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Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Two peer cities. Which city has the better downtown, or urban core. Better bones? Also which has better potential for the future in it's urban downtown core? It's fair to discuss skyline.
Last edited by the resident09; 05-21-2020 at 01:32 PM..
Unfortunately-Pittsburgh and it irks me that that’s the car. Pittsburg felt like a smaller downtown Boston and I like it a lot. Way cleaner, more restaurants, walkable. To get what you get in Pittsburgh you have to go to Fells or Fed Hill or something.
It’s not really all that close. Baltimore has better bones but it is way to dangerous, no retail, very dirty, kind of bland, some disruptive arterial roads etc etc.
I've never been to Pittsburgh but once I became familiar with Baltimore, one of my first thoughts was "I bet Pittsburgh feels similar"....with the Black/White populations reversed.
Despite the small sample size, I'm surprised by the results so far. Pittsburgh's downtown is dense, old/historic (but no more so than Baltimore's) and architecturally interesting, but is nowhere near Baltimore's in terms of downtown living, 24/7 buzz/excitement, mass transit accessibility and, perhaps most notably, access to water (the Harborplace area is still viable, though the mall itself has declined, and Pittsburgh has absolutely no answer to B'more's 20-odd-year-old East Harbor development with massive, beautiful condos, apts, hotels (including a 32-story Marriott), trendy shops, a movie theater, restaurants and a 24-hour grocery store... among others). So many more people reside in downtown Baltimore, already, and many live in historic 2-century old row/town homes that Pittsburgh can't match ... at all. Pittsburgh, though better more recently, still is a bit of ghost town after hours, even on weekends.
Pittsburgh's downtown has the looks, but it needs more people. The Golden Triangle is a bit of an island as it tends to be cut off from the rest of the City (where most of the people live) by 2 of the massive 3 rivers and, also, but steep (near mountainous) hillsides both to downtown's east as well as to the South just beyond the Monongahela River.
Downtown Baltimore is packed with many more cultural activities (theater, symphony, museums, the fantastic National Aquarium, etc), while Pittsburgh's culture, save it's very nice theater district, resides 3 miles east in Oakland. Again, no comparison in my mind. To me this just reflects the usual C-D popularity contest, and Pittsburgh usually wins on these grounds in spades.
I've never been to Pittsburgh but once I became familiar with Baltimore, one of my first thoughts was "I bet Pittsburgh feels similar"....with the Black/White populations reversed.
Pretty damn accurate. But Pittsburgh is still better downtown.
Pretty damn accurate. But Pittsburgh is still better downtown.
Yeah I'm familiar with Pittsburgh's comeback story and knew it was in much better shape than Baltimore proper. I hope to visit one day soon, especially since it's not that far from DC.
Pretty damn accurate. But Pittsburgh is still better downtown.
Pittsburgh has a better skyline, and better vantage points, but I think Baltimore has a little more going on downtown than Pittsburgh. Baltimore has retail (though declining); I HATE what Harborplace has become, and the Gallery needs an overhaul. If you count Harbor East, and Harbor Point then Baltimore walks away with it.
Carson Street is definitely a jewel.
Heinz Field can the Steelers organization can fall into the river, though.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,164 posts, read 7,634,563 times
Reputation: 5811
Quote:
Originally Posted by KodeBlue
Pittsburgh has a better skyline, and better vantage points, but I think Baltimore has a little more going on downtown than Pittsburgh. Baltimore has retail (though declining); I HATE what Harborplace has become, and the Gallery needs an overhaul. If you count Harbor East, and Harbor Point then Baltimore walks away with it.
Carson Street is definitely a jewel.
Heinz Field can the Steelers organization can fall into the river, though.
Which would you say will be tops going forward? The next 10+ years.
Which would you say will be tops going forward? The next 10+ years.
Maybe Baltimore, only because downtown Pitt is landlocked. However, Baltimore has had many years to enhance their downtown, and they haven't.
I still think that Pittsburgh has the better downtown. It's not leaps and bounds ahead, but it is ahead. It's more aesthetically pleasing, and I think one of the more balanced downtown's in the country.
Which would you say will be tops going forward? The next 10+ years.
I would give Baltimore the slight edge. There are 2 surface parking lots remaining downtown, with 1 being along the waterfront on Pratt Street. The only thing that I don't think will really take off is retail; however, I think that brick & mortar retail is just the sign of the times. Also, Harbor East, Harbor Point and Downtown Baltimore will all eventually run into each other seamlessly.
It looks like Macy's in downtown Pittsburgh has closed. Big box retail is overall struggling.
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