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Copy this link, than check out google streetview on the "A" (drag the man to the intersection at the "A"). Do a 360 degree survey of the area. Show me anywhere on the west coast that comes close to urbanity of San Francisco.
This is not a known intersection, this is just a random corner between Union Square and Polk Street.
SF is one of the 3 most urban cities in the country. Its dense, vibrant, and gritty (in parts) in ways that any other west coast city could only dream of.
Funny that you chose that intersection in the Tenderloin, it is a rather gritty part of DT SF.
I love all the downtowns in the poll. In fact I love the west coast downtowns much better than the east. Portland's downtown was definately the big surprise for me. So much to see and do. Great shopping, eating, walking, great public transportation and so clean.
Voted for Seattle, because it's been my home for 20 years. And in recent years its DT is definitely gaining 'livability'.
As for SF, it is great, but unreal in the meaning of who can afford living there?! What's the use of voting for a dream?..
#2 is Portland.
P.S. In my opinion, Vancouver BC is the best on the West coast, but it is still Canadian ;-)
Downtown Seattle is clean and nice, but it feels a bit sterile to me and doesn't come close to SFs strong urban fabric. Downtown San Francisco offers much, much more, in my opinion. Its way bigger and has tons of different areas, some gritty, some ritzy but all very substantive. The entire range of social classes, ethnicities, etc. is covered.
In downtown SF you'll find crazy, quirky, divey, upscale, hidden, flashy establishments. Every block is jam-packed with stuff. It has a very unpredictable, fun vibe and there are hidden treasures on every block. You can wander the streets of SF over and over again and find new things every time.
Ive lived in Seattle now for years (after years of living in SF) and the same cannot be said about downtown Seattle. Its a very nice downtown, but feels much more controlled, corporate, and obvious.
For the urban explorer, much of SF is an embarrassment of riches (behind only NYC and Chicago in my opinion). Seattle gets old very quicky in that regard. Capitol Hill and the ID might actually be the best neighorhoods in Seattle for urban exploration, but even they are not close to the same league.
Note: I dont mean to hate on Seattle at all. I love it here for many, many reasons but I greatly miss San Francisco's much greater opportunities for urban exploration and urban living.
Copy this link, than check out google streetview on the "A" (drag the man to the intersection at the "A"). Do a 360 degree survey of the area. Show me anywhere on the west coast that comes close to urbanity of San Francisco.
This is not a known intersection, this is just a random corner between Union Square and Polk Street.
SF is one of the 3 most urban cities in the country. Its dense, vibrant, and gritty (in parts) in ways that any other west coast city could only dream of.
Damn, you did choose a pretty gritty block there. Two corner bars visible from the streetview--"Jowells" and "Cinnabar"--something tells me it would be best to avoid those places!
Thats one other thing I forgot to mention, the extraordinary number of bars per capita in SF. For such a small city area wise there are tons and tons of bars, in areas you would never expect and sometimes very hidden.
I think once again L.A. is underrated in this category. I chose L.A. because, unlike SF, it is really a hidden gem.
You have Broadway with all the old theaters, which do need to be saved and restored, but even as they are it's like walking through a larger than life museum to see these things (my profile pic is of the Los Angeles theater)... Broadway itself is an interesting scene, and the type of shopping there extends to Santee Alley nearby.
Then you have a really nice Chinatown, and Little Tokyo in downtown L.A.
The buildings are great and iconic, also - City Hall, the Brockman Building, Walt Disney Concert Hall...
The Pueblo area is historic, with lots of small museums and sights, great touristy vendors, and good food, ranging from Tacos/Mexican to Phillippe's the Original French Dip sandwiches, a classic remnant of Frenchtown, the part of L.A. where French immigrants settled.... Union Station, Olvera Street, etc.
Then there's Bunker Hill with the Angel's Flight train...just so many museums, attractions, historical sites throughout downtown L.A. but it's overlooked... I'm not going to sell it too hard, I kind of like it being undiscovered and unappreciated. I think from now on I'll point people towards San Fran so they can go there and not ruin downtown L.A. by making it more touristy.
As others have said, San Francisco shouldn't have been included in this poll because it's the clear-cut winner. I haven't had the chance to make it out West, but Seattle and Portland seem to be the best outside of SF with Los Angeles improving greatly by the day. The LA Live project seems really exciting, I'm very interested to see how it will turn out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LA Fan
I like how like to protend the northeastern cities set the standard.
There are more downtown than just NYC, Boston, and Philly. There are probably more downtowns in the northeast that are falling apart most so than on the west coast.
Were you meaning to say "I like how you like to pretend the Northeastern cities set the standard"?
If so, I'm not sure what you mean by "pretend". The major cities in the Northeast have the best downtowns in the country. Obviously New York, Boston, and Philadelphia aren't the only downtowns in the NE (some people would also put DC in this area but that's opening a whole can of worms)...but they are three of the five best downtowns our nation has to offer.
There are many cities around the country with fantastic downtowns. However, the Northeast is older and more established than any other region in the nation. Therefore the newly-developing cities are often compared to the downtowns of cities which have been around for a long time.
There are many cities around the country with fantastic downtowns. However, the Northeast is older and more established than any other region in the nation. Therefore the newly-developing cities are often compared to the downtowns of cities which have been around for a long time.
Good points. To add to that, it goes FAR beyond Boston, NYC, and Philly in the Northeast (I know, you touched on this). Those are just the big ones. Dense, walkable downtown areas are how the Northeast cities and towns were developed. This applies everywhere from the biggest cities to the smallest towns in the Northeast. Sure, Boston, New York and Philadelphia are the poster children of this phenomenon, but the trend is reflected all the way down to the smallest towns. Check out ckhthankgod's thread on downtown areas in the general u.s. forum. You'll notice that even the tiny, otherwise nameless cities have vibrant, dense downtowns. There's such a huge volume of them it's hard to fathom. Beyond the major cities, places like Portland Maine, Providence Rhode Island, Portsmouth NH, Newport RI, Burlington VT, New Haven CT, Glenn Falls New York, Bethlehem PA, etc, etc, etc ALL have vibrant, dense, walkable downtowns. It's hard to drive on a back road anywhere in the Northeast for an hour or so and not pass through an excellent downtown area.
Furthermore, most of these cities have been around since long before the car. They were built on a pedestrian scale because everyone had to be a pedestrian at some point. The convenience of door-to-door service that the automobile provides has reshaped cities. While even the Northeast isn't exempt from this, the cores of so many of the cities in town there predate the destruction and sprawl caused be the automobile. San Francisco's unique old age (given the location) and geographic limitations make it as good as/ better than many Northeastern Cities. Portland and Seattle have some similarities, but after that, the great downtowns are few and far between.
Good points. To add to that, it goes FAR beyond Boston, NYC, and Philly in the Northeast (I know, you touched on this). Those are just the big ones. Dense, walkable downtown areas are how the Northeast cities and towns were developed. This applies everywhere from the biggest cities to the smallest towns in the Northeast. Sure, Boston, New York and Philadelphia are the poster children of this phenomenon, but the trend is reflected all the way down to the smallest towns. Check out ckhthankgod's thread on downtown areas in the general u.s. forum. You'll notice that even the tiny, otherwise nameless cities have vibrant, dense downtowns. There's such a huge volume of them it's hard to fathom. Beyond the major cities, places like Portland Maine, Providence Rhode Island, Portsmouth NH, Newport RI, Burlington VT, New Haven CT, Glenn Falls New York, Bethlehem PA, etc, etc, etc ALL have vibrant, dense, walkable downtowns. It's hard to drive on a back road anywhere in the Northeast for an hour or so and not pass through an excellent downtown area.
Furthermore, most of these cities have been around since long before the car. They were built on a pedestrian scale because everyone had to be a pedestrian at some point. The convenience of door-to-door service that the automobile provides has reshaped cities. While even the Northeast isn't exempt from this, the cores of so many of the cities in town there predate the destruction and sprawl caused be the automobile. San Francisco's unique old age (given the location) and geographic limitations make it as good as/ better than many Northeastern Cities. Portland and Seattle have some similarities, but after that, the great downtowns are few and far between.
Great post. Would rep ya if I could. Do any of our Portland forumers want to post some pics of their downtown? I feel like it's not given the proper exposure...it'd actually be great to see pics of all these cities...how has no one posted pics yet?
SF then Portland, Then Seattle.
LA? Seriously, the people championing downtown LA have not been to Portland or Seattle.
I've been to Seattle, and spent everyday of my 7 day vacation in the downtown area. Portland I've only passed through its downtown on the way to Seattle, so I can't comment too much on this city.
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