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Just for the sake of argument, I'll give you Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro as "boring, bland, and sprawling." But certainly you can't apply the "boring" and "bland" labels to Asheville, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, the Outer Banks, etc. And while NoVA and VA Beach have their good points, they've got tons of sprawl.
Uh... Charlotte and Raleigh are definitely less bland and boring than Winston-Salem. To me it feels like their downtowns have caught up with Asheville and Wilmington in terms of nightlifey stuff.
Uh... Charlotte and Raleigh are definitely less bland and boring than Winston-Salem. To me it feels like their downtowns have caught up with Asheville and Wilmington in terms of nightlifey stuff.
Winston-Salem's downtown has a bit more historic urban fabric left than Charlotte and Raleigh, and of course you can't discount Old Salem nearby.
Winston-Salem's downtown has a bit more historic urban fabric left than Charlotte and Raleigh, and of course you can't discount Old Salem nearby.
I'm not knocking Winston-Salem. I like its downtown. Perhaps in the 90s such a statement might have been true. Now though? That needs some qualification. The difference in size between Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston is only becoming more noticeable over time. Also the assertion that it has more historic urban fabric than Charlotte might be true, but Raleigh? Raleigh has a good mix of old and new. Either way it certainly isn't more urban than either of the largest cities in the state. It is good for its size though.
I'm not knocking Winston-Salem. I like its downtown. Perhaps in the 90s such a statement might have been true. Now though? That needs some qualification.
How so? I don't think Winston-Salem has razed a lot of its historic buildings since the 90's.
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The difference in size between Charlotte, Raleigh, and Winston is only becoming more noticeable over time. Also the assertion that it has more historic urban fabric than Charlotte might be true, but Raleigh? Raleigh has a good mix of old and new. Either way it certainly isn't more urban than either of the largest cities in the state. It is good for its size though.
Well the historic buildings in Winston-Salem's urban core consist of both the commercial and industrial type, which reflects its history as one of the state's most important centers of industry. In that respect, Winston-Salem has always seemed like a mini-Richmond to me. I'm not saying that it's more urban than Charlotte or Raleigh, but only that it's probably a tad more structurally dense with more varying architecture, pound for pound.
Well the historic buildings in Winston-Salem's urban core consist of both the commercial and industrial type, which reflects its history as one of the state's most important centers of industry. In that respect, Winston-Salem has always seemed like a mini-Richmond to me. I'm not saying that it's more urban than Charlotte or Raleigh, but only that it's probably a tad more structurally dense with more varying architecture, pound for pound.
Structurally more dense? No; its downtown is less dense, and smaller. I would agree that it has more architectural variety than Charlotte--which to my eye doesn't appear to have any buildings older than the 1950s in its core. If it has any they're well tucked away. Winston-Salem and particularly Durham show more of an industrial history than Raleigh, but pound for pound, Raleigh has a similar amount of variety in its architecture.
Structurally more dense? No; its downtown is less dense, and smaller. I would agree that it has more architectural variety than Charlotte--which to my eye doesn't appear to have any buildings older than the 1950s in its core. If it has any they're well tucked away. Winston-Salem and particularly Durham show more of an industrial history than Raleigh, but pound for pound, Raleigh has a similar amount of variety in its architecture.
Smaller certainly, but to my eye it is just a tad more structurally dense than Charlotte's core (I'm less familiar with Raleigh's). That's not saying a whole lot though. Charlotte has a couple of older buildings in the core, but they just blend in with everything else. Some can be found here (along with some that have been lost): Charlotte High Rise Buildings
I'm not seeing the density that you speak of. Aerials don't tell the whole story, but I've been to WS plenty times, and there are only a few blocks of anything really. To its credit, the plans for a research park on the east side of downtown are excellent, and I think in the long run it'll do a great service to the city. I expect great things, and I know WS has done a better job keeping jobs downtown compared to its larger sister Greensboro. Raleigh and Charlotte merely have the advantage that one is the financial capital of the state, and the other is the political capital. Being the center of the state government has given Raleigh a more generous helping of historical structures than I think you're giving it credit for. There are lots of gems inside the beltline.
I think it compares favorably to the other cities in nc, and holds its own against Asheville and Wilmington, though I would not compare it to a city in Virginia. I know Virginians are very proud about their state's history. There's no denying that for most of its existence, Virginia was simply a larger and more important state and the cities reflect that inherited status.
I'm not seeing the density that you speak of. Aerials don't tell the whole story, but I've been to WS plenty times, and there are only a few blocks of anything really. To its credit, the plans for a research park on the east side of downtown are excellent, and I think in the long run it'll do a great service to the city. I expect great things, and I know WS has done a better job keeping jobs downtown compared to its larger sister Greensboro. Raleigh and Charlotte merely have the advantage that one is the financial capital of the state, and the other is the political capital. Being the center of the state government has given Raleigh a more generous helping of historical structures than I think you're giving it credit for. There are lots of gems inside the beltline.
I think it compares favorably to the other cities in nc, and holds its own against Asheville and Wilmington, though I would not compare it to a city in Virginia. I know Virginians are very proud about their state's history. There's no denying that for most of its existence, Virginia was simply a larger and more important state and the cities reflect that inherited status.
I'm not shortchanging Raleigh; as I stated, I'm less familiar with its downtown but I do know that it lacks the historic industrial buildings, which have larger footprints, that Winston-Salem has. But this Winston-Salem photo thread, while not comprehensive, conveys what I mean. While "boring" is subjective, I really can't see how someone can say that Winston-Salem's downtown is bland. It's actually somewhat on the gritty side in several places.
I'm not shortchanging Raleigh; as I stated, I'm less familiar with its downtown but I do know that it lacks the historic industrial buildings, which have larger footprints, that Winston-Salem has. But this Winston-Salem photo thread, while not comprehensive, conveys what I mean. While "boring" is subjective, I really can't see how someone can say that Winston-Salem's downtown is bland. It's actually somewhat on the gritty side in several places.
True. Raleigh doesn't have a strong history in the cancer producing industry like W-S and Durham. However, Raleigh does have a less historical warehouse district DT that is breathing new life. Citrix is renovating one of the warehouse blocks as a workplace for many hundreds of young engineers that the company is planning to hire in the next few years. While the warehouse district has always had its hidden jewels among what some might consider the only "gritty" part of DT, the Citrix site is going to be the first big player that will pump significant daily daytime life into the neighborhood.
That said, I don't think a lot of people realize what's been happening in Raleigh on the ground level in the last decade....even 5 years. There has been a tremendous amount of historic storefront preservation happening throughout downtown. Block after block, mid-Century facades are being removed from turn of the Century buildings: restoring them to their former and sometimes colorful glory. While the PNC tower has added one significant new tower to the skyline, the vast majority of what's been happening in DT Raleigh continues to occur at 15 floors and under with a mix of new (Nature Research Center) & renovation (Wilmington St corridor).
This thread has veered way off topic. If you NC folks would like to continue comparing NC cities, please do so in the NC forum. This thread is now closed.
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
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