Thanks for the Video, Footscray is such an amazing place!

I was born in the early 1960s. Growing up in Footscray was beautiful and clean back then. It was all Europeans and their shops. It had a very different and lively vibe back then. I mourned when the Coles Variety Store and Coles New World stores closed down. It was the beginning of the end. Plairre's Bakery in Leeds Street, and further up was a Polish cake shop, which have all long shut down. This was tragic. I was sad when The Grand cinema also closed down in Paisley Street in 1987. With my family gone, we packed up and left. I always remember the 60s as a kid and the 70s as a teenager in Footscray. It was busy, vibrant and had every shop you ever needed. Footscray was THE shopping centre with everything. The final death knell was when Forges had closed down, but we'd already left by then. Footscray was very beautiful even into the mid 80s but then it bit the dust. I hate gentrification. This is just what ruined Footscray. It created a great divide. Everyone was the same before, working class, no snobbery at all back then. When it was great, ppl from other areas turned their noses down at it. Now that it's gentrified, and not even a shadow of its former self, ppl are saying how great Footscray is. They obviously didn't know it or lived there back then. I will never forget those great old days when every time I went into the shopping precinct, I'd always bump into old friends I knew, in the Nicholson Street Mall also. Towards the end of my stay, I no longer knew anyone there. The friendly faces vanished 1x1. With the previous generation gone, I felt no need to remain. For all those who lived there back then, thank you for the beautiful times and memories. I will never forget those ppl, those friends, the friendly happy faces of those who lived there, the shops and those times, all of which will never return. It's heart breaking. Just too sad how a place can change so much to the point of no longer being familiar and recognisable.

Thanks for this video - sad to see those old buildings gone.

The photo of the metro west sign at 1:08 is that the before photo and the pic of the commonwealth bank the after. If so they are at different ends of the mall in Footscray.

I particularly remember the UFS dispensary, it was just around the corner at the Footscray end of Picket Street. We used to walk up there, and follow the row of shops along the railway cutting, to get to the main shopping precinct. There were a couple of two story terrace houses in Pickett Street, which although once grand had fallen on hard times by the sixties. They were eventually demolished, and a large carpark created where they once stood.

As the creator of this video let me set a few things straight, firstly I have been a resident of Footscray all my 55 years and yes I remember all those things and more. If you put your stubby down and watch it properly, you will see that the point I was making is that the once great city of Footscray that had heart and soul has been trashed by all those things in the video, hence all the before and after shots.The question asked is Footscray better or worse? we know the answer don't we?

I was born and bred in Footscray, but I have to say that I dont regret leaving it. Footscray is very different to the place I grew up in, I am not a fan of gentrified suburbs, it can take a towns soul. I miss the days where is was unfashionable to live on the wrong side of the river. I miss the Foostcray of old. Footscray is nothing like the wonderful working class community it used to be.

Wow this is pretty cool. Used to live on Barkley St a while back. Thanks for sharing.

its so sad whats happening?

I remember sids pies, poons, newsomes jewellers, forges, ted the toy man, hearts pub etc and i was born in 75

Love the song !

Well done.

the decline of old Footscray probably has more to do with the Australian government floating the dollar and the American government swapping the gold standard for the petro dollar then any other reason you may think

I grew up in West Footscray. The Footscray now is a place I wouldn't let a rat lose in. A Crime ridden Junkie Haven. Graffiti on every square inch of buildings. It's revolting.

my work is in this, and it is unchanged.

Ah yes, before and after images before we Asians conquered it.

what do you mean we dont know? we fuckin do..footscray used to be a great place in the 70's now its been totally trashed..forges at xmas time, plaires cake shop at the tram stop..coles at the mall skates billiard house.pinnies at footscray sports center.grand cinema..all gone..totally trashed..yeah we dont know do we?..typical comments from a trendy ring in

Just like Springvale , Dandenong ,Box hill and many more everyone complains about the filth now but we just let it all go because we were told trying to stand up against it was wrong .

So much graffiti now.

terrible music - really terrible.

You are a bitter and twisted unit