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Very rarely do you have entire cities that resemble European cities. I think you're most likely to see them in smaller cities New England like Portland and Portsmouth, though some in Canada look very European. Not just obvious Quebec City, but smaller towns like St. John, Newfoundland, or Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Very similar I think to smaller towns in parts of Scandinavia.
One interesting fact about Kansas City is that the Country Club Plaza district was actually modeled after Sevilla, Spain. This gives it somewhat of an Andalusian sort of feel with the Mudejar style architecture and abundance of fountains. Of course once you leave the district you're back in a typical mid-sized Midwestern city.
I'd add Madison Wisconsin for the Midwest....the isthmus creates a density reminiscent of European cities and the lack of high rises gives a similar feel. And there is even a "High Street" of sorts in state street which serves as the pedestrian spine of the city. I've heard from several Europeans that Madison struck them as European in scale and feel.
Cleveland has heavy Polish, Czech, Slovenian, Croatian influences. Pierogies are pretty much our official dish. Many of the old churches remind me of things I saw in Europe, like St. Stanislaus church in the Slavic Village neighborhood.
Or St. Theodosius in Tremont.
Last edited by Cleverfield; 06-04-2014 at 09:53 AM..
I'd add Madison Wisconsin for the Midwest....the isthmus creates a density reminiscent of European cities and the lack of high rises gives a similar feel. And there is even a "High Street" of sorts in state street which serves as the pedestrian spine of the city. I've heard from several Europeans that Madison struck them as European in scale and feel.
Good call, though it's a pretty small area of town, albeit the one that most people think of when they think of Madison.
St. Paul does have quality architecture, but not the narrow streets nor closely-spaced buildings of Europe. Just because it's not strip malls (though there are plenty along University Ave), highways, and big-box buildings does not mean it is European. Parts of St. Paul are better described as "traditional American".
Saint Paul doesn't have narrow streets? Have you ever been in downtown Saint Paul? It has some of the narrowest streets in a downtown for any larger US city. The city can't even put bike lanes in like most US cities because the streets are too narrow! Saint Paul also only has one wide "grand Boulevard" University Ave which is rare for most US cities. This is in addition to all the old preserved architecture in the city a lot of which, by the way, is now much older now than in many European cities which were bombed out in WWII, so in fact they are very modern or a stark mix of modern and old architecture like Berlin. Of course there are boring or modern or "traditional American" parts of Saint Paul but heck you could say that about anywhere including a lot of European cities, especially ones that were rebuilt after WWII.
Furthermore Saint Paul, unlike the vast majority of US cities wasn't laid out in a traditional grid, but rather on a strange meandering mix of narrow "river and town" roads which only adds to the very unique and quaint old world European feel in in the city. Are the streets as narrow as they are in some 1,000 year old cities in Europe which were built for ox carts and pedestrians only? Nope, of course not, but they are very narrow for a US city, about as narrow as you will find in any larger US city in downtown for a fact and the thread isn't about which US city is an actual European city! It's about which US city has the most European feel to it and Saint Paul with it's non traditional grid, it's gorgeous Cathedral at the highest point of the city, with it's huge amount of well preserved neo-classical and Victorian architecture, including the longest row of preserved Victorian mansion in the entire USA, with Rice Park as the circular heart of the city, and old houses stacked on river bluffs with a river running through it, makes it a very European feeling city.
St. Paul, MN is not at all a "European" city. In fact, there are no cities or towns really that fit the description in Minnesota.
Wrong, there's of course not "one European city" especially since many cities in Europe were bombed out and in fact are now much newer and more modern than many US cities. But anyways you should travel in Europe more and you'd realize you are totally mistaken. Saint Paul, in fact has a very European feeling to it, far more than most US cities. Is it a European city? Of course not! But it does definitely have a serious Euro-vibe, far more than west coast cities. I know, I have lived in Europe, on the west coast and in Saint Paul. My Norwegian and German friends who have visited me in Seattle and Saint Paul agree by the way. They chose Saint Paul over Sa Francisco, Portland and Seattle hands down for having the "most European feel to it."
Oh yea well my friends from Turkey & France chose SF over Saint Paul hands down in this category. In fact, they thought I was talking about St. Pauli IN HAMBURG and when I said "no, the one in Minnesota" they said "never heard of it". So there.
Oh yea well my friends from Turkey & France chose SF over Saint Paul hands down in this category. In fact, they thought I was talking about St. Pauli IN HAMBURG and when I said "no, the one in Minnesota" they said "never heard of it". So there.
This thread is about European feel, not international fame. I think it only detracts from your point that your friends didn't know what St. Paul was, because that means they aren't familiar with the city and their decision wasn't educated.
This thread is about European feel, not international fame. I think it only detracts from your point that your friends didn't know what St. Paul was, because that means they aren't familiar with the city and their decision wasn't educated.
Or I just made up that stupid anecdote because apparently those kind of anecdotal posts are totally acceptable, especially if you include dumb CvC cliches like "hands down" somewhere in it.
Don't get me wrong, anecdotes are fine - it's all most of us have to go off of - but turning them in to more than just a formed opinion (like a fact) is counterproductive.
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