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And actually one of the great things about these cities and believe was stated by montclair earlier is that both are among the best at having seemless transistion of commercial/residential/nightlife/restaurants/retail from the core.
Yup.
To me that's the difference between the men and the boys and both Philadelphia and SF are prime examples of seamless transitions between downtown and vibrant urban neighborhoods.
Parisians kind of have a thing about Philly, too. You know, that whole revolution thing intrigues them. Every time I walk my dog there are French tourists taking in my neighborhood (off South St.). We've got the most Renoir paintings, and after Paris, the most Rodin sculptures.
To quote Mark Twain "It is hard to get tired of Philadelphia , for amusements are not scarce."
and of course Mae West: "I'd like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do."
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Parisians love SF.
"Your city is remarkable not only for its beauty. It is also, of all the cities in the United States, the one whose name, the world over, conjures up the most visions and more than any other, incites one to dream. " -Georges Pompidou(President of France)
"I'm pulling Paris into the 21st century, and this visit to San Francisco has helped speed things up. I will bring back to Paris contacts, desires, wishes and know-how."-Bertrand Delanoe( Mayor of Paris)
Agreed 100%. Now if Philly could get just one decent Thai restaurant, I'd be happy. That's one measure of 'urban' where Philly really fails, the Thai I had is SF was consistently the best I've ever had.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Yup.
To me that's the difference between the men and the boys and both Philadelphia and SF are prime examples of seamless transitions between downtown and vibrant urban neighborhoods.
Parisians kind of have a thing about Philly, too. You know, that whole revolution thing intrigues them. Every time I walk my dog there are French tourists taking in my neighborhood (off South St.). We've got the most Renoir paintings, and after Paris, the most Rodin sculptures.
To quote Mark Twain "It is hard to get tired of Philadelphia , for amusements are not scarce."
and of course Mae West: "I'd like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do."
Yes, Ive seen the Rodin sculptures in Philadelphia. They are lovely.
Parisians kind of have a thing about Philly, too. You know, that whole revolution thing intrigues them. Every time I walk my dog there are French tourists taking in my neighborhood (off South St.). We've got the most Renoir paintings, and after Paris, the most Rodin sculptures.
To quote Mark Twain "It is hard to get tired of Philadelphia , for amusements are not scarce."
and of course Mae West: "I'd like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do."
And with barnes (largest private collection of Renoirs and overall Fresnh Impressionist paintings in the world) moving to the parkway even a higher concentration of French impressionists, right next to the Rodin museum
Agreed 100%. Now if Philly could get just one decent Thai restaurant, I'd be happy. That's one measure of 'urban' where Philly really fails, the Thai I had is SF was consistently the best I've ever had.
Wait until the hoopla over the Barnes opening comes. NYT articles, architectural critiques, likely TV specials. That collection, single-handed, puts Philly into the 'must see' category for many French (and other) tourists. $25+ billion worth of paintings in one small museum will do that. But as far as building density goes, Broad st., especially south Broad (ave. of the Arts), but also the area near the Inquirer building, is where the action is. I shoot for architects and developers and there is no doubt the next decade will see Center City become incredibly dense as areas that are now open parking lot become high-rise residential developments. Not the 400+ footers, Toronto style, that boost stats on this site, but plenty of dense, modern multi-floor loft, condo and apartment buildings are in the planning stage and will boost downtown's 'vibrancy factor'. It's coming.
The census uncovered the reversal of the decline in Philly's population, but it doesn't capture how recently that reversal actually occurred, or how much it is picking up now, and how the numbers are actually offset by a decline in population among the poor living near the city center. The new population in Center City (NY transplants & what not) is wealthier, younger and more likely to want to live in a high-rise condo than a re-modeled row house.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidphilly
And with barnes (largest private collection of Renoirs and overall Fresnh Impressionist paintings in the world) moving to the parkway even a higher concentration of French impressionists, right next to the Rodin museum
I'll try it, but that's almost like commuting to get there. I wish there was good Thai in Center City proper, namely I wish Pad Thai off South didn't suck. University City is strong for China, India, Thai. Thanks, rich students! University City is definitely another area to watch over the next decade, especially if Cira Center South gets built, which is looking very likely. It will bridge a void.
Wait until the hoopla over the Barnes opening comes. NYT articles, architectural critiques, likely TV specials. That collection, single-handed, puts Philly into the 'must see' category for many French (and other) tourists. $25+ billion worth of paintings in one small museum will do that. But as far as building density goes, Broad st., especially south Broad (ave. of the Arts), but also the area near the Inquirer building, is where the action is. I shoot for architects and developers and there is no doubt the next decade will see Center City become incredibly dense as areas that are now open parking lot become high-rise residential developments. Not the 400+ footers, Toronto style, that boost stats on this site, but plenty of dense, modern multi-floor loft, condo and apartment buildings are in the planning stage and will boost downtown's 'vibrancy factor'. It's coming.
The census uncovered the reversal of the decline in Philly's population, but it doesn't capture how recently that reversal actually occurred, or how much it is picking up now, and how the numbers are actually offset by a decline in population among the poor living near the city center. The new population in Center City (NY transplants & what not) is wealthier, younger and more likely to want to live in a high-rise condo than a re-modeled row house.
When Barnes was opened fully to the public more than 800K parisians came in 3 months solely to see that collection. Cool stuff on that area. North Borad is an area that could explode. Also Verti/Starr are opening restaurants right across from Osteria and attached to the condo development between SG and Girard - this area has great BSL access but stil has many bad pockets and a little further north is Temple spending 1.4 Billion on campus improvements and growing the student population on campus by more than 15K over the next 10 years. This will also finally start to connect the Art Museum neighborhood with No Libs eventually
San Fran has a denser core but, but Philly is more dense than San Francisco over 47 square miles. Remember, this thread is not only about comparing downtowns. That basically sums up this discussion.
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