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This thread was about which city does grit the best.. Does best grit have to mean gang war zone, crime infested, dilapidated buildings?
I seriously think South Seattle is still one of the grittiest places in the country and serious underrated by people here. If we are going to talk about who does "Grit the Best", I think Seattlites have turned their industrial, barbed wired, old brick and metal building neighborhoods into something special. Also, Seattle's gritty industrial district is still in use today and vibrant and not just a showcase of what the city use to be years ago. It is still a living, breathing piece of grit. The same can be said about neighboring Tacoma to the South.
Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle:
Famous Old Rainier Brewery of Seattle
Coal Train riding through Georgetown Train Depot..
Personally I really like the feeling of grit in Cleveland. It seems to me the model of the post-industrial city and so much of its muscular industrial past is still on display, along the docks near the flats, the old steel, industrial bridges that cross from the east to west sides by way of downtown, the warehouses near the downtown core. Even a place like Progressive Field whose design was made in reference to Cleveland's steel past. In Cleveland, that grit really stuck. Being a Chicagoan, I know in my city much of the grit has been gentrified almost out of existence. I like the Cleveland look.
There is still plenty of blue collar "grit" left in parts of Chicago, just not in the core neighborhoods. Take the orange line all the way to Midway or the green line to Oak Park, and you will pass by the blue collar, manufacturing and "grit" look and feel.
But to the original question....I've always felt that Philly has a strong gritty feel, yet in a beautiful urban kind of way. My vote definitely goes to Philly. I think that it is one of the best cities at keeping a good balance between historical urban and modern.
On the Southern portion, I'd throw in New Orleans, and Birmingham. New Orleans is very colorful, but the city itself has a lot of grit going on throughout it's core.
This is kind of stick in the side for me , when i think of grit. I think graffiti, abandoned homes, live action on the street, people living day to day around the crazy environment...streets always bustled with action. I cant pick which one because i really haven't been to most of the cities. I can only speak on Philly/ New York for this vote. I've experienced both walking through their areas and just feeling and looking and hearing what was going on around.
i've always thought downtown Charleston SC is gritty but it appeals to a lot of people. Richmond VA too.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 12-23-2016 at 01:11 PM..
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