Gottingen Street is the commercial and entertainment heart of the North End, and is home to numerous shops, bars, clubs, and performance venues. In 1950, the four blocks of Gottingen closest to downtown were the site of more than 130 enterprises, including two cinemas. The street declined in stature as the peninsula lost population during the latter half of the 20th century, and as a result of car-oriented urban renewal schemes. Many nearby residences were demolished when the northern part of Barrington Street was transformed into a highway to serve the Macdonald Bridge, and when the Cogswell Interchange was built. In 1958, several blocks of houses and apartment buildings were demolished in an attempt to boost patronage on Gottingen by providing additional car parking. Seven new parking lots were built, displacing local residents to other areas, but according to a Dalhousie University study, this had "no positive impact on the vitality of the Gottingen Street commercial district".
