Editing Granite City, Illinois (section)

==Cityscape==
[[File:Granite City Illinois By Ralph Moran.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Granite City home]]
Granite City can be divided into seven areas: Downtown, East Granite, West Granite, North Granite, Nameoki Strip, Bellemore Area and the Wilson Park Area. Most retailers and dining facilities are located on the Nameoki Strip, surrounding Nameoki Road.

The Wilson park area is home to the recently renovated Coolidge Middle School, former Niedringhaus Elementary School, and Granite City High School as well as the city's crown jewel, Wilson Park. Wilson Park is sometimes called the "heart" of Granite City and is known for its nicely kept "turn of the [20th] century" homes.

East Granite is less defined, but is mostly modern residential subdivisions as well as both St. Elizabeth and Holy Family Catholic Schools. East Granite is north of the blast furnace at US Steel.  US Steel's complex was formerly known as the Granite City Steel Co.

Downtown is at the southwestern part of the city and is home to much of the city's industry, including the Granite City Steel Works. Downtown Granite suffered a downturn in the 1970s, which vacated much of its commercial buildings and in turn, [[urban decay]] began. More recently, there have been revitalization efforts to revive the downtown area, although they are still in their early stages. These efforts are modeled on nearby cities such as [[Belleville, IL]], [[Edwardsville, IL]], and [[St. Charles, MO]]. Revitalization efforts include installing tree-filled medians on Niedringhaus Avenue, adding recreational businesses such as the three-screen ''Granite City Theater'', repaving streets, granting tax incentives, and adding new zoning restrictions. The original design of what is currently downtown Granite City is based on the City of Washington D.C.

West Granite is located west of downtown across the railroad lines. West Granite contains both industrial and lower income residential areas and has been struggling to fight its above average crime rate. While Wilson Park may be the Heart of Granite City, West Granite is the History. Attracted by the promise of plentiful jobs, many immigrants from Central-Eastern Europe, primarily Bulgaria, Ottoman Macedonia and Hungary, migrated to the City in search of good jobs with decent wages. The vast majority of these immigrants settled into housing to the west of the downtown area in a place that would come to be known as 'Hungary Hollow.' By 1916 the multi-national residents of Hungary Hollow applied for and were granted an official name change to Lincoln Place.