Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Your haterism is at an all time high. Why are you comparing McPherson Sq to Boston Commons? Is that the best DC has to offer? Come on dude, you are making yourself look ridiculous.
Should we compare Rittenhouse Square to the National Mall? What about the number of visitors each area gets? If we based this on the number of visitors per year, it doesn't come close. Plus the Mall has 40 plus museums all within a 1/4 of mile.
DC's Chinatown is not a real Chinatown but you can't deny that its not vibrant as hell all hours of the day.
Museums? Your membership to City Data should be revoke based on your assinine statement. Who gives two sh&ts what you like. Philly doesn't compare.
Restaurants - Who eats at Oceanaire anymore? What about Proof, Zatinya, Oya, Zest.....I can name 100 authentic restaurants in DC all within a 1/4 mile of Gallery Place and Metro Center. Did you watch Top Chef DC.
Transportation - Look at the numbers
Tmac,
Of course some areas of DT DC are a ghost town. But you have to look at the size of DT DC compared to CC and Boston. It's huge and spread out. There are club corridors all over DT DC. I don't feel like naming them but DC has so many clubs. The Park is one. K Street Lounge? Lima? Lotus? This is just one area at 14th and K Streets.
Y does it bother u if he prefers Philly over DC? In the real world plenty of people would probably choose DC over Philly its ok if one person chooses otherwise.
^^ I've seen graffiti and the like to match that in DC. But I do agree that Philadelphia (and Boston) have a more mature street scene compared to DC. They are older and have more ethnic enclaves for sure.
BTW, I'm not disagreeing that Philadelphia and Boston have more vibrant downtowns than DC. It's just DC has everything a little more spread out and not quite as urban, though still pretty urban.
^^ I've seen graffiti and the like to match that in DC. But I do agree that Philadelphia (and Boston) have a more mature street scene compared to DC. They are older and have more ethnic enclaves for sure.
BTW, I'm not disagreeing that Philadelphia and Boston have more vibrant downtowns than DC. It's just DC has everything a little more spread out and not quite as urban, though still pretty urban.
There are very few things like that in DC. Other than a few murals off of U Street and in Shaw, there's not much of this in our nation's capital. Even then, the art's not organic the way it is in Philly. The Mural Commission basically took a whole bunch of kids, who otherwise would be tagging walls, and had them paint murals instead. Plus, it's important to note that modern grafitti has its origins in the City of Brotherly Love.
It's hard to say "look at the numbers" when we're only focusing on the downtown area.
Quote:
Tmac,
Of course some areas of DT DC are a ghost town. But you have to look at the size of DT DC compared to CC and Boston. It's huge and spread out. There are club corridors all over DT DC. I don't feel like naming them but DC has so many clubs. The Park is one. K Street Lounge? Lima? Lotus? This is just one area at 14th and K Streets.
Some? I'd say much of the downtown is a ghost town from my experience. I'm sure there are some areas which have a decent nightlife, but you yourself say Downtown DC encompasses a massive area...but only a small area has a decent nightlife. Downtown Boston has the Faneuil Hall area, which is packed with bars and restaurants. The bars also spread from Faneuil several blocks into the financial district. On the other side of Faneuil Hall is Friend Street and Canal Street, which are adjacent to North State/TD Garden (home of the Celtics and Bruins). The area is packed to the brim with bars...not to mention the Garden.
Along Tremont St and Boylston St, which surround 2/3 of Boston Common are dozens of bars and clubs. Downtown Crossing and the Theater District are both on/just off Tremont and those have many of the clubbing hotspots in the Boston area. To me, Boston's downtown nightlife is quite superior to Washington DC's. The fact that Boston's downtown is much more residential than DC's and has several colleges helps greatly. Downtown Boston does a great job of mixing office/residential/etc (as does Philly)...
It's hard to say "look at the numbers" when we're only focusing on the downtown area.
Some? I'd say much of the downtown is a ghost town from my experience. I'm sure there are some areas which have a decent nightlife, but you yourself say Downtown DC encompasses a massive area...but only a small area has a decent nightlife. Downtown Boston has the Faneuil Hall area, which is packed with bars and restaurants. The bars also spread from Faneuil several blocks into the financial district. On the other side of Faneuil Hall is Friend Street and Canal Street, which are adjacent to North State/TD Garden (home of the Celtics and Bruins). The area is packed to the brim with bars...not to mention the Garden.
Along Tremont St and Boylston St, which surround 2/3 of Boston Common are dozens of bars and clubs. Downtown Crossing and the Theater District are both on/just off Tremont and those have many of the clubbing hotspots in the Boston area. To me, Boston's downtown nightlife is quite superior to Washington DC's. The fact that Boston's downtown is much more residential than DC's and has several colleges helps greatly. Downtown Boston does a great job of mixing office/residential/etc (as does Philly)...
When just focusing on the downtown areas, Boston destroys DC. There's no DC equivalent of Tremont Street after the bars let out on Friday night. Plus, you've got Back Bay, Newbury Street, and other little quaint areas that Downtown DC can't match.
The interesting thing about DC is that it inherently has an unfair advantage in terms of things like museums (which are probably the best in the country). While Boston and Philadelphia have some amazing museums, they certainly can't be compared to the Smithsonian...but at the same time the Smithsonian is funded by the Federal Government...so they aren't really "DC's" museums...right? Yes, DC's museums are free...but that's because we already paid for them! But at the same time DC will have that advantage in many categories.
I don't mean this as a detriment to DC by any means...I suppose I just started thinking about it...and the more I did, I realized what a unique animal Washington DC is.
The interesting thing about DC is that it inherently has an unfair advantage in terms of things like museums (which are probably the best in the country). While Boston and Philadelphia have some amazing museums, they certainly can't be compared to the Smithsonian...but at the same time the Smithsonian is funded by the Federal Government...so they aren't really "DC's" museums...right? Yes, DC's museums are free...but that's because we already paid for them! But at the same time DC will have that advantage in many categories.
I don't mean this as a detriment to DC by any means...I suppose I just started thinking about it...and the more I did, I realized what a unique animal Washington DC is.
This is true and unfairness can work both ways. DC's wide layout and intentionally low-rise architecture is probably one of the reasons that its downtown is not as vibrant and integrated as those of Philly and Boston. But hey, we all live with what we have.
This is true and unfairness can work both ways. DC's wide layout and intentionally low-rise architecture is probably one of the reasons that its downtown is not as vibrant and integrated as those of Philly and Boston. But hey, we all live with what we have.
I disagree. If you think about it, Center City doesn't have lots of high rise development either, so I don't think that's the reason why Downtown DC is not as vibrant. Imo, Downtown DC is not very vibrant because:
1. There are just too many federal buildings. For security reasons, these buildings can't have much retail. The result is superblock after superblock of government buildings where you spend five minutes walking past the lobby of a building before reaching any retail.
2. It's just newer. They're trying to create vibrant neighborhoods out of thin air and it's tough. This new NoMA project, for example, may wind up a total disaster. So far, it feels cold and sterile and not all that walkable. We'll see what happens.
There are very few things like that in DC. Other than a few murals off of U Street and in Shaw, there's not much of this in our nation's capital. Even then, the art's not organic the way it is in Philly. The Mural Commission basically took a whole bunch of kids, who otherwise would be tagging walls, and had them paint murals instead. Plus, it's important to note that modern grafitti has its origins in the City of Brotherly Love.
I like what the city has done with its murals, especially the ones off the EL in west Philly.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
