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I know Seattle vs Portland has been done to death but I am always fascinated by the way both of these cities turned a former warehouse district into a mecca for city living.
Which one did it better in terms of
nightlife
dining
shopping
vibrancy
walk-ability
and livability
I voted for Belltown. Never got what was special about the Pearl, I find it very bland and it feels too modern and has an odd mix of extreme clean and urban filth that I've never liked.
If you're interested in how neighborhoods have changed recently then a better comparison would be South Lake Union rather than Belltown. Belltown really was never a warehouse or industrial district and has been steadily adding density but not in nearly as dramatic a way as the Pearl district's reclamation of the rail yards.
If you're interested in how neighborhoods have changed recently then a better comparison would be South Lake Union rather than Belltown. Belltown really was never a warehouse or industrial district and has been steadily adding density but not in nearly as dramatic a way as the Pearl district's reclamation of the rail yards.
SLU would be the more apt discussion since both SLU and The Peal were transformed from light industrial zoning. Belltown has pretty much stayed within its historic character, save for several towers popping up and the inclusion of Bell Street's woonerf.
SLU would be the more apt discussion since both SLU and The Peal were transformed from light industrial zoning. Belltown has pretty much stayed within its historic character, save for several towers popping up and the inclusion of Bell Street's woonerf.
I thought SLU was still being developed and so far was mostly Amazon offices, cafe's and places to buy lunch. I haven't been there in a few years though.
Belltown was named after William Nathaniel Bell, one of the earliest landowners in Seattle. The name fits with Seattle's general scheme of naming streets after its founding pioneer fathers.
According to the Pearl District Business Association, Thomas Augustine, a local gallery owner, coined the name Pearl District around the turn of the millennium to suggest that some of its urban decay industrial buildings were like crusty oysters, and that the galleries and artists' lofts within were like pearls. So yeah... it's just a cutesy marketing term for the neighborhood's redevelopment. But it definitely sounds more interesting than just mashing "Bell" + "Town" together.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JasR30
I thought SLU was still being developed and so far was mostly Amazon offices, cafe's and places to buy lunch. I haven't been there in a few years though.
Basically true. It's a very cleansed techie neighborhood. They are quickly increasing their restaurant/bar stock, but I think that SLU could definitely use some more draw to it since at the moment it's populated exclusively by office workers. I visited a local hotdog bar ("The Wurst Place") and it was packed with about 40 men and maybe 10 women, all donning their office name tags. Hopefully this will change within the next few years as more mega-projects continue on.
I thought The Pearl was Portland's equivalent to Belltown. I've never been there before but from what I have read, it seems quite similar.
Both just a short walk north of downtown, both with a huge amount of restaurants, art galleries, and condo's.
From an outsiders perspective it seems they have more alike than different.
They are fairly similar--as is Yaletown in Vancouver--they're all formally sort of grittier warehouse district areas that became sort of fringe areas for art galleries and counterculture and then got turned into gentrified condo districts that lean towards yuppie tastes these days. Belltown is only statistically a little denser in terms of population than the Pearl.
Nightlife - Probably Belltown as it's got more kind of weekend party scene and more lively bars(and the awesome Jazz Alley). Portland's nightlife is more towards Old Town which isn't that great. There's a great jazz club in the Pearl and the Crystal Ballroom is right there as well--and some fun bars here and there, though there's sort of a suburban douche factor on a weekend night at places like Henry's.
Dining - I like the Pearl more, just based on some of the highlights like Andina, Piazza Italia, Eleni's, Parish and so on--though I've never had a bad meal in Belltown either. Both are full of fairly good restaurants as are Portland and Seattle on average these days.
Shopping - I don't shop much, but there's some good places in the Pearl, between Powell's Books and a good record store and REI and a North Face outlet and some other small businesses. I always though more shopping close to Belltown was more to the south in the CBD near Pacific Place. Overall I'd think that people looking for high end shopping would prefer Seattle.
Vibrancy - The southwest corner of the Pearl near Burnside, feels pretty busy as it's sort of carryover of the northwest corner of downtown near Powells and the Crystal Ballroom(one of the better parts of Portland's downtown)while the northern edges are more quiet and residential with parks and so on and little corner businesses. Belltown seems to have more nighttime vibrancy around 1st and 2nd, so I'd say both areas are vibrant though the south end of the Pearl might feel more busy during the day, though Pike/Pine area just south of Belltown is very, very busy.
Walk-ability - Both are plenty walk-able, they're right off main transit routes and you can walk to downtown or anywhere else close by.
Livability - One thing I like about the Pearl is the nice parks in it's midst--Jamison Square, Tanner Springs, and the older North Park blocks are good examples of urban planning and provide nice sort of places to relax in the neighborhood. Seattle seems to have less green space in Belltown though there's the nice sculpture park.
Both neighborhoods are fine if one seeks a sort of gentrified urban condo living--you're basically right in the center of the city so it's basically downtown living since everything is so close in either neighborhood.
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