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Charleston is vastly different from Wheeling. Wheeling has a lot more solid architecture and is essentially Midwestern in character. Charleston is removed from the mountains, which are about an hour to the east of there. In that sense it is similar to Wheeling. Both towns are surrounded by foothills. Asheville and Morgantown are adjacent to the mountains. Charleston is probably most similar to Huntington on the list, but those towns are different too. Huntington has more Midwestern Appalachian character than does Charleston, which is more southern Appalachian.
Cumberland is larger than you might suppose, and has lovely Victorian architecture similar to Wheeling. Although Charleston does have an old money section of brick homes, it does not predominate the architecture of the city as it does in Wheeling or Cumberland.
Well none of the cities are a perfect fit. Charleston is pretty unique for what it has given its size and location. It does have character. Given the list though it does have the most common with the other Appalachian cities especially Huntington and Cumberland. It isn't perfect but they are the most. Wheeling should come in third.
Lynchburg is old money waspy VA blue bloods that now has an influx of transient types to move into the booming NOVA area, enot much in common with Charleston. It is also very southetn in attitude but not in an appalachian way buy more of the richmond wealthy southern type mentality.
Asheville is a hip touristy city full of art deco and creative types, and hippies, not Charleston at all. It has more in common with parts of morgantown where students and professors live.
Pittsburgh is a northern Appalachian industry city. Its character is nothing like Charleston.
Charleston is very southern Appalachian and mostly blue collar with some rich lobbyist type and politicians, and a good educated population for WV. For its size and location it offers alot.
Last edited by cry_havoc; 11-04-2013 at 12:49 PM..
You are entitled to an opinion but that doesn't mean it is right.
My brother lives in Asheville. I visit frequently. It is NOTHING like charleston. Like you said both places have mountains similiarities stop there. Uaing youe logic every town and city in WV is like Asheville. Maybe we should throw Charleston SC on the list too they both have the same name.
You living in charleston is irrelevant. It isnt like lynchburg or pittsburgh either. You see charleston in a light nobody else really sees it in you need to realize that.
Actually i just realized that i was mixing cumberland with oakland. Charleston is VERY similiar to cumberland just bigger with a state capital. Ill agree to that. Cumberland is the best comparison although huntington and wheeling arent bad.
Well your brother may live in Asheville, but you have admitted yourself that you have very little experience in Charleston. Both downtowns and surrounding areas have a similar feel, sorry you can't see that. Asheville is probably a tad bit more liberal, and Charleston is probably a tad bit more industrial, but both cities overall have a similar feel. I do agree however that its not a perfect match, but to be honest none of these cities are.
How is Charleston not like Pittsburgh? both industrial, blue color, "Northern Appalachian", both cities have similar topography, similar suburban makeup, similar architecture, etc... Plus most Charlestonians root for Pittsburgh teams, and travel to Pittsburgh for business and leisure. Charleston even looks lie a small scale Pittsburgh!
Lynchburg isn't that far off, but again not a perfect match, as is any of these cities. Huntington is kinda similar, Cumberland not so much, and Wheeling is more like Pittsburgh. Be be honest, a combination of Wheeling and Charleston would be a lot like Pittsburgh.
Well your brother may live in Asheville, but you have admitted yourself that you have very little experience in Charleston. Both downtowns and surrounding areas have a similar feel, sorry you can't see th . Asheville is probably a tad bit more liberal, and Charleston is probably a tad bit mofoesnustrial, but both cities overall have a similar feel. I do agree however that its not a perfect match, but to be honest none of these cities are.
How is Charleston not like Pittsburgh? both industrial, blue color, "Northern Appalachian", both cities have similar topography, similar suburban makeup, similar architecture, etc... Plus most Charlestonians root for Pittsburgh teams, and travel to Pittsburgh for business and leisure. Charleston even looks lie a small scale Pittsburgh!
Lynchburg isn't that far off, but again not a perfect match, as is any of these cities. Huntington is kinda similar, Cumberland not so much, and Wheeling is more like Pittsburgh. Be be honest, a combination of Wheeling and Charleston would be a lot like Pittsburgh.
Downtown Asheville is nothing like downtown Charleston. It is much more vibrant and lively. They both have older buildings but the style is different. I don't see any real similarities. Asheville is full of hipsters, hippies, artist, yuppies, and rich people going there for a second home, as well as lots of tourist. Charleston is not like that.
Charleston is not northern appalachian. It doesn't have the same attitude, charleston much friendlier. Charleston is southern Appalachian. Not deep South but it doesn't have the urban Appalachian culture. both are blue collar, largely , buy the culture is still different. Not all blur collar folk are the same. charleston doesn't look like Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh looks like a big city and feels like one while Charleston doesn't. Again i think you see charleston in a way few people do. I will give you this there are neighborhoods in Pittsburgh that are similar to neighborhoods in Charleston. However, that is is because both have standard early 20th century of urban architecture. It is prevelant all over the US especially in the North East cities and towns, and the rustbelt area. Charleston architecture looks like standard architecture for many cities. I could name dozens of places that have similar architecture to Charleston.
Honestly charleston is more of a combination of huntington and wheeling then huntington and pittsburgh. Charleston is pretty unique though.
Trust me Lynchburg is not like Charleston either. It goes from old glory old rich wasp values to pure ghetto, neither very Charleston. It is also part of the NOVA boom full of all types of diverse people from all over the country and the world.
Last edited by cry_havoc; 11-04-2013 at 06:07 PM..
I was in Charleston today for the first time in a while and was thinking it does seem like a (much) smaller version of Pittsburgh. Actually the downtown is better than many larger cities, even better than Columbus' downtown in my opinion other than having smaller buildings. The downtown is impressive for a city its size. I was in Asheville three weeks ago and I don't see many similarities. For one, Asheville is right up against the mountains, mountains that are quite a bit higher than any in West Virginia, and it's much more a tourist town. I think Charleston is most like Wheeling, especially the Wheeling that used to be.
Last edited by Route50guy; 11-04-2013 at 07:12 PM..
Reason: add "weeks"
I was in Charleston today for the first time in a while and was thinking it does seem like a (much) smaller version of Pittsburgh. Actually the downtown is better than many larger cities, even better than Columbus' downtown in my opinion other than having smaller buildings. The downtown is impressive for a city its size. I was in Asheville three ago and I don't see many similarities. For one, Asheville is right up against the mountains, mountains that are quite a bit higher than any in West Virginia, and it's much more a tourist town. I think Charleston is most like Wheeling, especially the Wheeling that used to be.
The architecture in Charleston is very standard for the time period. It is basically lower/middle class housing, factories, and commercial buildings that arent trying to be fancy. I am not sure what the name of the style is but you will find that Charleston can represent lots of neighborhoods in many cities.
Downtown Charleston is ok, it is nice but it needs more going on. I think it has a lot of potential and from what I hear people are trying to tap it. I feel it could have an awesome downtown in a decade or so.
Wheeling I feel is a good comparison. As CT pointed out there are differences, Wheeling is more Northern Appalachian and urban in its attitude, and it is more run down. However, it has the industrial elements of much of Wheeling with a more southern WV feel. However, it also has state government, lobbyist, contractors, lawyers, and finance than Wheeling making it less blue collar and giving it more culture.
Off of that list I would have to say it is a toss up. I voted Ashville because of similar culture and size. Both are trying portray an oasis in the mountains kind of feel, which I must say Ashville pulls off a lot better. I'd agree that Lynchburg is pretty similar, but would agree that it is over all more affluent (like Cry said). If Charleston was blown up to about 2 million metro, then it would look and feel just like Pittsburgh!
Lynchburg is definitely not part of Northern Virginia and isn't part of that sprawl which ends around Fredericksburg, it is east of Roanoke and south of Charlottesville. Some people consider Roanoke to be Appalachian and it is located in the Shenendoah Valley. Lynchburg has mountains to its west side and once you go west from it you are very quickly in high elevations while to the east its mostly farmland. Its a mix of old South plus a lot of suburbs but the immediate downtown area is on the riverfront of the James River and is very hilly.
I do consider Charleston to be a mountain city vs foothills. To me foothills would be places like Frederick and Hagerstown, MD, Greensboro NC or Raleigh NC. I would say part of the Washington DC suburbs are in the foothills.
Lynchburg is definitely not part of Northern Virginia and isn't part of that sprawl which ends around Fredericksburg, it is east of Roanoke and south of Charlottesville. Some people consider Roanoke to be Appalachian and it is located in the Shenendoah Valley. Lynchburg has mountains to its west side and once you go west from it you are very quickly in high elevations while to the east its mostly farmland. Its a mix of old South plus a lot of suburbs but the immediate downtown area is on the riverfront of the James River and is very hilly.
I do consider Charleston to be a mountain city vs foothills. To me foothills would be places like Frederick and Hagerstown, MD, Greensboro NC or Raleigh NC. I would say part of the Washington DC suburbs are in the foothills.
You are right. I am confusing it with another area. I think Leesburg. I am not familiar with it so I cant comment now, although I do now it has a reputation for being a southern blueblood type city, which isnt very Charleston with the old aristocratic southern type attitude.
The architecture in Charleston is very standard for the time period. It is basically lower/middle class housing, factories, and commercial buildings that arent trying to be fancy. I am not sure what the name of the style is but you will find that Charleston can represent lots of neighborhoods in many cities.
Downtown Charleston is ok, it is nice but it needs more going on. I think it has a lot of potential and from what I hear people are trying to tap it. I feel it could have an awesome downtown in a decade or so.
Wheeling I feel is a good comparison. As CT pointed out there are differences, Wheeling is more Northern Appalachian and urban in its attitude, and it is more run down. However, it has the industrial elements of much of Wheeling with a more southern WV feel. However, it also has state government, lobbyist, contractors, lawyers, and finance than Wheeling making it less blue collar and giving it more culture.
I have to disagree with you there. I am a Wheeling native, and more than well versed with that area. Having a bunch of moron politicos and ambulance chasing lawyers running around is not going to create culture. It creates what is often the illusion of prosperity, but it does not create culture. There are two types of genuine "culture". One is based on the educational level of the average resident, and Morgantown easily wins that hands down in our state for being the most cultural. The other is related to old money, endowed culture... the kind that establishes parks and symphonys, rail trails and historic architecture. Wheeling easily wins that one for the state hands down, but Huntington comes in second and is not too distant from Wheeling in that regard. All the rest of us, including Charleston and Morgantown, are not in that ballpark in that regard. There is more endowed money at Oglebay Park than exists in the whole rest of the state combined. That is a carryover from the old industrial era, and Wheeling was a powerhouse in that sense.
You are correct that much of Wheeling's unendowed historic architecture is in a run down condition, but that could change quickly with the new oil and gas money starting to flow in there. There is enough of it left that much can be preserved and restored to its original glory. In its original condition, there is no place in our state that could even come close to that although Shepherdstown could do it on a much smaller scale.
Lynchburg is basically where the lowlands meet the mountains, not particularly blue blood but more "redneck" actually, though the more agricultural kind. Lynchburg itself also has a ghetto element and has seen industries leave but it has some industry like CHarleston, including an island in the middle of the James River where there is a large factory (kinda like Blaine Island). The physical layout and geography, and the look of the downtown area really reminds me of Charleston. There are also steep hills within the city like in Charleston. And it has some spreading suburbs the way we here have places like Cross Lanes and Teays Valley so its not QUITE as mountainous and the development is not as hampered by mountains wheras here people have to build along the valleys. Lynchburg has a very unique form of college element in that Liberty University is the largest Christian university in the US and also the largest private college in Virginia. Charleston does not have a large college presence since Tech and UC are both small.
Besides the places on this poll are there any other cities or towns that y'all think Charleston is similar to?
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