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I know these aren't the superstar big cities of Boswash, but they do share a ton of similarities at block level, architecture, demographics, histories, etc.
(Old rowhome, corner store, higher crime, minority, riots in the 60s, fall from industry, etc.)
Philadelphia, in my opinion is the connection between them all. Without Philadelphia or if it didn't exist, there would be more stark differences between all the cities in the Bos-Wash Corridor.
I think you're onto something here, especially since there's a reason Pennsylvania is nicknamed the Keystone State.
I agree. While New York definitely has urban features/architecture/neighborhoods that are very similar to Boston and Philly, it's just on such a ridiculously massive scale. Since Downtown Crossing and Center City Philly feel much more like Manhattan than any areas in Baltimore and DC, I think the downtowns and surrounding neighborhoods are what truly draw a link between Boston and Philadelphia. Think Back Bay v. Rittenhouse Square; Beacon Hill v. Society Hill; Cambridge v. University City; Independence Hall v. Faneuil Hall. They're obviously not carbon copies of each other, but they are extremely reminiscent of each other in terms of history, structure and significance.
As far as the outer neighborhoods of Philadelphia (South Philly, far West Philly, North Philly), I definitely see much more of a Baltimore comparison, while Northwest Philadelphia is highly reminiscent of Northwest DC and Northeast Philadelphia is highly reminiscent of Queens. Now that I really think about, there really are strong elements of every major BosWash city in Philly.
This post makes sense. I can see some of the similarities between, say, Society Hill and Beacon Hill. However, Center City is such a tiny portion of the city that I hesitate to say that we really have that much in common with Boston.
I also think your observations about South and North Philly are spot on. They definitely look a lot like East Baltimore. The Northwest does resemble Northwest DC (and particularly the Rock Creek Park neighborhoods) and the Northeast does look very much like Queens.
These are just the physical aspects of the city, though.
Demographically, Philadelphia is very different from Baltimore. Baltimore has virtually no Asians, no Hispanics, and no West Indians. Philly has Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Puerto Rican and Mexican enclaves. We also have the second largest Italian, Irish and Jamaican populations after NYC.
Culturally, I think we're different from New York, but much more like New York than Baltimore. I guess that's why Domino's Pizza is always pitting us against Brooklyn.
While I do see elements of NYC, Philly, Boston and Baltimore as reflective of one another, each of them are distinct and unique to me. I tend to agree with the earlier poster who finds cities such as Wilmington, Allentown, Trenton etc. interchangeable.
To me, Washington is the outlier on this list as it doesn't have that east coast "feel" I get when I'm in one of the other four. The overwhelming presence of the government buildings makes DC physically like no other city. I also think that the culture is different, as DC has never been a major manufacturing city.
The overwhelming presence of the government buildings makes DC physically like no other city.
I agree, but I also think that was the plan from the jump though. I think you'll find that DC is more East Coast within its neighborhoods than it is Downtown by all the Govt. Buildings because downtown near those Govt. buildings isn't the "Real DC", its just where ppl go to work. When you Venture into the neighborhoods you'll find that they characterise the East Coast a bit more than Downtown does, plus theirs no Govt. Buildings
I don't think D.C. resembles any of the Northeast cities. D.C. is mid atlantic to the core which puts it in it's own category. But I do think NYC and D.C. are the most important cities in the nation so I voted D.C. and NYC.
Mr. Redd, you can find all of those housing styles in Philly but my guess is that they are all in Baltimore? One thing I have noticed is that Baltimore rowhouse blocks tend to be much longer while Philly's blocks tend to be separated by small side streets and more corners.
I don't think D.C. resembles any of the Northeast cities. D.C. is mid atlantic to the core which puts it in it's own category. But I do think NYC and D.C. are the most important cities in the nation so I voted D.C. and NYC.
Once again you appear to be in the minority on this topic
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