61 Demolitions in Less than 4 Years in Kent

If you don't think Kent's landscape is changing, just take a look around.

History is being made — and sometimes erased — from downtown to the residential neighborhoods and even on the Kent State University campus.

Since 2009, 61 buildings have been demolished or are set to be demolished, according to records.

Here's how the numbers break down over the past few years:

• 2012: 8
• 2011: 11
• 2010: 19
• 2009: 23

Those numbers exclude , garage demolitions and buildings razed on the campus. And they vary from houses to businesses.

Some of the demolitions are related to a number of projects that include the new Fairchild Avenue Bridge, the downtown redevelopment work and the Esplanade extension. Others are simply old or condemned houses and factories no longer in use.

If nothing else, the demolitions have created a curiosity both in the present and historic sense. Shutter bugs are drawn to the sites to capture images preserving the structures before demolition and to chronicle their doom as they are dismantled brick by brick.

Historically, small efforts have been made by people championing a building's past worth — whether anecdotal or documented. And the debate rages on: is it the people or the structures they inhabit that make a community?

Meanwhile, enjoy some of the videos and photos from the demolitions over the past few years. And if you have photos or footage of your own, feel free to add it here or to the .