What parts of philly feel/look like one of the boroughs of New York? (Philadelphia: homes, neighborhoods)

[Antdawg1]

Them being so close I figure they must have some things in common.

[kidphilly]

On the whole Philly has the most similarity to Brooklyn and Queens with a dash of Manhattan and SI. Philly is much smaller (like the size of one borough) and more a rowhouse city proportionally than NYC. There are areas that will feel similar and areas that will feel different.

On the whole Philly may have the most resemblance of any other US city but the scale is so different I am not sure there is a perfect comparison

Some areas where I personally similarities
Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

But you could say Queens in an area like this
Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

Or Staten Island
Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

But both are different enough they are their own

[Pine to Vine]

On my first visit here, I got a Soho-Greenwich vibe from Old City:

54 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps
54 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

[rotodome]

The boroughs of NYC are large and varied in and of themselves just like Philadelphia is, so it's not quite that simple.
And generally, even the outer boroughs of NYC can feel somewhat "bigger" than anyplace in Philadelphia (partly by being part of NYC and sharing in that energy, and partly because some of the outer boroughs alone have many more people in them than Philly). But there are certainly a lot of similarities to be found here and there, as one would imagine of two large cities of a similar age that are close together.

As a native Philadelphian who's been living in Brooklyn for several years (which I think is the single borough of NYC that overall has the most similarities to Philadelphia), here's a few things I would say compare well:

-Rittenhouse Square (meaning the neighborhood not the park) looks and feels a lot like Brooklyn Heights.
-University City reminds me of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, though the architecture is a little different.
-Northeast Philly overall feels a lot like parts of Queens (neighborhoods like Woodhaven, Middle Village, etc) and some of postwar Brooklyn (eg Midwood).
-present day Northern Liberties is somewhat like Williamsburg & parts of Greenpoint
-Center City residential neighborhoods in general look & feel a lot like the older Brooklyn neighborhoods just south of downtown (Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Carroll Gardens) that are a mix of mostly 3-4 story brick rowhomes and some brownstones.
-Chestnut Hill has many similarities to Ditmas Park in Brooklyn (although the adjacent areas are very different, as CH is bounded by park areas on 3 sides and the suburbs on the other, while Ditmas Park is surrounded by more dense urban areas).
-the parts of Center City with the skyscrapers could I suppose be said to superficially look a little bit like some parts of midtown if you took the people away, but honestly I don't think they feel very similar.
-the only parts of Manhattan that really remind me of Philly at all are Gramercy Park right around the park, a few spots in West Village west of 7th Ave, and a few spots in Harlem.

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by rotodome

The boroughs of NYC are large and varied in and of themselves just like Philadelphia is, so it's not quite that simple.
And generally, even the outer boroughs of NYC can feel somewhat "bigger" than anyplace in Philadelphia (partly by being part of NYC and sharing in that energy, and partly because some of the outer boroughs alone have many more people in them than Philly). But there are certainly a lot of similarities to be found here and there, as one would imagine of two large cities of a similar age that are close together.

As a native Philadelphian who's been living in Brooklyn for several years (which I think is the single borough of NYC that overall has the most similarities to Philadelphia), here's a few things I would say compare well:

-Rittenhouse Square (meaning the neighborhood not the park) looks and feels a lot like Brooklyn Heights.
-University City reminds me of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, though the architecture is a little different.
-Northeast Philly overall feels a lot like parts of Queens (neighborhoods like Woodhaven, Middle Village, etc) and some of postwar Brooklyn (eg Midwood).
-present day Northern Liberties is somewhat like Williamsburg & parts of Greenpoint
-Center City residential neighborhoods in general look & feel a lot like the older Brooklyn neighborhoods just south of downtown (Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Carroll Gardens) that are a mix of mostly 3-4 story brick rowhomes and some brownstones.
-Chestnut Hill has many similarities to Ditmas Park in Brooklyn (although the adjacent areas are very different, as CH is bounded by park areas on 3 sides and the suburbs on the other, while Ditmas Park is surrounded by more dense urban areas).
-the parts of Center City with the skyscrapers could I suppose be said to superficially look a little bit like some parts of midtown if you took the people away, but honestly I don't think they feel very similar.
-the only parts of Manhattan that really remind me of Philly at all are Gramercy Park right around the park, a few spots in West Village west of 7th Ave, and a few spots in Harlem.

I agree on Manhattan; the parts of Philly to me that feel similar to Manhattan are more West Village (maybe a splatter of SOHO to jms point)than Midtown (one could argue a block or two of CC feels like Midtown but to me that is pushing it)

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

I agree on Manhattan; the parts of Philly to me that feel similar to Manhattan are more West Village (maybe a splatter of SOHO to jms point)than Midtown (one could argue a block or two of CC feels like Midtown but to me that is pushing it)

Yeah, the only parts of CC that I specifically sort-of-compared to midtown (only because that's something people like to do) was just the part "with the skyscrapers". Overall as I said there is very little in Manhattan that I find very similar to Philly. Skyscrapers are more or less generic, and the more residential parts of CC are much more like parts of Brooklyn.

And those spots jm02 posted (ie Old City) to me don't really look/feel much like modern day soho at all, aside from both areas having some cast iron frame buildings. But of course everyone is struck differently.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by rotodome

Yeah, the only parts of CC that I specifically sort-of-compared to midtown (only because that's something people like to do) was just the part "with the skyscrapers". Overall as I said there is very little in Manhattan that I find very similar to Philly. Skyscrapers are more or less generic, and the more residential parts of CC are much more like parts of Brooklyn.

And those spots jm02 posted (ie Old City) to me don't really look/feel much like modern day soho at all, aside from both areas having some cast iron frame buildings. But of course everyone is struck differently.

Agree that little in Philly is reminiscent of Manhattan. My initial impressions of Old City brought to mind an amalgam of Soho, the Lower East Side and West Village, however. It's the combo of the cast iron, fire escapes and boutiques and galleries at street level that evoked that sense of place. As you note, impressions vary.

[bryson662001]

I lived on LI, in northern Queens and upper east side Manhattan over 20 years. I have lived in Center City for 25 years. IMO NE philly is like parts of Queens and CC is like Manhattan above 59th St, east and west, if you ignore the very wide N-S avenues and stick to cross streets. I have never understood the comparison between Philly and Brooklyn. I just don't see it.

[gwillyfromphilly]

Northeast Philly and Staten Island at least to me have some similarities.

[Angus215]

In terms of center city neighborhoods, i'd say:

Rittenhouse = Upper East Side
Society Hill = Brooklyn Heights
Old City = Greenwich Village
Market St = Midtown
Chinatown = Chinatown
WashWest/Gayborhood = Chelsea