In preparation for the Data Visualization project, I examined many of the websites that Dr. Cohen suggested to the class last week. I found many websites that I can see as being potentially very useful and valuable, not just for this coming project, but for many projects in the future. Some of the sites that held the most promise for me are those that have historic and current maps and concept-mapping, or mind-mapping tools. Additionally, although I have not yet looked it over, I found a description of IBM’s ManyEyes website, claiming that the site has already made charts and graphs which illustrate relationships between different factors. This is a tool that can be useful for almost any kind of research project, depending on the variety of factors available and the quality of their sources.
I need to do some further research to be sure, but I believe that I ahve thought of a good topic for my visualization project. I expect that my main method of visualization will be GIS maps, but I think that I will be able to use other types of visualization as well. In thinking about the subject, I realized that this could end up being a component of a much larger digital historical project.
I happened upon a website about old theme parks in our area and found that there was a western-themed park in Fairfax County in the 1960′s. The park was located in the “Centreville District” of Fairfax County on Route 29, but I don’t know any more than that. In looking through old maps, I found that the Centreville District once stretched from the western edge of the city of Fairfax to Bull Run, which holds a pretty long stretch of Route 29. The first thing that I want to do is find the theme park. Then, I want to fit the park into a more broad context of family life and leisure time between World War II and the 1980′s. I know that small theme parks and other types of roadside attractions grew as Americans became more mobile and family vacation road trips became more popular. There were destination attractions and wayside attractions, which were meant to give families a break from the road and a chance to spend some of thier vacation money. I want to illustrate the relationship between these theme parks and American driving traditions and learn how these attractions were representative of the perception and reality of family life after the war. I want to illustrate the factors that played a role in the disappearance of most of these attractions; I know that one factor was the rise of the interstate system, but what were other factors?
Alex, this sounds like a fun project. You’re also close to Glen Echo park in Maryland. Are you interested in the traveling carnivals, or is that too difficult to trace? I would think that land use would be a driving factor in the demise of smaller amusement parks; as outlying areas are built up, it’s hard to hold on to large lots of valuable commercial real estate for things like amusement parks and drive in theaters.
Acutally, I don’t think that i am going to do that project now. the scope is just too broad, but I think I will attack it sometime in the future. I love Glen Echo park! Before the NPS got ahold of it and it was in a more ruined state, my father used to take me there and tell me about going there when he was a kid. He took me around, showing me where things used to be and what they were like. So,
I was really happy when the NPS began to renovate it. y father told me that Glen Echo had to close because they refused to desegregate. Do you know if this is true? And the travelling carnival idea is whole other world of fun for a project, but paroably very difficult like you said.