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It's pretty unbelievable how many supertalls have gone up in Manhattan (as well as proposed). Chicago is starting to get in on the action with Wanda and new supertall proposals (Spire site, Tribune Tower, OCP + potential at Two Grant Park and Wolf Point). I think 2-3 of those proposals become a reality, but it's tough to project; much depends on if the economy holds for 3-5 years. In any case, Chicago is hot but nowhere near NYC's supertall tear.
Yes I agree NY has a lot going on right now but it’s not a fair comparison, Chicago is huge and with outstanding architecture but NY is a monster. There are something like 6-7,000 high rises in NYC. I love Chicago and lived there for a short time years ago. In March I was at a symposium at IIT and what an absolute jewel Crown Hall is. Go Chicago!
PS Wanda is going to be fantastic!
Last edited by Koji7; 05-17-2018 at 11:05 AM..
Reason: Added a sentence
If you're asking this question it's obvious you have no experience with DT San Diego, meaning you shouldn't be ranking it.
It has relatively few office jobs. Personally I think that helps it be more of a residential and tourist location...those things aren't pushed away by a big job core. Fifth is a phenomenal restaurant street and that's a big part of why.
It's the first few (or many) floors of a high rise. Sometimes there is ground floor retail, other times not. Then some floors dedicated to parking. The parking provides a "podium" for the rest of the actual building to stand on. The podiums can be embarrassingly large also, especially in LA so DTLA coming up in searches makes sense. The one at the RoxSan (corner of Roxbury and Santa Monica) building in downtown Beverly Hills is I believe 8 floors and then only 4 floors of office space above. I believe. I haven't been there in years but the 8 floors of parking always bothered me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DavePa
There are a few... probably very few in Manhattan given the price to give to a garage and smaller and smaller blueprint of land they are on.
I posted some street-views of some. Here are a couple some hide there is a gage there pretty good. Older ones especially did not.
Here is one tat hides it pretty well. You almost need to see the garage entrance to know. But if the base has a larger covered area then the high-rise shooting up.... most likely it is a podium-style one.
Small blueprint podium. Windows above street-level eatery are fake basically and where the garage is.
Jessemh — thanks for the informative answer. I’ve honestly never heard of these before. Though at the same time I’ve never even owned a car before in my life so it’s not like I would have a reason to be aware of this. This is probably something that I’m assuming would be more common out West and/or in the sunbelt?
Dave — thanks for the visual examples. I think you’re right about these podium style buildings being a rarity here in NY probably due mostly to lack of space. I can think of a few buildings like that in Manhattan, but instead of parking garages I think they’re usually used as retail and other commercial/mixed use space. Maybe there are some that exist somewhere. I’ll have to look out for them.
I can see both sides here. One one hand, parking space is probably the least exciting thing possible that can be built in an urban core, and building more of these seems to be catering more to cars than to people. But OTOH these are SOO better than surface parking lots. Anything is, really. Idk about Chicago, but i know some cities have minimum parking requirements that need to be met, so this seems like the next best solution other than obviously lessening the parking requirements.
How Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron Downtown area any Ohio fans ?
Columbus is boring. They've been improving it over the past 10-20 years but Cbus is still a city of sprawling suburbs.
Toledo is ok, it seems to be turning a corner but it's still pretty small. It doesn't seem like the most walkable to me either. I do have fond memories of Party in the Park on Friday nights in Promenade Park.
I never cared to spend any time in Akron. I never liked the vibe there.
I rarely visited Cincinnati either so I have no opinion.
Cleveland is the best IMHO of the Ohio city downtowns. It's nice to be along the lakefront
Columbus is boring. They've been improving it over the past 10-20 years but Cbus is still a city of sprawling suburbs.
Toledo is ok, it seems to be turning a corner but it's still pretty small. It doesn't seem like the most walkable to me either. I do have fond memories of Party in the Park on Friday nights in Promenade Park.
I never cared to spend any time in Akron. I never liked the vibe there.
I rarely visited Cincinnati either so I have no opinion.
Cleveland is the best IMHO of the Ohio city downtowns. It's nice to be along the lakefront
Cincinnati kinda look nice in this video it 2nd best one in Ohio
FYI. Neighborhoods inside downtown DC: Penn Quarter, Chinatown, Mount Vernon Triangle, City Center, Judiciary Square, and Golden Triangle/K Street.
Expanded list of neighborhoods with Downtown (D) zoning that may be new to some posters on here: NoMa, Navy Yard
"Downtown" is a pretty useless term for DC in my opinion, considering there are 6+ distinct neighborhoods within what is considered Downtown DC, all with their own character. It covers too large an area to just label "Downtown" and expect that it is all the same and can be generalized. For instance, the Downtown DC Business Improvement District covers the Penn Quarter, Chinatown, and City Center neighborhoods. The K Street part of downtown is covered by the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District.
Penn Quarter, Chinatown, and City Center are the liveliest 18-hour neighborhoods in Downtown DC that offer much more than a slice of pizza (wink) and can compete with the top downtowns in the country for retail, restaurants, pedestrian activity, and entertainment. FYI.
NoMa and Navy Yard neighborhoods were recently updated to Downtown zoning with the most recent DC Office of Zoning code rewrite.
FYI. The National Mall is not in Downtown DC. There is secondary downtown emerging, which is south of the National Mall in Navy Yard and SW Waterfront area. The primary downtown is north of the National Mall. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mall
You know, downtown zoning is probably the best criteria to use when comparing different downtown's across the nation. It's the only apples to apples comparison when trying to define boundaries. It's not subjective so it's not even up for discussion.
On a side note, I wonder if any city outside NYC has a larger area than D.C. with downtown zoning?
Aesthetically, you can make a case for any individual city. I think Chi/Boston are the two most attractive cities in the country. San Francisco would likely take the honor, but having spent some time there recently ( first time since moving), more and more parts of the city have fallen victim to urban blight. Still, it's a contender from a looks perspective based on all of the northern neighborhoods alone.
But, all cities are chasing NYC as far as overall criteria, and that will likely never change. I mean, Brooklyn alone would likely beat out almost any other major city. Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Willimasburg.. Crazy how awesome that one borough is in it's own right.
Talking the entire city limits, this is how i'd stack them:
1. Vitality: NYC, Chicago
2. High rises: NYC, Chicago
3. Walkability: NYC, Boston
4. Ambiance: Boston, Chicago (Parts of SF are tough to beat, though)
5. Safety: Boston
6. Population: NYC, Chicago
7. Cleanliness: Chicago, Boston
8. Overall Appeal: NYC, Chicago
Aesthetically, you can make a case for any individual city. I think Chi/Boston are the two most attractive cities in the country. San Francisco would likely take the honor, but having spent some time there recently ( first time since moving), more and more parts of the city have fallen victim to urban blight. Still, it's a contender from a looks perspective based on all of the northern neighborhoods alone.
But, all cities are chasing NYC as far as overall criteria, and that will likely never change. I mean, Brooklyn alone would likely beat out almost any other major city. Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Willimasburg.. Crazy how awesome that one borough is in it's own right.
I really enjoy niche parts of Seattle, but having lived in Chicago/Boston, it's just not comparable. E.g. Ballard is probably my favorite neighborhood in all of Seattle for it's offerings, walkability, etc. but as compared to Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Brookline, it's nothing more than a square (like a Davis). Just more urban enclaves and interesting neighborhoods to explore in Chicago or Boston or San Francisco, and more vitality, foot traffic, and walkability. There was never anything like a summer day in Chicago, or a saturday in the fall in Boston. Just never reaches that level of energy, buzz, etc.
I do love the Seattle waterfront, though again, you get way more use in Chicago for example. Certainly though, I enjoyed my time in Seattle, and it's a very romantic place in the right time of year. So, it'd score well in ambiance, but not as well in vitality/overall appeal.
Aesthetically, you can make a case for any individual city. I think Chi/Boston are the two most attractive cities in the country. San Francisco would likely take the honor, but having spent some time there recently ( first time since moving), more and more parts of the city have fallen victim to urban blight. Still, it's a contender from a looks perspective based on all of the northern neighborhoods alone.
But, all cities are chasing NYC as far as overall criteria, and that will likely never change. I mean, Brooklyn alone would likely beat out almost any other major city. Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Willimasburg.. Crazy how awesome that one borough is in it's own right.
Talking the entire city limits, this is how i'd stack them:
1. Vitality: NYC, Chicago
2. High rises: NYC, Chicago
3. Walkability: NYC, Boston
4. Ambiance: Boston, Chicago (Parts of SF are tough to beat, though)
5. Safety: Boston
6. Population: NYC, Chicago
7. Cleanliness: Chicago, Boston
8. Overall Appeal: NYC, Chicago
Good post. Boston's downtown, while generally respected, is somewhat underrated.
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