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Detroit has/had plenty of blocks of monotonous tiny frame early 1900s 'cottages' and bland 40-50's frame bungalows, but Detroit also has a ton of excellent housing stock sprinkled all over the city. Districts like THIS and THIS and THIS, that don't have 'historic' designation, would be the most sought after houses in Sun-Belt cities; but in Detroit they are just 'nice' housing.
You deride the midwest cities for 'samey' feel houses, but aren't rowhouses 'samey'. They all look the same on a particular block for the most part, right? In Detroit, there is monotony, sure, but there are also so many, many blocks where every house is quite different from the rest. IMO, the housing styles of the late 1800s were copied all over the country too.
Yeah, neither Detroit or Cleveland is winning this regardless of street views. Doesn't mean much though. Both have great stock even if more of the ultra urban stuff has been torn down more than any other cities. And especially if you compare amenities vs. price point. ... and you may still get a small yard on top of it.
Yeah, neither Detroit or Cleveland is winning this regardless of street views. Doesn't mean much though. Both have great stock even if more of the ultra urban stuff has been torn down more than any other cities. And especially if you compare amenities vs. price point. ... and you may still get a small yard on top of it.
Tbh Cleveland has the best civic architecture of the bunch. But it’s residential vernacular is the worst probably. And there are a lot more houses than Severance Halls.
Tbh Cleveland has the best civic architecture of the bunch. But it’s residential vernacular is the worst probably. And there are a lot more houses than Severance Halls.
It's residential vernacular at the same time is also the most unique, even if it's ugly. You can't mistake a Cleveland double (which have mostly survived while the ultra urban blocks went the way of urban renewal in the 70s/80s).
You deride the midwest cities for 'samey' feel houses, but aren't rowhouses 'samey'. They all look the same on a particular block for the most part, right? In Detroit, there is monotony, sure, but there are also so many, many blocks where every house is quite different from the rest. IMO, the housing styles of the late 1800s were copied all over the country too.
Regardless, my point was more than anything by the early 20th century the local vernaculars were largely vanishing. Somewhere like Detroit has many fine detached brick houses, but for the most part they are variations on the common national styles of the time (American Foursquare and Bungalow in particular). They can make a nice neighborhood, but nothing screams "Detroit."
FWIW... if we are talking specifically about pre-war high rises and volume.. Cleveland has 12 above 200 ft. that are still standing from that time. I am not sure how the other cities in this discussion compare on that stat, but it wouldn't at all surprise me if that number ranks it in the Top 10 nationally, if not maybe globally.
FWIW... if we are talking specifically about pre-war high rises and volume.. Cleveland has 12 above 200 ft. that are still standing from that time. I am not sure how the other cities in this discussion compare on that stat, but it wouldn't at all surprise me if that number ranks it in the Top 10 nationally, if not maybe globally.
Pittsburgh has 10 on one street alone. The 4th Ave towers are in the 300 ft range and some are connected like rowhouses. There are countless others throughout downtown. This does not count others outside of downtown proper.
FWIW... if we are talking specifically about pre-war high rises and volume.. Cleveland has 12 above 200 ft. that are still standing from that time. I am not sure how the other cities in this discussion compare on that stat, but it wouldn't at all surprise me if that number ranks it in the Top 10 nationally, if not maybe globally.
Pittsburgh for sure has more as does Detroit. I’d have to look at St. Louis numbers, Baltimore would come last behind Cleveland. It’s skyscraper/high-rises on average are a lot younger than the rest of these cities despite it being historically older city.
FWIW... if we are talking specifically about pre-war high rises and volume.. Cleveland has 12 above 200 ft. that are still standing from that time. I am not sure how the other cities in this discussion compare on that stat, but it wouldn't at all surprise me if that number ranks it in the Top 10 nationally, if not maybe globally.
Pretty sure St. Louis, Detroit and Pittsburgh all have at least 12 pre-war highrises. Where are you looking for this info? According to Emporis, St. Louis has 13 highrises over 200 ft that were built before 1940 and still standing.
Pittsburgh-St. Louis-Baltimore tie
Detroit slightly below those cities, maybe in 5 years I’ll change my mind if enough areas fill up. Right now I feel like there aren’t a lot of really cohesive historic neighborhoods despite great individual buildings.
Cleveland slightly below Detroit.
That's basically how I would put it. Baltimore has a very impressive scale with miles upon miles of row houses. But, it has tons of abandonment, and a relatively unimpressive downtown. Pittsburgh is one of the most unique cities in the US with its rugged river valley topography. It certainly has its blight. But, in many ways it is the healthiest central city of the group. It probably the best skyline and has several intact walk able areas.
St Louis has a nice architectural legacy. But, I would rank it slightly behind the other two. It doesn't have the scale of Baltimore and it isn't quite as revitalized as Pittsburgh.
Cleveland and Detroit has some nice architecture downtown. But, they don't really have the old intact neighborhoods. If you are looking for Great Lakes architecture, Buffalo or Milwaukee (not to mention Chicago) have more intact historic residential districts.
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