Best PA Downtown?

[Hopes]

I was looking for a picture of downtown Erie and found something fascinating.

There's a street (19th street) in Erie where trains run down the middle of the road!








Here is a cool picture of downtown Erie street!

[Ohiogirl81]

Great find, Hopes! And two of the pix are on a sunny day!

The tracks had almost become a tourist attraction -- novelty, certainly -- but I think they're gone now. I remember as a kid thinking how cool it would be to have trains running past your house all the time . Probably 40 years ago my dad took me to 19th Street tracks to see a steam engine that was coming through town. That made the 6 o'clock news and everything.

[slammer45]

Pittsburgh's downtown has fallen on really hard times. It's sad because it has so much potential, but poor leadership and economy has resulted in a mass exodus of residents and retail. Drive through it after 5:30 at night or on the weekends and it's completely empty and silent.

Best downtown would have to be Philadelphia.

[Orwelleaut]

I'd sure hate to live on that street in Erie with the train running right by the front of the house. Never been to that part of Erie, but suspect that it is somewhere on the East side of town, in the scummy part of Erie. Who would want to live with such noise? It may be cool to look at, but I'll stick with good old Millcreek with green grass and trees for daily living. Shows what life was like for the poor mill worker in the city in the early 1900's.....

[PAman]

I love Bethlehem and Johnstown, my two favorite "small\mid" size cities in Pennsylvania. The history of both, the potential in Johnstown, the pride residents of the cities have in them, There's a draw to those cities that I don't feel to the others on the list, especially since I've been to almost all of them.

Small towns, not so much for downtowns, but I love Cambridge Springs, Bath, Slatington, and most of the coal region towns, again, don't know why, just something appealing about their tranquility.

Big city, Pittsburgh hands down, I love 'da burgh...though "downtown" by the financial district is pretty much dead after 430, but there are some great neighborhoods around. Bloomfield, Polish Hill, the Hill district, oakland.. each bring their own special flavor to the city. Just something about the greater pittsburgh area that I love too, can't explain, just love it.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Orwelleaut

Never been to that part of Erie, but suspect that it is somewhere on the East side of town, in the scummy part of Erie.

Hey, I grew up on the east side ... All the flagman's shanties were on the west side, so I'd bet those pix were taken on the west side as well. I've read the shanty at W. 19th and Cascade will be preserved as a historical location.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by slammer45

Pittsburgh's downtown has fallen on really hard times. It's sad because it has so much potential, but poor leadership and economy has resulted in a mass exodus of residents and retail. Drive through it after 5:30 at night or on the weekends and it's completely empty and silent.

Best downtown would have to be Philadelphia.

From what I've heard, Pittsburgh's downtown has really started coming around. I love how they built the Pirates' stadium right in the downtown with the skyline right beyond the outfield fence and a walk over the Roberto Clemente bridge. Much better than how Philly stuck the Phillies' stadium in an ugly industrial area of South Philly, far from Center City. Pittsburgh seems much more liveable than Philly, and is much nicer on the eyes with the skyline, the three rivers, and the rolling hills surrounding the city.

While Philly has a pretty nice center city area, I just don't find its location as appealing, with the grimy Schuylkill River and surrounding oil refineries and ghettos.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by conorsdad

From what I've heard, Pittsburgh's downtown has really started coming around. I love how they built the Pirates' stadium right in the downtown with the skyline right beyond the outfield fence and a walk over the Roberto Clemente bridge. Much better than how Philly stuck the Phillies' stadium in an ugly industrial area of South Philly, far from Center City. Pittsburgh seems much more liveable than Philly, and is much nicer on the eyes with the skyline, the three rivers, and the rolling hills surrounding the city.

While Philly has a pretty nice center city area, I just don't find its location as appealing, with the grimy Schuylkill River and surrounding oil refineries and ghettos.

You make some good points. Although I wouldn't classify the stadium area as ugly industrial.Bland, boring I can buy- buts its not industrial other than a few warehouses. I agree that the ball parks definitely would have been better served closer to Center City.

As far as the grimy Schuylkill and oil refineries. I'd say the Schuylkill flows 10 miles through the city, of that 10 miles its only the southern mile or two(15%) that houses the oil refineries. The rest of the river which flows through Fairmount Park is fantastic. The only people who get to experience it are locals; whereas the highways and trasportation lines run right through the industrial part of the river, thus adding to the poor reputation. I've often thought if the main highways and rail lines were positioned differently inside the city then Philadlephias reputation would be completely opposite of what it is. People come up I-95 hit those refineries and automatically have a negative impression of Philly.

Anyways Philadlephia has some excellent views of its skyline just like Pittsburgh.

Trust me there is much much more to Philadelphia than a "pretty nice center city" ghettoes, and industrial abyss.

[PhillyPhan]

I love rainrocks pics but i don't think that the pictures said enough about Lancaster. over the last few years lancaster has senn incredible transformations. from the new state-of-the-art ballpark to the new convention center and the brand new college, lancaster deserves some props. but i did like the pics of scranton bethlehem and philadelphia by scrantonwilkes-barre.!

[Icy Tea]

My personal favorite isn't mentioned, Bellefonte. From european style downtown hotels and buildings, magnificent victorian homes and an incredible city park, it is even more picturesque than Jim Thorpe. It's what every small town would want to be.
Reading's picture also doesn't do it justice, being taken from the Penn Street bridge. From one of the top 5 rated minor league ball parks in the country, to a new and highly successful convention center, a well known performing arts center, a new arts complex and upcoming IMAX theater, and expanding college campuses, Reading has made progress. But it still falls short in key categories. Let's hope all the towns and cities regain their former glories.