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Philadelphia is known to have a very gritty feel and that is apart of the character of the city. Washington D.C. before the gentrification wave was also known to be extremely gritty and flat out dangerous to be blunt in the 1980's and 1990's. Which city is more gritty when comparing Philly of today with D.C. of the past. Below are two links for random photo sets of each city. The present era for Philly as well as the 1980's-90's D.C. era. Which is more gritty based on these photos?
I think DC back in that era was much more gritty than present day Philadelphia. Not only was DC dangerous but many parts were not pretty to look at. The many housing projects like Barry Farms and even things like the abandoned Willard Hotel and vacant Woodies were just sad. Philadelphia today is gritty but its cleaned up alot over the years.
I think DC back in that era was much more gritty than present day Philadelphia. Not only was DC dangerous but many parts were not pretty to look at. The many housing projects like Barry Farms and even things like the abandoned Willard Hotel and vacant Woodies were just sad. Philadelphia today is gritty but its cleaned up alot over the years.
I agree. It's interesting because many people don't like D.C. of 2013 because it's so clean and shiny which many people consider stale. You hear people talk about how they would rather D.C. be gritty and older looking. It made me wonder if people actually preferred D.C. back in the 1980's-1990's instead of what they see today.
I agree. It's interesting because many people don't like D.C. of 2013 because it's so clean and shiny which many people consider stale. You hear people talk about how they would rather D.C. be gritty and older looking. It made me wonder if people actually preferred D.C. back in the 1980's-1990's instead of what they see today.
I think gritty can also mean edgy, this may be more to the point of your post.
DC (and to me Boston to a lessor extent) has a little less edge when compared to other cities like NYC, Philly, SF or LA
But that is subjective
That said DC is improving on nearly all fronts and even the edge factor in certain areas.
I think gritty can also mean edgy, this may be more to the point of your post.
DC (and to me Boston to a lessor extent) has a little less edge when compared to other cities like NYC, Philly, SF or LA
But that is subjective
That said DC is improving on nearly all fronts and even the edge factor in certain areas.
What do you think about D.C. in the 1980's-1990's? Do you think D.C. had more charm and character back then? Many locals actually do prefer D.C. of 20 years ago versus the D.C. they see now which is a foreign country to many.
What do you think about D.C. in the 1980's-1990's? Do you think D.C. had more charm and character back then? Many locals actually do prefer D.C. of 20 years ago versus the D.C. they see now which is a foreign country to many.
personally I like the DC of today better. Its more cosmopolitan and continues to become a better city every year IMHO.
Plus the reduction in crime rates is extemely admirable. The worst thing in the relative sense is the housing costs today to then
Philadelphia is known to have a very gritty feel and that is apart of the character of the city. Washington D.C. before the gentrification wave was also known to be extremely gritty and flat out dangerous to be blunt in the 1980's and 1990's. Which city is more gritty when comparing Philly of today with D.C. of the past. Below are two links for random photo sets of each city. The present era for Philly as well as the 1980's-90's D.C. era. Which is more gritty based on these photos?
I agree. It's interesting because many people don't like D.C. of 2013 because it's so clean and shiny which many people consider stale. You hear people talk about how they would rather D.C. be gritty and older looking. It made me wonder if people actually preferred D.C. back in the 1980's-1990's instead of what they see today.
Sometimes it can turn out to be that way. All of this construction going on what bldgs are being preserved? It all looks new, light and bright. I do love how the Howard Theater was restored and how H st. was refurbished. I do prefer the now DC. I remember my brother's group the Sugarhill Gang performed at the Howard Theater years ago and we almost froze to death in there. But yes DC of today is a much better place.
I thought this was a Philly vs. DC thread, how did those other cities get pulled into this argument?
In Philadelphia's defense, it is a much larger city to deal with, and that much harder to gentrify, than DC. Sometimes it is easier to continue to build up the same few neighborhoods, particularly when there aren't any height limits to content with, than to invest in the city overall.
DC and Philly are two entirely different towns. If anything they are/were gritty for entirely different reasons. Philly being much bigger, in everything, good and bad, may give it an undeserved reputation.
No one is suggesting that Chicago, New York, and Miami do not have urban blight. If anything Chicago, despite a lot of progress, still gets flack for the conditions of their worst neighborhoods. I'm really not sure where you're going with New York and Miami though. Clearly, though Manhattan and Brooklyn are renowned for their gentrification, Manhattan way back in the 80s and Brooklyn the 00s New York always was, and always will be, a gritty city, even in the more prosperous areas. Miami isn't that big of a city to begin with, it is just a small city with more skyscrapers than you would find in a city its size, like San Francisco. Comparing Philly with Miami is an even worse comparison than that of Philly to DC.
I'll go out on a limb and say that much of Philly's, and to some extent, the larger cities in New Jersey, undeserved reputation is that they can't explain how cities like New York made the transition out of heavy manufacturing when they did into centers of finance, technology, and other "White Collar" work and they didn't. Chances are New York had some unfair advantages cities like Philly, Newark, and Trenton didn't, sort of how Chicago, Columbus, and Indianapolis do in the Midwest. So Philly gets left with the short end of the stick and has to work that much harder to turn their reputation around.
IMHO, there's no point making a thread comparing a city that has home field advantage in the government sector to a post-industrial city. But then again this is C-D so what else is new.
Last edited by goofy328; 01-24-2013 at 06:42 PM..
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