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How did I know you were going to bring up pikes place LOL, it's basically a small strip of 2 blocks, and yes I've been there one too many times, not impressed. Funny how you bring up Vancouver as a place that's sterile, Vancouver puts Seattle to shame in vibrancy, urban environment, and funkiness, anyone who's been to both knows which of the 2 is the star. So sure stick to the southwest corner of Seattle if you want, but you're talking to someone who lives in Seattle, a place I call sterile for the most part
I don't want to be rude, but do you think it may be time to leave Seattle? Also, have you spent any time outside of the West Coast? After spending most of my life in Tampa, Charlotte, and Denver, and traveling a ton (especially to major peripheral Sunbelt cities), I can tell you that there are many medium-major cities in the US that are far more generic and definitely not as vibrant. After reading some of your posts, my take is that you're over Washington. I'm not passing judgment, just making an observation. If you just limit your definition to downtown as where the skyscrapers are, I suppose it's not exciting. But that's the case with a lot of cities (for example, I visit our NYC office in the Financial District several times a year, and it's pretty sterile) so I usually expand my definition to include peripheral neighborhoods.
In any case, given the cities I've visited around this country, there's absolutely no way that I'd consider Seattle among the top ten in this category, especially if you consider the surrounding areas. Heck, the livelihood of Pike Place alone blows away 90% downtowns in this country. Sure, it's a touristy area, but most major cities would kill to have that level of shopping and pedestrian activity in one place. Not trying to be rude, but I encourage you to do more traveling, and move to a new place. There's grass on the other side of the fence, but it may not be as green as you'd imagine....
The reason Seattle might feel sterile is because a lot of the new midrises it's building are ugly as sin like this one:
That's probably the reason why it gives off a sterile feel. Quite honestly, I've never really been a fan of Northwest post-modern architecture.
Ironically enough, the region with the least urban cities may have some of the best infill projects in the country right now: The Southeast, particularly North Carolina, but even Atlanta has some decent urban infill.
The reason Seattle's midrises may look ugly is because developers are trying as quickly as I can to pump out as many apartments as possible to take advantage of the huge economic expansion Seattle is experiencing before ultimately the real estate cycle ends.
That shot is about 4 or 5 miles North of downtown, on Roosevelt not too far from a future subway station. It's arguably the most sterile stretch in the city. Downtown Seattle does have some pretty sterile areas as well though, but it also has plenty of areas that are not. Pioneer Square, the International District, Pike Place Market area, and parts of Belltown are definitely not sterile. And most of Capitol Hill and Lower Queen Anne (not technically downtown, but adjacent) are not sterile either. It's a mix. Overall, I agree that Downtown Vancouver is more urban and vibrant than Downtown Seattle but I do think it's also
more sterile.
Speaking of sticking to a confined area - all of these streetviews are in the Denny Triangle or South Lake Union, the two most sterile sections of Downtown. Both of those areas were sparse and/or industrial until very recently so they have almost no character or soul. But they are definitely not the heart of Downtown at all. Pioneer Square, the ID, West Edge, Pike Place, Belltown, even Westlake - these areas are not sterile, and there are sections that are gritty. I'm not saying it's like SF or Philly; but Seattle does not belong in a top 5 list of most sterile downtowns. It just doesn't.
I don't want to be rude, but do you think it may be time to leave Seattle? Also, have you spent any time outside of the West Coast? After spending most of my life in Tampa, Charlotte, and Denver, and traveling a ton (especially to major peripheral Sunbelt cities), I can tell you that there are many medium-major cities in the US that are far more generic and definitely not as vibrant. After reading some of your posts, my take is that you're over Washington. I'm not passing judgment, just making an observation. If you just limit your definition to downtown as where the skyscrapers are, I suppose it's not exciting. But that's the case with a lot of cities (for example, I visit our NYC office in the Financial District several times a year, and it's pretty sterile) so I usually expand my definition to include peripheral neighborhoods.
In any case, given the cities I've visited around this country, there's absolutely no way that I'd consider Seattle among the top ten in this category, especially if you consider the surrounding areas. Heck, the livelihood of Pike Place alone blows away 90% downtowns in this country. Sure, it's a touristy area, but most major cities would kill to have that level of shopping and pedestrian activity in one place. Not trying to be rude, but I encourage you to do more traveling, and move to a new place. There's grass on the other side of the fence, but it may not be as green as you'd imagine....
I am actually quite content with the metro area, I love the natural setting of the area along with the weather, no honestly the area has many wonderful attributes to it, even COL is decent for all the amenities you get, unfortunately I was left underwhelmed by Seattle the city itself. The city to me at least, lacks an edge, hidden gems, street art, diversity in both retail and demographics, nightlife, mid to lower end priced ethnic cuisine, soul/culture, and only getting worse with all the new bland construction. I am not saying that Seattle is devoid of these things, but to me it lacks them and the same can be said of many cities across the country getting the same type of bland/generic/soulless however Seattle has so little of it's grit left to give while other cities have enough to not look and feel as sterile even with the same type of construction. Not sure if I made any sense but that is my reason for listing Seattle as having a sterile downtown.
Speaking of sticking to a confined area - all of these streetviews are in the Denny Triangle or South Lake Union, the two most sterile sections of Downtown. Both of those areas were sparse and/or industrial until very recently so they have almost no character or soul. But they are definitely not the heart of Downtown at all. Pioneer Square, the ID, West Edge, Pike Place, Belltown, even Westlake - these areas are not sterile, and there are sections that are gritty. I'm not saying it's like SF or Philly; but Seattle does not belong in a top 5 list of most sterile downtowns. It just doesn't.
I am actually quite content with the metro area, I love the natural setting of the area along with the weather, no honestly the area has many wonderful attributes to it, even COL is decent for all the amenities you get, unfortunately I was left underwhelmed by Seattle the city itself. The city to me at least, lacks an edge, hidden gems, street art, diversity in both retail and demographics, nightlife, mid to lower end priced ethnic cuisine, soul/culture, and only getting worse with all the new bland construction. I am not saying that Seattle is devoid of these things, but to me it lacks them and the same can be said of many cities across the country getting the same type of bland/generic/soulless however Seattle has so little of it's grit left to give while other cities have enough to not look and feel as sterile even with the same type of construction. Not sure if I made any sense but that is my reason for listing Seattle as having a sterile downtown.
Fair enough, life is often about dealing with expectations and I could see how the hype around Seattle exceeded what you found when you moved there. Having spent a decent amount time there on and off in the last three decades, I would agree that Seattle has lost a lot of it's grittiness from the past, though gentrification was likely inevitable. But the contour of the land, the water, the hills, the mountains in the distance, some iconic architecture, the distinct neighborhoods and colorful history all add up to much more of a sense of place than many cities in this country.
And again, I didn't mean to jab. But it just seems like on other posts you wish you were still in CA, and some of the criticisms seem particularly harsh, related to other places. I mean, if you think Seattle and Portland's Downtowns are lacking, I would seriously be surprised if you found OKC to be stimulating due to Bricktown, or even view Capitol Hill in Denver as being more of a vibrant neighborhood than Capitol Hill in Seattle.
Of course, no one's really right on this subjective this type of poll. And maybe you are just talking strictly about the downtown, which makes a difference. FWIW, though, I agree completely with your reviewed "poster's choice" Top 5 list. There are plenty of sterile downtown cores around the country, and many generic midrises going up in growing cities- though Seattle may be leading the pack in that category. Still, I'd take those new developments with a backdrop of old neighborhoods, multiple mountain ranges and ferries in Puget Sound over cornfields any day of the week.
Fair enough, life is often about dealing with expectations and I could see how the hype around Seattle exceeded what you found when you moved there. Having spent a decent amount time there on and off in the last three decades, I would agree that Seattle has lost a lot of it's grittiness from the past, though gentrification was likely inevitable. But the contour of the land, the water, the hills, the mountains in the distance, some iconic architecture, the distinct neighborhoods and colorful history all add up to much more of a sense of place than many cities in this country.
And again, I didn't mean to jab. But it just seems like on other posts you wish you were still in CA, and some of the criticisms seem particularly harsh, related to other places. I mean, if you think Seattle and Portland's Downtowns are lacking, I would seriously be surprised if you found OKC to be stimulating due to Bricktown, or even view Capitol Hill in Denver as being more of a vibrant neighborhood than Capitol Hill in Seattle.
Of course, no one's really right on this subjective this type of poll. And maybe you are just talking strictly about the downtown, which makes a difference. FWIW, though, I agree completely with your reviewed "poster's choice" Top 5 list. There are plenty of sterile downtown cores around the country, and many generic midrises going up in growing cities- though Seattle may be leading the pack in that category. Still, I'd take those new developments with a backdrop of old neighborhoods, multiple mountain ranges and ferries in Puget Sound over cornfields any day of the week.
I agree with everything you said, Seattle does not belong in the top 5 for sure, the texture of the land and backdrop cannot be replicated anywhere else, I really do wish I had known Seattle in the 90's, with the new resurgence of downtowns throughout the country it's inevitable that this so called "blandening/genericism"() of downtowns will be a recurring theme.
You can modernize the interior while still keeping the original or historical looking exterior. Unfortunately this is what they are doing to A LOT of SF's older Victorian and Edwardians homes.
This is a newer high rise that kept the original façade of an historic building and built a new tower in the middle. So it's new with all the amenities including a rooftop pool but at the street level maintains that historic character. Electra San Diego | Electra Condos
If DC doesn't have a lot of older buildings to rehab/renovate like the above then of course it really has no choice but to go with brand new construction all around and it is what it is. That's fine you prefer modern, a lot of people do, but a lot of people do find too much of it in one place sterile. It's kind of the urban/city version of the "cookie cutter subdivision" in a way.
Are you talking about heat from "radiators"? Radiant heat is actually something more likely to find in newer buildings. I'm not sure why you would be against radiant heat as it's very sleek seeing as it's built in the floor and very efficient.
I would have repped you for just about everything you wrote here but I'm already maxxed out on reps to you!
Here in Atlanta, there is a vigorous & emerging stock of new & repurposed residential housing available or under construction or planned in the more dense & urban intown districts.
A common complaint with many of the newer residential mid-rise & high rises though is that they are boringly bland & largely look the same in what they present to the street. Thus the sterile label applies to them all too often even though they theoretically represent the emergernce of a repopulated and more lively & vibrant intown Atlanta.
I agree with everything you said, Seattle does not belong in the top 5 for sure, the texture of the land and backdrop cannot be replicated anywhere else, I really do wish I had known Seattle in the 90's, with the new resurgence of downtowns throughout the country it's inevitable that this so called "blandening/genericism"() of downtowns will be a recurring theme.
You posed an interesting premise here in wishing that you could have known Seattle in the 1990's.
As a lover of several major urban settings in the U.S., I have regularly wished that I could travel back "x" number of decades to experience various cities, some of which today are sadly lacking and some of which are generally held up as colorful or vibrant or having great urban bones & fabric.
Although it may surprise some posters here, among the "great" cities of today, I truly would love to step back in time to San Francisco & Boston to experience them before the postwar teardowns of neighborhoods began or large boxy towers began to rise in their skylines after WW2. Even in the great cities, there is plenty that has been lost
I see a lot of people posting PHX, but in actuality, PHX's downtown is quite lively. More so than most people believe. We have the PHX Suns, AZ Diamondbacks, lots of dining establishments, several museums, light rail, businesses, several hotels, and parks downtown. Not to mention ASU and U of A have campuses downtown as well.
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, no honestly the area has many wonderful attributes to it, even COL is decent for all the amenities you get, unfortunately I was left underwhelmed by Seattle the city itself. The city to me at least, lacks an edge, hidden gems, street art, diversity in both retail and demographics, nightlife, mid to lower end priced ethnic cuisine, soul/culture, and only getting worse with all the new bland construction. I am not saying that Seattle is devoid of these things, but to me it lacks them and the same can be said of many cities across the country getting the same type of bland/generic/soulless however Seattle has so little of it's grit left to give while other cities have enough to not look and feel as sterile even with the same type of construction. Not sure if I made any sense but that is my reason for listing Seattle as having a sterile downtown.
) of downtowns will be a recurring theme.
Top 5 sterile...
