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.
At least Royal Oak can be debated (although it would still lose to downtown in terms of things it offers) but Grosse Pointe? lmao. If anything it would probably be Ann Arbor but that is a college town so it's kind of different. .
Ditto. Grosse Pointe is nice, but not exactly "happening".
The fact is that most people live in the suburbs and tend not to go into the downtown area.
However, Detroit still has a lot more to offer than the suburban downtown areas.
I love downtown Rochester, but it's not close to downtown Royal Oak, Plymouth, or Detroit. Also, the Nautical Mile in St. Clair Shores is great, but doesn't compare to what Detroit has to offer.
I'd throw Kansas City on this list. The Country Club Plaza (which is in the city but a couple of miles south of Downtown) clearly is the entertainment / restaurant / shopping hub of the city.
Well, Seattle doesn't really fall into this category. Bellevue is very nice with enough shopping to keep anyone busy and a skyline bigger than some major rust belt cities. However Bellevue feels very corporate and doesn't come anywhere close to the vibrancy, atmosphere, and bustle of downtown Seattle. Bellevue also doesn't have very much public waterfront on the lake. Kirkland up the road does better with much more attractive waterfront. Though neither can compete with Seattle's abundant public spaces along by the water.
Uhh...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus
Bellevue has over 100 hi-rises? Because Cleveland (149), STL (226), Indy (143), Cincy (157), Detroit (200), Kansas City (174), Milwaukee (148), Minneapolis (258), St. Paul (97) and Chicago (1,262) all have at least that many (according to Emporis)
Pretty much this...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert_SW_77
Well Bellevue is still a suburb, so outside of the downtown core there is very little high rise. However, Emporis states that Bellevue has 24 buildings exceeding 200 feet, on par with Indy at 26 and Buffalo only has 15 exceeding 200 feet. I'll retract a little and water down the statement some rustbelt cities, but still not bad for suburb.
The view of Bellevue coming up I-405 north (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Be...cf5482ead00765) or from Lake Washington sort of incites a reaction of "that skyline is much bigger than what would be expected for a suburb of Seattle", by appearance it looks more striking than a city like Buffalo and I'd even venture to say Indy. All that said, underneath all that glass Bellevue is just a corporate suburb with good shopping, and the expected Ruth's Chris and PF Changs type restaurants.
Nice pic! I agree that it's an impressive suburb (and the watered down statement). Buffalo usually isn't considered as part of the Midwest, but being the size difference (among many other things) between Buffalo and Seattle it's not that surprising to me. For a typical Midwestern comparison (aka not Chicago), for me Bellevue is kind of to Seattle as Clayton is to St. Louis.
All very true. What's amazing about Belleview to me is that an 'any city' attractive suburb remade themselves into what they have. It's pretty damn impressive, and now a new rail line with underground stations is coming.
With buildings in the 45 story range and an increasingly urban form, Belleview's new Downtown is pretty unique for a suburb.
Quote:
Originally Posted by demonta4
Not really unique, plenty of suburbs have done this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JMatl
No, they haven't. Especially suburbs of newer cities, such as Seattle.
And most that have attempted to do so have not done it as well.
Bellevue does it pretty well, but I agree that it's not that unique or amazing.
Bellevue and Atlanta's Buckhead district seem to have a common destiny. Decades ago both were rather quiet and village-like; there was a much more intimate feel to them. In the 70s when I was grabbing a Coke at the Fruit Jungle in Buckhead Village, my husband was doing the same at the open-air Bellevue Square. Now both serve as the ' second downtown' of their respective cities.
I'd say Midtown is the "second downtown" of Atlanta.
I'd say Midtown is the "second downtown" of Atlanta.
Yeah, I think Midtown functions as more of a "second downtown" than Buckhead and with all the apartment development and corresponding amenities (lots of restaurants and bars), it's evolving into the city's true "work-live-play" district.
After reading through the comments so far, I would say that Scottsdale and to some extent Tempe upstage Phoenix is the most obvious. If you consider Ft. Worth to be a "suburb of Dallas (I don't)", then I think Ft. Worth upstages Dallas.
I will just add to my first comment about Bellevue that maybe instead of saying it upstages Seattle, it would be better to say it highly supplements the appeal of Seattle. I believe there are more people working in Bellevue than live there which makes it not really a suburb but more another city. Yes, it's a corporate center but I know many who prefer that.
Lastly I would say that all suburbs of Detroit upstage it....not a high bar.
Jacksonville, FL is probably an example here, with St. Augustine and the beach communities outshining downtown.
Jacksonville is definitely a good example when it comes to the beach communities (Jacksonville and Atlantic beaches in particular). I think St. Augustine might be too far flung to be considered a Jax suburb. When I lived in Jacksonville I never thought of St. Augustine as being part of the city.
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.
