Merritt

Merritt, properly known as the Merritt Historical District is a neighbourhood of Blackmouth’s North Side that was once part of the grand rebirth of the city but has now fallen far into urban decay. The grand civic planning that shaped Merritt is now barely visible beneath the detritus of time and neglect. Most of the trees that once lined its avenues are gone now, those remaining cracking the sidewalks and distorting the roads with roots too deep to dig out. Houses nearly two centuries old slide into neglect and ruin or have been demolished wholesale to make way for cheap housing and commercial properties that are already rusting away, while the public gardens have been buried under concrete to become parking lots or used car dealerships.

The neighbourhood’s demographic is majority white but only barely so. Low property prices have made it a common destination for immigrants for decades and there are populations of most ethnic groups. In addition, the close proximity to BSU has made the area popular with students seeking to take advantage of low rent. Caught between the wealth and growing gentrification surrounding Memorial Park and the violent poverty of the projects, Merritt struggles to keep its own identity and outsiders are tolerated rather than welcomed. People stick to their own circles and keep out of each others way.

Background: Merritt has been in decline for decades. Originally built in the early 19th Century during the ‘great rebirth’ of Blackmouth as an upmarket residential area, it slowly stagnated as the city continued to grow. By the time that white flight struck in the ‘60s most of the money had already left decades before. Rezoning initiatives and sporadic investments from local government have allowed it to stagger on but destroyed much of the original character of the neighbourhood and left it fragmented.

Character: Fortitude and Pride. Merritt is a stubborn place. Businesses, buildings and streets come and go but Merritt remains. Its people hold themselves apart from their neighbours, clinging proudly to their own identities in a hundred different ways.

Notable Locations

• Felicity Memorial Hospital - Underfunded hospital on the eastern edge of Merritt.
• La Cultura - Jeweller on Lincoln Street, facing Memorial park.
• Althaus Museum - Small local history museum at the corner of Gardner and Bartlett.

Chronicles

Under a Killing Moon is set in Merritt in 2009.