Rank the Downtowns of Californian cities (San Diego, San Jose: incomes, shop, office)

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

This is complex because lot of small cities also have pretty large downtowns! In bay area all the major cities in Peninsula have decent downtowns. Walnut creek, although a suburb, has a fairly large downtown which is probably as large as Pasadena downtown. In SF, all the action is in union square but technically the financial district is downtown. In any case, SF is by far the largest and most actiona filled downtown in CA!

As a Walnut Creek native and still a frequenter, I have to agree with this. It's a pretty nice downtown with a lot of shops, restaurants, and bars. Definitely a different vibe than a denser, more urban city, but very bustling, much like Pasadena. Palo Alto has a great downtown too, and even Redwood City is pretty busy for a smaller city. Los Gatos has a beautiful downtown even though it has more of a mountain resort town feel, but it's also full of great stuff to do.

[blue bird]

Originally Posted by dalparadise

To answer the earlier question: Downtown San Francisco is just about everything east of Van Ness and north of 13th Street.

On another note, if you haven't been to DTLA in awhile, you need to check it out. It was busy and lively last week. There's a Sugarfish Sushi open, with a great looking crowd, several bars, pubs and restaurants, chic hotels and lots of foot traffic (for LA). I think it's a strong #3 in California, behind SF and SD...and rapidly rising.

I'd wouldn't put LA past San Jose since the whole half of downtown is a wasteland. Think Skid Row, which is getting worst with over 25,000 homeless people on the streets and dying. I probably say 3 dead men with flies all over his skeleton face. No service and bathroom for these people. There human waste all over the place in downtown. Most businesses in Dt LA don't have restroom for customers. It's for employees only. There all some blocks that are ok and most blocks terrible. A bunch of surface lots still found downtown despite construction. I wouldn't even put Dt SF there because it, too has a Skid Row area which is called Mid Market and Tenderloin.

SD and SJ have best downtowns and cleaner downtowns.

[Todd_96]

Originally Posted by blue bird

I'd wouldn't put LA past San Jose since the whole half of downtown is a wasteland. Think Skid Row, which is getting worst with over 25,000 homeless people on the streets and dying. I probably say 3 dead men with flies all over his skeleton face. No service and bathroom for these people. There human waste all over the place in downtown. Most businesses in Dt LA don't have restroom for customers. It's for employees only. There all some blocks that are ok and most blocks terrible. A bunch of surface lots still found downtown despite construction. I wouldn't even put Dt SF there because it, too has a Skid Row area which is called Mid Market and Tenderloin.

SD and SJ have best downtowns and cleaner downtowns.

The Tenderloin is rough but I wouldn't consider that downtown. The Mid Market area is rough too, but changing very quickly. Twitter moved in and a lot of high price residential is coming.

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by blue bird

I'd wouldn't put LA past San Jose since the whole half of downtown is a wasteland. Think Skid Row, which is getting worst with over 25,000 homeless people on the streets and dying. I probably say 3 dead men with flies all over his skeleton face. No service and bathroom for these people. There human waste all over the place in downtown. Most businesses in Dt LA don't have restroom for customers. It's for employees only. There all some blocks that are ok and most blocks terrible. A bunch of surface lots still found downtown despite construction. I wouldn't even put Dt SF there because it, too has a Skid Row area which is called Mid Market and Tenderloin.

SD and SJ have best downtowns and cleaner downtowns.

I like San Jose -- definitely underrated as a downtown at street level. SD is great too. The part of DTLA I'm talking about is the burgeoning area around The Standard, which is filling in with lots of restaurants and pubs, changing the dynamic of downtown. It's the area around 6th and 7th streets, between about Fig and Olive. It seemed really lively a couple of weekends ago.

To be clear, however, none of these is on the level of Downtown San Francisco for character, entertainment, vibrancy, architecture, shopping, dining, sights, etc. SF is just on a different level here.

[RaymondChandlerLives]

Originally Posted by blue bird

I'd wouldn't put LA past San Jose since the whole half of downtown is a wasteland. Think Skid Row, which is getting worst with over 25,000 homeless people on the streets and dying. I probably say 3 dead men with flies all over his skeleton face. No service and bathroom for these people. There human waste all over the place in downtown. Most businesses in Dt LA don't have restroom for customers. It's for employees only. There all some blocks that are ok and most blocks terrible. A bunch of surface lots still found downtown despite construction. I wouldn't even put Dt SF there because it, too has a Skid Row area which is called Mid Market and Tenderloin.

SD and SJ have best downtowns and cleaner downtowns.

You probably saw three dead people in DTLA? Only a total rube would fall for such an obvious BS anecdote.

1. SF
2. LA
3. SD

SD is more prominent to its metro, but DTLA is flat out bigger with more going on. It has a nice grit to it still. San Jose > DTLA? Just no.

[blue bird]

Originally Posted by RaymondChandlerLives

You probably saw three dead people in DTLA? Only a total rube would fall for such an obvious BS anecdote.

1. SF
2. LA
3. SD

SD is more prominent to its metro, but DTLA is flat out bigger with more going on. It has a nice grit to it still. San Jose > DTLA? Just no.

Go and hang out in Skid Row, which is the heart of Dt LA and the areas around Broadway/Hill. You'd put LA above Philly's downtown, too? Honestly, I think this downtown(LA) is the worst I've ever seen. A few blocks of hipsters wouldn't even change a thing. Think 7th Ave and Fig/Flower and 2 blocks of Spring. Honorable mention as cool block: LA Live. The whole downtown area is plagued with blight and an over supply of surface parking lots and vacant lots. More on the way since several buildings have burned down. This is despite new construction several highrises and most mid rises(type 3 construction).

[bradleyyo]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

I'd crap on all of you. San Diego is the only one worth bothering with.

As an SD native, I love San Diego as much as you obviously do. But your post is an example of why people on this forum label us San Diegans as "elitists" and such. Every city in CA has a unique character all their own. San Francisco has one of the most beautiful downtowns I have ever seen. Los Angeles' downtown has been really improving lately. San Jose has an ok downtown, not too impressive IMO. Saramento has a very clean and professional downtown. San Diego has a beautiful skyline and our downtown is clean for the most part until you get to commercial street where the homeless camp out and a few areas near imperial can be a bit sketchy. The Gaslamp adds some flare and vibrancy.

[GatsbyGatz]

SD tops DTLA easily. DTLA has 4 cool blocks with hipsters and regular people. Besides that, it's a horribly depressing place. Over half of DTLA is a wasteland with deranged drug addicts and crowds suffering from mental illnesses.

4 decent blocks does not a good downtown make. There are shopping malls more vibrant than DTLA.

[mrsltd]

Some unsuspected downtowns/old towns:

Garden Grove
La Puente
Chino
Arcadia
San Marino

For folks who normally do not think of "downtown" and these cities in the same sentence.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by blue bird

Go and hang out in Skid Row, which is the heart of Dt LA and the areas around Broadway/Hill. You'd put LA above Philly's downtown, too? Honestly, I think this downtown(LA) is the worst I've ever seen. A few blocks of hipsters wouldn't even change a thing. Think 7th Ave and Fig/Flower and 2 blocks of Spring. Honorable mention as cool block: LA Live. The whole downtown area is plagued with blight and an over supply of surface parking lots and vacant lots. More on the way since several buildings have burned down. This is despite new construction several highrises and most mid rises(type 3 construction).

Sounds like you haven't been in downtown LA since the '90s.