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Havent been to Chicago since last June actually (will be back for ASCO again)
I used to spend a ton of time in Chciago, at least once a month or so for about 8 years from the late 90s to mid 2000s with a one year hiatus mostly in the Bay area. Am usually there 2-3 times a year since (usually try to get out at least one long weekend for fun every year and am typically there for work once or twice a year now) just not this past year
I guess maybe a little bit but dont see it as much as you or them, maybe its me. That said I really love Chciago so to me its not a bad thing on any level
And my comparison of CC or Rittenhouse to Manhattan was not to midtown, the Loop and I guess parts of the Mag Mile can feel a little like midtown scaled down - again not a bad thing I love Chicago for being Chicago
I am with you on this, Having lived in both Manhattan and Chicago, I don't find the core of Chicago to be all that similar to Manhattan. There are blocks in the loop that may resemble parts of Midtown, but there are too many giveaways that it is not NYC. River North doesn't really feel like anything in Manhattan to me personally, maybe certain blocks sort of look like Chelsea? I actually think the North/Damen/Milwaukee intersection in Wicker Park has a East Village/Lower East Side feel to it.
In my opinion, Philly is closest in feel to NYC, and it should be, considering it is ~70 miles away.
For the record, no city should make it a goal to "feel" like NYC, Chicago and Philly are both great cities on their own!
Havent been to Chicago since last June actually (will be back for ASCO again)
I used to spend a ton of time in Chciago, at least once a month or so for about 8 years from the late 90s to mid 2000s with a one year hiatus mostly in the Bay area. Am usually there 2-3 times a year since (usually try to get out at least one long weekend for fun every year and am typically there for work once or twice a year now) just not this past year
I guess maybe a little bit but dont see it as much as you or them, maybe its me. That said I really love Chciago so to me its not a bad thing on any level
And my comparison of CC or Rittenhouse to Manhattan was not to midtown, the Loop and I guess parts of the Mag Mile can feel a little like midtown scaled down - again not a bad thing I love Chicago for being Chicago
That's cool..I like it here a lot. It's fun, *especially* in the summer. By the way, are you familiar with this triangular park around the Rush & Chestnut intersections (near the Sofitel Hotel)? They are putting a greenhouse type of tea house in the middle, but it will still maintain its "public park" status. Being built right now and the structure is in place now. Will be interesting to see what happens with it. This is from 2011 when they unleashed plans to do it:
That's cool..I like it here a lot. It's fun, *especially* in the summer. By the way, are you familiar with this triangular park around the Rush & Chestnut intersections (near the Sofitel Hotel)? They are putting a greenhouse type of tea house in the middle, but it will still maintain its "public park" status. Being built right now and the structure is in place now. Will be interesting to see what happens with it. This is from 2011 when they unleashed plans to do it:
I am with you on this, Having lived in both Manhattan and Chicago, I don't find the core of Chicago to be all that similar to Manhattan. There are blocks in the loop that may resemble parts of Midtown, but there are too many giveaways that it is not NYC. River North doesn't really feel like anything in Manhattan to me personally, maybe certain blocks sort of look like Chelsea? I actually think the North/Damen/Milwaukee intersection in Wicker Park has a East Village/Lower East Side feel to it.
In my opinion, Philly is closest in feel to NYC, and it should be, considering it is ~70 miles away.
For the record, no city should make it a goal to "feel" like NYC, Chicago and Philly are both great cities on their own!
I guess sort of see that, like that area though regardless. Kitchy shopping, some great brunch spots too
That area to me feels like the closest resemblance to Philly actually in Chicago FWIW. El and everything
But on this comparison I like Chciago for what it is, wouldnt change it personally
I am with you on this, Having lived in both Manhattan and Chicago, I don't find the core of Chicago to be all that similar to Manhattan. There are blocks in the loop that may resemble parts of Midtown, but there are too many giveaways that it is not NYC. River North doesn't really feel like anything in Manhattan to me personally, maybe certain blocks sort of look like Chelsea? I actually think the North/Damen/Milwaukee intersection in Wicker Park has a East Village/Lower East Side feel to it.
In my opinion, Philly is closest in feel to NYC, and it should be, considering it is ~70 miles away.
For the record, no city should make it a goal to "feel" like NYC, Chicago and Philly are both great cities on their own!
Exactly. Chicago feels nothing like NYC. Two great American cities, but completely different
There's nothing really exactly like NYC in the U.S., but Philly probably comes closest in overall feel. Even here, you would have no problem finding big differences.
But Chicago isn't just big differences, it's a totally different typology from the Northeast cities. Developed later, and with a different feel from NYC, Philly, Boston, and DC.
Yeah, 8 years and I don't remember locations of places of most cities I visited back then(back then I didn't care that much).
When was the last time you were in Chicago? Yeah River North not so much...parts of the Gold Coast are Manhattan-esque definitely. My mom grew up there and my Uncle in Queens and the comment in a few areas from both was that it reminded them of areas of Manhattan. Not 100% but they definitely expressed it out loud. There are parts near me in the Gold Coast (really the southern portion that is not like the rest of the area) where I've heard a few tourists out loud say "I feel like we're in Brooklyn right now" but that's not Manhattan
My girlfriend's friends from Manhattan were also in town a few months ago and twice her friend spaced out and remarked "Weird, for a minute I thought I was in midtown." I mean Manhattan is a big place...not all of it is the same as we all know. There are definitely areas though that IMO are similar to a few areas of Manhattan within Chicago.
I mean, opinions are opinions, so I can't say you're "wrong", but I don't get this. I don't see how the Gold Coast in Chicago would resemble Manhattan, outside of tall buildings. Ok, maybe from a plane, or speeding by on Lake Shore Drive, but no way if you walked the streets. Chicago has alleys everywhere, wider streets, those big parking garage bases in all the tall buildings. It just has a totally different streetscape, vibe and density level.
And the tall buildings don't look anything alike. NYC a much higher proportion of prewars, water towers everywhere, and more recent starchitect-type construction, Chicago has a much higher proportion of postwars and kind of slab-on-base design. The Chicago blocks are much bigger and are basically squares, and buildings in Chicago are very rarely built right next to other buildings, as in NYC. Everything in NYC is very "tight", and they're maximizing every square inch; in Chicago the land values are lower and space isn't at a relative premium.
And Brooklyn doesn't remind me of anything in Chicago either. Lakeview/Lincoln Park/Wicker Park would be the demographic equivalents of Brooklyn, but they look totally different. No one could mistake Williamsburg for Wicker Park or Park Slope for Lincoln Park. Too different in appearance, IMO.
^ Almont, MOST of Chicago is not like NYC but there are parts. Yes, opinion is opinion, and although I've visited NYC a number of times, I tend to listen to people who actually currently live there or grew up there. When someone I'm with who actually lives in Manhattan and grew up there her whole life, then spaces out and says "Weird, I thought I was in midtown for a minute" and then remarks again how another part reminds her of a small part of Manhattan....although I've been there a number of times, her opinion trumps mine any second of the year.
But yes, I don't think anybody would disagree that most of Chicago is not like NYC, because it's not. It just is similar in a part here and there.
^ Almont, MOST of Chicago is not like NYC but there are parts. Yes, opinion is opinion, and although I've visited NYC a number of times, I tend to listen to people who actually currently live there or grew up there. When someone I'm with who actually lives in Manhattan and grew up there her whole life, then spaces out and says "Weird, I thought I was in midtown for a minute" and then remarks again how another part reminds her of a small part of Manhattan....although I've been there a number of times, her opinion trumps mine any second of the year.
Ok, you're right that opinions are opinions, but I still don't see it.
Yes, Grandma from Kalamazoo might say Detroit reminds her of, say, LA, because they both have tall buildings and freeways, and the like, but I don't think anyone who considers themselves an urbanist would say this is an objective or useful opinion.
IMO It's just Aunt Sally saying "it looks like New York" because she sees highrises, and crowds, and they don't have those things in Naperville. It's like a family member of mine claiming the Venetian Casino was the exact same as Venice, or hearing that those suburban "new urbanist" retail centers are "just like a big city".
Your points are moot unless you know who's saying it. There are exceptions to everything in the world. Bringing them up doesn't apply to every or even most situations. Opinions are opinions. Leave it at that. I trust my friends who grew up and live in Manhattan. Nobody EVER said that Chicago is like NYC. It was that a part here and there is similar. There's a difference between thinking a 2 block radius is like NYC and thinking an entire neighborhood is like NYC.
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