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I've heard a lot of good things about Portland's Downtown. Denver's seemed alright to me, lots of sports bars which I don't particularly care for, and lots of cars everywhere trying to get somewhere in the slow mess traffic is downtown.
Definitely Portland, but Denver is getting much better. Too much dead space (surface lots) and not enough decent retail in Denver. Street level in Portland is far superior but Downtown Denver feels quite a bit larger to me, Denver has 30+ buildings over 350', Portland has 7.
I was just in Portland and Seattle on vacation. I'm from Boston there are plenty of homeless here but holy crap. Portland destroys Boston on homeless probably cause of the weather. So many on the riverfront.
Denver probably has a better skyline and might have more office jobs. But, Portland seems like the better downtown from street level. It just has such an organic urban vibe. It really probably is the best downtown outside of the "big 6" and Seattle (maybe even better than dt DC). I don't know what Portland has done right, but Portland sure punches above its weight when it comes to a quality urban downtown.
Now, Denver also has a good downtown by US standards. Way better than your typical large city downtown. I would rank it similar to Minneapolis. It has pretty good shopping and has been growing. But, it just doesn't quite seem as vibrant or organically urban as Portland. Seems the ratio of old school urban streetscapes to bland office buildings and parking lots is a little higher in Minneapolis and Denver, despite both still being good downtowns.
Portland is more dense and probably has better shopping options. I feel like there's more to do in Downtown Denver and the surrounding area however. Within DT Denver (or short walk) there are 2 major sporting venues, an amusement park, a huge college campus, the state Capitol building, an aquarium, mile long mall, art museum, newly remodeled transportation hub, etc. On top of that it's very vibrant and has great transportation. DT Portland does seem to have a leg up in having that urban environment, but i think Denver has a more entertaining downtown. I can't think of anything you can do in DT Portland that you can't in DT Denver, but I can think of quite a few things you can do in Denver that you can't in Portland.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SyraBrian
Downtown Denver pretty much struck me as a five o' clock world.
The heart of Downtown (16th street mall) is pretty active all night
Last edited by Mezter; 08-24-2015 at 04:42 PM..
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