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Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,137,259 times
Reputation: 3145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grapico
And nothing that you mentioned is actually in San Francisco. SF at street level isn't that beautiful, gorgeous surroundings though yes, but several major cities are more tidy, cleaner streets, with better architecture (in grandiosity, ornamentation, scale and variety) than SF, particularly I would put SF 5th behind Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and DC. Sometimes I think I have lost my bookmark on this forum and gone to nature data or something. Beauty of the city is all about street level lived in environment, I didn't think this thread was about the region or metro level but the physical city itself and everything in it.
SF has lots of natural beauty completely within the City, too. There is great architecture and amazing vistas all over this city. You seem to want to exclude the natural stuff, but that's SF's trump card over the other cities you list, with the possible exception of Seattle.
SF has lots of natural beauty completely within the City, too. There is great architecture and amazing vistas all over this city. You seem to want to exclude the natural stuff, but that's SF's trump card over the other cities you list, with the possible exception of Seattle.
Yes that is definitely the trump card but I have to look at it objectively outside of weather/nature variants and pay attention to things the city can control, cleanliness, architecture, street scapes, public monuments. Things that all cities have in common. Some might like the "look" of tree lined streets of Atlanta better, or the palm trees in Miami, or changing leaves somewhere else. and I know plenty of people on here that do. I view SF as a pretty good looking city compared to the ones on the list in a beautiful setting. I view LA as an unpleasing aesthetic city in many places, also in a beautiful setting.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,137,259 times
Reputation: 3145
Nah, LA does tree-lined streets better than just about anywhere.
And as for monuments in SF. What about Coit Tower, the Legion of Honor, Palace of Fine Arts, Ferry Building, Cable Cars ( national monument), Sutro Baths, the two big bridges, Alcatraz, union Square, Grace Cathedral, Sts. Peter and Paul, many features of Golden Gate Park, etc. I think SF does alright in the monument department.
Philly has the most beautiful urban park and the Ben Franklin Parkway, which is the closest to a Champs-Elysees in America. Also we have the best colonial architecture and best looking city hall.
Yes that is definitely the trump card but I have to look at it objectively outside of weather/nature variants and pay attention to things the city can control, cleanliness, architecture, street scapes, public monuments. Things that all cities have in common. Some might like the "look" of tree lined streets of Atlanta better, or the palm trees in Miami, or changing leaves somewhere else. and I know plenty of people on here that do. I view SF as a pretty good looking city compared to the ones on the list in a beautiful setting. I view LA as an unpleasing aesthetic city in many places, also in a beautiful setting.
LOL the only reason you downplay the nature part is because Chicago is flat and natural beauty deprived, this sounds similar to people who say density is overrated in cities where density is low
Philly has the most beautiful urban park and the Ben Franklin Parkway, which is the closest to a Champs-Elysees in America. Also we have the best colonial architecture and best looking city hall.
I have to agree, Philly's colonial architecture does beat Boston's. I think Boston has been neglected for a long time, but now we have the most aggressive building projects in the country. Should be interesting to see what we get over the course of the next 3-4 years.
I think West Coast cities have some of the most dramatic and scenic settings like SF, San Diego, LA, Seattle, Portland, and Honolulu.
East Coast and Midwest cities can be really beautiful at the ground level with all the trees and lush vegetation. I thought Chicago was a particularly nice looking city at the ground level, the lake too is really nice. NYC has some really nice parks too. I'd also put Miami up there too will all the water and the vegetation/palm trees make it a really attractive looking city.
My top pick probably goes to Honolulu though. The climate, the palm trees/vegetation, the dramatic mountains, tropical beaches, volcano, etc..
I agree, west coast has it the most beautiful. Honolulu for me, then Anchorage. Hawaii and Alaska are the two most beautiful states in our nation, IMO.
I rate the beauty of a city for the consistency of aesthetic experience. My test is this: Can I drive through a city and encounter mostly pleasing vistas? I ask myself, "Would I want to see this day after day?" When applying this standard, a number of these cities fall off the list quickly. I negate the experience of one or two highly touted features that don't impact the overall city experience. I have spent a good deal of time in these cities: Washington, Richmond, Baltimore, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. By my judgement, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta and New York don't provide consistent aesthetic experiences. They have highly rated areas that are worth seeing though! My top picks, in order, are: New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Richmond. That's right; I said Cincinnati! All three of these cities manifest a strong old world influence. New Orleans is Latin (more than French), Cincinnati is German, Richmond is English.
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