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I've recently moved to Columbus and was wondering what cool walkable areas there are in the surrounding cities. Sort of like the Short North area here in Columbus, where there's a lot of unique stores, restaurants, and bars clustered in an urban setting. I was wondering if there was anything else like that in the Columbus area, and where in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Louisville, and Indianapolis they are. All those cities are easy weekend trips from here, and I wanted to check them all out at some point.
How would you rank these cities in terms of my criteria? I've added Columbus to the poll too, just to see how'd it fair compared to the others. I've excluded Chicago, since that's where I last lived, and it's also much larger than these cities.
I meant to add a poll, but I didn't realize I left the box unchecked when I hit submit :/
I've recently moved to Columbus and was wondering what cool walkable areas there are in the surrounding cities. Sort of like the Short North area here in Columbus, where there's a lot of unique stores, restaurants, and bars clustered in an urban setting. I was wondering if there was anything else like that in the Columbus area, and where in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Louisville, and Indianapolis they are. All those cities are easy weekend trips from here, and I wanted to check them all out at some point.
How would you rank these cities in terms of my criteria? I've added Columbus to the poll too, just to see how'd it fair compared to the others. I've excluded Chicago, since that's where I last lived, and it's also much larger than these cities.
I meant to add a poll, but I didn't realize I left the box unchecked when I hit submit :/
Louisville is the most similar to Columbus in that it has linear urban strips (High St vs baxter Ave/Bardstown Rd) and is a mid major city which is also a huge college/college sports city. Louisville also boasts east market, 4th street downtown, main street from 9th to campbell, washington st, and frankfort ave. Louisville's urban suburbs of downtown Jeffersonville and New Albany, IN are just as walkable as many urban neighborhoods in these other cities, particularly Indianapolis.
Others will disagree but for walkable urban strips, Indianapolis and Detroit are last.
Pittsburgh has by far the most urban and walkable feel. Cincinnati is getting closer but too run down in too many areas for now.
Cleveland boosters will scoff at this but Louisville and Columbus offer just as much urban walkable strips and much easier to navigate because they are more compact. They also have a younger, edgier feel as college towns. Overall, CLE offers more than them but it is just spread out more and can take 45 minutes to get from one cool area to another (more like 15 min in Columbus or Lville).
I'd rank them:
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Tie for the next three Columbus,Louisville, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh ranks first, Indianapolis is a distant last place. In Pittsburgh there is downtown, Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, and Lawrenceville is cool too. Cincy has Over the Rhine and others. Hyde Park Square is cool too.
Louisville is the most similar to Columbus in that it has linear urban strips (High St vs baxter Ave/Bardstown Rd) and is a mid major city which is also a huge college/college sports city. Louisville also boasts east market, 4th street downtown, main street from 9th to campbell, washington st, and frankfort ave. Louisville's urban suburbs of downtown Jeffersonville and New Albany, IN are just as walkable as many urban neighborhoods in these other cities, particularly Indianapolis.
Others will disagree but for walkable urban strips, Indianapolis and Detroit are last.
Pittsburgh has by far the most urban and walkable feel. Cincinnati is getting closer but too run down in too many areas for now.
Cleveland boosters will scoff at this but Louisville and Columbus offer just as much urban walkable strips and much easier to navigate because they are more compact. They also have a younger, edgier feel as college towns. Overall, CLE offers more than them but it is just spread out more and can take 45 minutes to get from one cool area to another (more like 15 min in Columbus or Lville).
I'd rank them:
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Tie for the next three Columbus,Louisville, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis.
Thank you, I've heard a lot of good things about Louisville. I may check it out first.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakeesha
Pittsburgh ranks first, Indianapolis is a distant last place. In Pittsburgh there is downtown, Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, and Lawrenceville is cool too. Cincy has Over the Rhine and others. Hyde Park Square is cool too.
Thanks for the response, are there other areas worth checking out in Cincinnati?
So far I know: Louisville: Baxter Ave/Bardstown Rd, east market, 4th street downtown, main street from 9th to campbell, washington st, and frankfort ave Pittsburgh: downtown, Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, and Lawrenceville Cincinnati: Over the Rhine
Thank you, I've heard a lot of good things about Louisville. I may check it out first.
Thanks for the response, are there other areas worth checking out in Cincinnati?
So far I know: Louisville: Baxter Ave/Bardstown Rd, east market, 4th street downtown, main street from 9th to campbell, washington st, and frankfort ave Pittsburgh: downtown, Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, and Lawrenceville Cincinnati: Over the Rhine
Pittsburgh also has the Strip District, East Carson in the South Side, Penn Avenue in Garfield/Bloomfield, Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield, and Shadyside with Ellsworth and Walnut Streets
Personally, German Village is my favorite neighborhood to walk around in Columbus. Commercial activity is more diffuse than Short North, with more random businesses scattered about rather than a main drag. But the streets are narrow, quaint, and paved in brick, and the housing style is like nowhere else I've seen in the country.
Elsewhere, in rough ranked order of cities:
Pittsburgh: Downtown, Strip District, Oakland, Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, South Side Flats, Bloomfield, Garfield, North Side, etc. And that's just the city, there's a good deal of suburban nodes too, like Mt. Lebanon, Dormont, Millvale, Sewickley, etc.
Cincinnati: Downtown. Over-The-Rhine is one neighborhood, but it's dense like an east coast city and none of the other nearby cities have anything like it. There are other areas of lower walkable density around the University of Cincinnati, Northside, Hyde Park, etc. Cross the river and check out Covington and Newport in Kentucky too.
Cleveland: Downtown, Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway, University Circle/Little Italy, Buckeye-Shaker. Lakewood if you want to include suburbs.
Louisville: Has a small but relatively well-preserved urban core. Downtown is the most walkable of course. After this is the area just to the wast of Downtown - the East Market District, or "NuLu" The Baxter Ave/Bardstown Road corridor has a lot of commercial vitality as well. Old Louisville, somewhat surprisingly, doesn't have a business district per se, even though it's full of old houses and sandwiched between two universities, but there are a lot of random businesses on corners and the like.
Detroit: There really is nothing left in the city which is walkable and worth exploring on foot other than Downtown/Midtown. There are suburban walkable nodes though like Hamtramck, Dearborn, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Birmingham, etc.
Indianapolis: Mostly just the downtown area - particularly going northwest up Massachusetts Avenue. Fountain Square has a bit of walkable vitality. Broad Ripple is a bit far out of the core, but has a lot going on. `
Personally, German Village is my favorite neighborhood to walk around in Columbus. Commercial activity is more diffuse than Short North, with more random businesses scattered about rather than a main drag. But the streets are narrow, quaint, and paved in brick, and the housing style is like nowhere else I've seen in the country.
Elsewhere, in rough ranked order of cities:
Pittsburgh: Downtown, Strip District, Oakland, Lawrenceville, East Liberty, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, South Side Flats, Bloomfield, Garfield, North Side, etc. And that's just the city, there's a good deal of suburban nodes too, like Mt. Lebanon, Dormont, Millvale, Sewickley, etc.
Cincinnati: Downtown. Over-The-Rhine is one neighborhood, but it's dense like an east coast city and none of the other nearby cities have anything like it. There are other areas of lower walkable density around the University of Cincinnati, Northside, Hyde Park, etc. Cross the river and check out Covington and Newport in Kentucky too.
Cleveland: Downtown, Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway, University Circle/Little Italy, Buckeye-Shaker. Lakewood if you want to include suburbs.
Louisville: Has a small but relatively well-preserved urban core. Downtown is the most walkable of course. After this is the area just to the wast of Downtown - the East Market District, or "NuLu" The Baxter Ave/Bardstown Road corridor has a lot of commercial vitality as well. Old Louisville, somewhat surprisingly, doesn't have a business district per se, even though it's full of old houses and sandwiched between two universities, but there are a lot of random businesses on corners and the like.
Detroit: There really is nothing left in the city which is walkable and worth exploring on foot other than Downtown/Midtown. There are suburban walkable nodes though like Hamtramck, Dearborn, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Birmingham, etc.
Indianapolis: Mostly just the downtown area - particularly going northwest up Massachusetts Avenue. Fountain Square has a bit of walkable vitality. Broad Ripple is a bit far out of the core, but has a lot going on. `
Pittsburgh ranks first, Indianapolis is a distant last place. In Pittsburgh there is downtown, Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, and Lawrenceville is cool too. Cincy has Over the Rhine and others. Hyde Park Square is cool too.
Also in Cincinnati, Mt. Adams is REALLY cool, trendy, Eastern-type (great high-up downtown, Ohio River and Kentucky views as well). Think D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood set on a steep hill.
Also, at the edge of Over-the-Rhine, check out Findlay Market. It was built in 1854 (I believe; too lazy to look up). The area around it is equally old, if not older, and the buildings are painted in bright funky colors. Its a little dead during the week but I understand is bustling on Saturdays -- typical of most big-city old markets. Cincy's new streetcar system stops right at Findlay Market's front door.
I'll add one for Pittsburgh -- you don't want to miss Mt. Washington. Its not as dense as the other Pittsburgh neighborhoods noted earlier that are east of Downtown, but there's nothing else like it in any of the cities, in terms of the views. Its not easy to walk to because of the steep hillside, but you can get there via public transit - just take the T subway from downtown to Station Square, and then hop on the Monongahela Incline which will take you up. In addition to the views on Grandview Ave, there is a small but walkable business district there too, plus some high end restaurants.
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