city. waterbury was nice before 1970 before the Puerto Ricans moved there.
