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Old 12-08-2010, 02:15 PM
 
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Which cities have a more larger downtown?
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Old 12-09-2010, 09:20 AM
 
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Richmond followed by Norfolk if I had to guess. NOVA, while the most populous area, is pretty sprawled out and doesn't have a large downtown to speak of.
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Old 12-09-2010, 11:56 AM
 
Location: Roanoke VA
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I'm glad to know there may be a "downtown" somewhere in NoVa! I would just drive across the river to DC and not waste my time trying to find it!
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Old 12-09-2010, 12:06 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roanoker 4 View Post
I'm glad to know there may be a "downtown" somewhere in NoVa! I would just drive across the river to DC and not waste my time trying to find it!
Oh there are a couple wee ones in there somewhere but indeed, DC is the place to go if you live in NOVA and want some density. That or Old Town Alexandria but that's more of a dense, historic neighborhood than a downtown.
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Old 12-09-2010, 12:51 PM
 
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Rosslyn has a sort of downtown in NoVA (in the sense of big buildings, etc.). But Richmond would probably have the largest "downtown" in VA.
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Old 12-09-2010, 01:18 PM
 
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Not necessarily downtowns, but a few central business districts in Northern Virginia:

1. Rosslyn - a photo on flickr - Rosslyn, Virginia Skyline | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/491996939/ - broken link)
2. Arlington - a photo on flickr from an airplane - Corridor | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mvjantzen/2560251822/ - broken link)
3. Ballston - a photo on flickr - Ballston, Arlington, Virginia skyline at sunset from AED HQ | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tadnkat/4272163765/ - broken link)
4. Crystal City - a photo on flickr - Mother Nature on an acid trip | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/74104660@N00/2255879643/ - broken link)
5. Tysons Corner - office/retail square footage wise - larger than downtown Atlanta - http://beyonddc.com/images/photos/va...ine01-best.jpg
6. Reston - photo on smugsmug - http://marcbenton.smugmug.com/Other/In-and-Around-Reston-Virginia/24610435988dd10af7ebo/306382863_m7ixH-D.jpg (broken link)

Several photos in this city-data discussion (look for city-data member (United_Caps): http://www.city-data.com/forum/city-...skyline-6.html
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Old 12-09-2010, 08:52 PM
 
Location: 5 years in Southern Maryland, USA
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The Tysons Corner area has 80,000 employees, more than work in downtown Richmond. Tysons also has 55,000 daily shoppers.
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Old 12-10-2010, 06:09 AM
 
Location: Roanoke VA
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Default Crystal City

I have always liked the underground at Crystal City. It reminds me a little of the downtown Montreal underground linking the hotels, with shops, restaurants. Although I have always gotten lost in both it is still a unique concept for a "downtown". I also like how they designed the Metro to connect it all together.
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Old 12-10-2010, 08:22 AM
 
Location: Thornrose
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I agree with the posts concerning NoVa, but in the end, it is still all suburbia. A very dense suburbia reminiscent of other large northeastern cities. As far as a traditional downtown, in VA Richmond is the best. It has a very good mix of new and historic buildings and highrises, residential, and restaurants and tourist things. But little shopping unfortunately.

If Norfolk hadn't leveled their downtown in urban renewal projects of the '50s-'60s, that would be my favorite VA downtown. I get angry when looking at old Norflk pictures.
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Old 12-10-2010, 09:58 AM
 
5,391 posts, read 7,229,619 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roanoker 4 View Post
I have always liked the underground at Crystal City. It reminds me a little of the downtown Montreal underground linking the hotels, with shops, restaurants. Although I have always gotten lost in both it is still a unique concept for a "downtown". I also like how they designed the Metro to connect it all together.
Wow. Really? Crystal City is joked about because the name, conjuring up images of elegance or Oz's Emerald City, belies its reality.

The Crystal City underground has had a hard time keeping decent non-food-related business tenants. Not counting eating establishments, there are a lot of novelty, small businesses and a scant few bigger ones like Rite Aid drugstore. The Safeway grocery store closed years ago, the bookstores closed, and the food court closed. To me, the place is forgettable and rather tacky. It is nice to be able to connect to so many buildings via the underground passages if I need to go somewhere for a meeting, but more often than not, I'll elect to go the outdoors route and get some fresh air - unless it's raining.

The owners must realize that the trend is moving toward outdoors walkable environments, not the subterranean dim indoor mall experience. More businesses have opened in the past years with their doors to the outside along Crystal Drive - trying to revive the place. I don't know what will happen once many of the government and contractor shops move out due to BRAC.

One subterranean business environment I've experienced that I thought worked was in Osaka. There, numerous underground paths connect to rail, get people across the streets by going under them, and serve up a huge variety and number of business establishments. But then, Osaka has the population to support that, and the corridors were packed whenever I was there. I didn't venture into Montreal's underground when visiting there, but I've experienced Minneapolis' skyways (another place where it makes sense, due to the extreme cold weather of that place).
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