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This one again...and yet again, you don't have anything to counter my statement other to to name call, accuse trolling (trying to get posters banned).
Really, Center City Philly is currently vibrant? You must not live in Philly if you think CC is vibrant.
Why don't you simply make a counter-point to my post/s instead of childishly chiming in with another poster to ''warn'' him/her/they about my ''trolling''.
Sorry you don't like facts, also known as reality, because they don't fit your narrative. It's the pandemic, nothing about Philly to be sensitive about, don't take things so personally...but Center City is not currently vibrant by any means.
I was just in CC last Saturday at the Hard Rock Cafe, and it was as vibrant as ever. If you would've worded it as "Certain areas in CC still haven't recovered" instead of labeling CC as a whole as dead, Nobody would have a problem.
I find this so hard to believe. I’ve never seen anything close to Midtown Manhattan in the US.
Yeah..clearly hyperbole. NYC is still down a little without the commuters and international travelers. But by no objective measure is Nashville even remotely in the ballpark.
Thanks--I think so. A couple of cities maybe could be interchanged.
Also, if I did a #31 to #40, it stacks up like this--
40 Salt Lake City
39 Birmingham
38 Memphis
37 Louisville
36 Richmond
35 Phoenix
34 Tampa
33 Sacramento
32 Milwaukee
31 Denver
Have you guys actually been to these places? There’s no way Denver is out of the top 30. Even top 20 with many of the options that made the cut. Memphis shouldn’t be that low with how lively Beale Street is. SLC should at least be a little higher.
Last edited by Gfitz1010; 08-22-2021 at 01:18 PM..
Actually, the more I think about and look into what you wrote here, this is most likely the spot-on assessment.
You have the top 5, as you mentioned, and then a couple other big cities with close bustling centers. Then you have the vibrantly bustling downtowns in other tourist hotspot cities that also have "trickle down" vibrancy, as-a-result.
If I rank the top 30 in the US (up 20 from when I first did it a few posts back, upon further thought and consideration)--
30 Indianapolis
29 Detroit
28 St Louis
27 Cleveland
26 Houston
25 Dallas
24 Columbus
23 Charlotte
22 San Antonio
21 San Diego
20 Atlanta (midtown and downtown)
19 Cincinnati
18 Kansas City
17 Pittsburgh
16 Baltimore
15 Portland
14 Honolulu
13 Minneapolis
12 Austin
11 Nashville
10 New Orleans
9 Los Angeles
8 Miami (including Miami Beach)
7 Washington DC
6 Boston
5 Seattle
4 Philadelphia
3 San Francisco
2 Chicago
1 New York City
Why is Seattle in the top 5? I was there a few months ago and downtown seemed pretty empty (outside of Pike Place Market area obviously). Capitol Hill was far more vibrant and lively, and as far as I know, that is not considered to be downtown.
Also, Detroit should at least be ahead of Columbus. There's a few cute businesses in downtown Columbus, but it's mostly a 9 to 5 kind of place. The adjacent Short North is far more vibrant. Downtown Detroit I think includes Greektown, which was absolutely bustling.
Why is Seattle in the top 5? I was there a few months ago and downtown seemed pretty empty (outside of Pike Place Market area obviously). Capitol Hill was far more vibrant and lively, and as far as I know, that is not considered to be downtown.
Also, Detroit should at least be ahead of Columbus. There's a few cute businesses in downtown Columbus, but it's mostly a 9 to 5 kind of place. The adjacent Short North is far more vibrant. Downtown Detroit I think includes Greektown, which was absolutely bustling.
Why is Seattle in the top 5? I was there a few months ago and downtown seemed pretty empty (outside of Pike Place Market area obviously). Capitol Hill was far more vibrant and lively, and as far as I know, that is not considered to be downtown.
Also, Detroit should at least be ahead of Columbus. There's a few cute businesses in downtown Columbus, but it's mostly a 9 to 5 kind of place. The adjacent Short North is far more vibrant. Downtown Detroit I think includes Greektown, which was absolutely bustling.
I agree on Seattle. I love the city and it has a vibrant downtown, but not as much as Boston or Washington DC. I’d put Seattle at 7th, ahead of Miami and behind DC.
I was just in CC last Saturday at the Hard Rock Cafe, and it was as vibrant as ever. If you would've worded it as "Certain areas in CC still haven't recovered" instead of labeling CC as a whole as dead, Nobody would have a problem.
Wow, inside the Hard Rock Cafe was ''vibrant''...oh boy. No kidding. Nice to know people still go to Hard Rock Cafes...is there a '90s retro thing going on?
If you would actually read posts instead of being triggered by seeing certain posters you wouldn't have to try and back peddle. There are pockets of activity this summer, just like last year. I said 12th-13th/Sansom, so I guess the corner of 12th/Market inside the Hard Rock Cafe is vibrant...got it.
I also asked if ''vibrant'' means going out to bars? You know, places like The Hard Rock Cafe...no one responded because people are going into bars/restaurants this summer but to me that doesn't make a downtown ''vibrant'' and certainly not when most of these businesses still close early.
The outdoor restaurants on 18th street, and up-n-down Samson, Old City 2nd Street on weekends etc have nice crowds, until about 9pm or so.
Sorry, CC is not vibrant and I've asked to compare downtowns in March 2020 to August 2021...let alone August 2019, but there's no comparison.
I also suggested that this thread topic would, hopefully, be more appropriate next summer. When I came across it, I assumed it was an old thread...vibrant downtowns?...but was actually just started. Seems the sunbelt downtowns are good but not up north/midwest/northeast...and places like Portland OR (was actually out there this month as well but only to pass through the airport and drive to Eugene. Not sure what present say downtown Seattle is like though.
Our gift from China keeps on giving though so hopefully we'll see the return of pre-COVID vibrancy in our legacy cities, including Philly. All these downtowns, including Philly were very vibrant on the streets, traffic, transit, great hustle-n-bustle.
I see you backed-off the ''troll that doesn't live in Philly to be taken with a grain of salt'' and ''hogwash'' lines though. ''Taken with a grain of salt?"...uh, pot-meet-kettle.
The thing about Nashville that I've realized is different than almost every city its similar size, is that the big things "to do" and where "all the action is" is centered mostly downtown, or stretching to the midtown areas.
Nashville planning has done a great job in focusing new development downtown, (or midtown) and making Nashville pretty dense, compared to the vast majority of its sunbelt peers.
Most cities with downtowns similar size to Nashville will have a 1/3rd of the consistent foot traffic that Nashville has. Most of this is fueled by the tourism, but that has also allowed the city to capitalize and build on this, by bringing in other investments into downtown to further boost crowds, vibrancy and activity.
Like major corporate HQs, destination shopping (Apple, Whole Foods, etc), destination museums, celebrity-branded multi-level live music bars, and sports.
The Predator's arena (Bridgestone Arena) is right in the heart of where the bars, restaurants, hotels, museums, shopping and entertainment sits. Everything focuses in on this area, and while the tourist crowds are really the nuts and bolts of Nashville's downtown vibrancy and crowds of people.
The thing about this district in Nashville is that most any day of the week, any time of the day before say, 1 or 2am, there will be nonstop foot traffic consistently, and dense foot traffic.
This pans out into other areas of downtown and midtown, and while of course there are many "dead zones," on the whole, Nashville's downtown is easily in the top 10 busiest in the US.
If I had to rank the US downtowns, mine would go something like this:
10 New Orleans
9 Nashville
8 Washington, DC
7 Seattle
6 Miami Beach
5 Boston
4 Philadelphia (center city)
3 San Francisco
big gap
2 Chicago
huge gap
1 New York City
Wow this thread is a train wreck, but I generally agree with this grouping.
There is a lot of talk about Nashville... I've been 5 times since 2018 (stayed 2-4 nights each time, for work). It is a cute city, definitely has energy, but not in the same league as legacy downtowns (NYC, Chicago, SF, Philly, DC, etc.). A bulk of the energy is largely confined to a rather small radius. It's missing that extra big city vibrancy element found in the other mentioned cities. I would still give Nashville honorable mention, especially for its size (although growing fast). Just basing this off my experiences.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MPK21
This one again...and yet again, you don't have anything to counter my statement other to to name call, accuse trolling (trying to get posters banned).
Really, Center City Philly is currently vibrant? You must not live in Philly if you think CC is vibrant.
.
I agree with Ashby, you post a lot about Philadelphia (exclusively negative). I am actually heading to Philadelphia next weekend, staying at the new W. I will report back on my vibrancy experiences.
P.S. I live in Manhattan and explore the various parts of NYC every weekend, it is plenty vibrant. I don't know where people get their info about New York...
Quote:
Originally Posted by AshbyQuin
I was just in CC last Saturday at the Hard Rock Cafe, and it was as vibrant as ever. If you would've worded it as "Certain areas in CC still haven't recovered" instead of labeling CC as a whole as dead, Nobody would have a problem.
Yea, I don't know what their deal is. My parents were in Center City 3 weeks ago (late afternoon till about 10) and said they had a wonderful time and things felt largely normal...
And as I said above, I will there in a week, I am excited, and will of course report back
Last edited by cpomp; 08-22-2021 at 01:52 PM..
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