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This has been discussed and alluded to multiple times, but it's a matter of looking at high-rise density versus street-level density.
Chicago is much more comparable to NYC for the former; Philadelphia for the latter. That will always be the objective distinction.
Agree. This was already discussed ad nauseum, and street-level density is actually a more realistic barometer of "urban feel" across the entire city IMO, which is why Philly overall has more of a similar feel to NYC (albeit on a much smaller scale) when you're considering the entire urban landscape.
Just because Chicago has more tall buildings and is bigger doesnt mean the vibe is similar. Its not.
Chicago doesn’t feel much like Boston either. I really think it’s more or less it’s own thing. Boston seems to have more compressed streets too imo but Chicago’s scale is on another tier.
Chicago for the CBD but Philly when taking into account the rest of the city. The Loop looks a lot like Midtown Manhattan sometimes with the wide avenues and urban canyons. When I see the L in Chicago I feel like that’s what Midtown would look like today if we kept the elevated trains.
Chicago for the CBD but Philly when taking into account the rest of the city. The Loop looks a lot like Midtown Manhattan sometimes with the wide avenues and urban canyons. When I see the L in Chicago I feel like that’s what Midtown would look like today if we kept the elevated trains.
The interesting thing here is, New York City couldn't wait to get rid of its elevated trains in Manhattan. The city dismantled the Third Avenue el without having its replacement subway on Second Avenue in place, and as a result overloaded the IRT East Side subway on Lexington Avenue. (And, of course, that Second Avenue subway remains mostly unfinished even now.)
In Chicago, OTOH, subways were a contentious subject. I once read a book on the history of "downtown" as an idea that included an editorial cartoon from Chicago in the 1920s that opposed subways as a way for downtown business interests to undermine the city's neighborhood business districts; it depicted a businessman wielding a "Loop Tube Magnet" that drew people from the city's periphery into the center.
And as a result, Chicago's "Initial System of Subways" — in reality, one subway tunnel through the Loop, under State Street — didn't open until the Depression, specifically, 1940, 36 years after New York unveiled its first subway line and 33 after Philadelphia's first subway tunnel opened under Market Street. A second subway tunnel, under Dearborn Street, would open in 1952. When I visited Chicago to do research for a high school paper on its architecture in 1974, the subject of additional subways to replace the Loop Elevated remained controversial — and, as should be clear now, the backers of the additional subways lost the argument.
As someone who has lived in Chicago and have traveled to NYC over hundreds of times due to job and have journeyed through all the boroughs this is how it goes:
NYC is a tier of its own. An energy of its own. It is the "capital city of the US."
That said Chicago is by far the closest, esp for a tourist or someone on business. I hear it all the time, right or wrong when people visit Chicago, "Its like NYC, but cleaner."
The average person is not into street densities, etc, but look at skyscrapers, restaurants, museums, theatre district, history, shopping all in a condensed area they can get around.
Chicago is the 2nd best downtown and without a doubt, the absolute best summer city in America with its festivals, beaches, etc.
Does that mean San Fran is not more desired? It is, so is LA, etc. COL and real estate much higher and both wonderful cities.
Philly neighborhoods are more like NYC, but most people do not venture off unless the live there and downtown Philly is far behind downtown Chicago.
Chicago doesn’t feel much like Boston either. I really think it’s more or less it’s own thing. Boston seems to have more compressed streets too imo but Chicago’s scale is on another tier.
I think Chicago has a lot of a Boston feel actually. The three flats, some of the wooden houses, the cleanliness, the big waterfront feature, and the segregation of the downtown area in comparison to some of the minority areas.
Massachoicetts isn't the first person from Bosotn I've heard say this, he's the 3rd or 4th- not including me.
As someone who has lived in Chicago and have traveled to NYC over hundreds of times due to job and have journeyed through all the boroughs this is how it goes:
NYC is a tier of its own. An energy of its own. It is the "capital city of the US."
That said Chicago is by far the closest, esp for a tourist or someone on business. I hear it all the time, right or wrong when people visit Chicago, "Its like NYC, but cleaner."
The average person is not into street densities, etc, but look at skyscrapers, restaurants, museums, theatre district, history, shopping all in a condensed area they can get around.
Chicago is the 2nd best downtown and without a doubt, the absolute best summer city in America with its festivals, beaches, etc.
Does that mean San Fran is not more desired? It is, so is LA, etc. COL and real estate much higher and both wonderful cities.
Philly neighborhoods are more like NYC, but most people do not venture off unless the live there and downtown Philly is far behind downtown Chicago.
Downtown Philly Felt Closer to Chicago than Manhattan to me- And I say Downtown because to me 80-85% of Manhattan feel like Downtown, not just Midtown.
Brownstone Brooklyn = Philadelphia Center City/Montreal hybrid
Queens = Toronto (outside the CBD)
Staten Island = Jacksonville
Nassau County = Orange County, CA
The rest? Uniquely NYC
Staten Island might be considered West Roxbury/Roslindale/Hyde Park in Boston. But mostly West Roxbury..for sure.
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