Top 25 downtowns in the U.S. (largest, bigger, living, better)

[Finger Laker]

i love seattle, but would have trouble putting it ahead of philly - about the main thing would be the waterfront draw

both have world class markets, but many have never seen phillys

one thing I really do like about seattle is the free bus downtown zone during the week and although the hills make it difficult to walk, they add a nice variety

portland I enjoy, but doesn't really deserve to be on a scale with either of them

[MantaRay]

Originally Posted by tmac9wr

Why would you want to drive through a downtown though? Shouldn't downtowns be very walkable, allowing you to reach most of your destinations by foot?

Walkability is nice, walkability through interspersed green spaces is even better, walkability with scenic rolling undulations in the geography and interspersed green spaces is better still. Walkability AND bikeability with all that without feeling like a sardine (tough to bike when everybody's right in front of you) and without feeling like you're about to get hit by a car (especially if there's a HEY, I'M DRIVING HERE attitude) is better still. Therefore, the downtowns I tend to like are indeed walkable, but not JUST walkable.

I would sometimes want to drive through a downtown to just cruise through the scenery. I was in San Francisco (I drove there and parked and got out) and walking the hills was KILLER. I did catch the trolley some as well. But I much more enjoyed driving through the city when I was trying to cover a lot of ground. And actually driving down Lombard Street was more fun than walking down the stairs along the side of Lombard (I did both). Of course walking Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square was more enjoyable than driving past them.

Walkability is an absolute must to get on my list, but my list takes into account my overall experience/enjoyment in a place, which includes walking and driving and bicycling and the scenery and ease and enjoyment involved in them all.

[UrbanRocks]

Originally Posted by lrfox

1)New York City
2)Chicago
3)Boston
4)San Francisco
5)DC
6)Philadelphia
7)Seattle
8)Portland OR
9)Baltimore
10)New Orleans
11)Denver
12)San Antonio
13)Pittsburgh
14)Minneapolis
15)Providence
16)Detroit
17)Atlanta
19)Milwaukee
20)Cleveland
21)Nashville
22)Los Angeles
23)Salt Lake City (I always forget about this place for some reason)
24)Indianapolis
25)Cincinnati

Once I got passed about 15 I felt that many of them were interchangeable and that you could make a case for many other cities that didn't make the list. I wish there was a size restraint too, because many smaller cities have excellent downtown areas as well (Newport RI, Annapolis MD, Asheville NC, Portsmouth NH, etc). Anyway, that's my list, take it or leave it.

I think this list is pretty solid. I might move LA up a bit just because of the amount of street activity in the garment district and the amount of arts that are taking hold downtown. I tend to make my decisions on whether a city has a well-rounded downtown (ie: arts, shopping, dining, street activity, number of core residents), because of that, I would downgrade downtown's on a list that are primarily tourist attractions (Las Vegas, San Antonio), or feature tall skyscrapers with little street activity (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta).

[st. louie louie]

Manta Ray,

It seems you would better enjoy a suburban office park than a downtown.

Downtowns need to have stores, offices, culture, things to do. And to make it walkable to those places, they need to be fairly close to each other. And when they have those things, people will come and hopefully it will get a little crowded.

It gives the place vibrancy, excitement and feeling of belonging to society.

I don't disagree with what you like. I like some of those things too but not in a downtown.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

Again it's different strokes for different folks, but having said that, there ARE conceivable reasons those cities would rank ahead of Philly for some.

SA's riverwalk is THE best riverwalk in the US, bar none, and has a plethora of outdoor eating to go with the ambiance. Some prefer that type of gem over other downtowns. No eating or strolling venue in Philly is comparable to that. Portland's riverfront is WAY more beautiful than Philly's riverfront, and the beauty of a city's watefront is a reason someone might rank it above Philly. Add in the beauty of the Classical Chinese Garden, and the fact that downtown has got pedestrian sidewalks on two of its bridges (Hawthorne and Steel) downtown with green trail and park space on either side of the river so that you can bike up one side, across the bridge, and down the other around and around and it's all beautiful- and it becomes obvious why a person who loves to bike around downtown and take in the scenic waterfront beauty might prefer Portland to Philly. Anyway, that's why I personally would and do rank San Antonio and Portland ahead of Philly in terms of downtown. As far as universities, I prefer UPenn to anything in either of those other cities, but UPenn is in University City, not downtown Philly.

I'm not particularly a big fan of Seattle, so somebody who is would have to answer as to why they would rank its downtown above Philly's.

I understand and respect your point of view; it really was not my intention to deliberately demean someone's personal ranking of downtowns based on their criteria. However, it was just my understanding that this was a ranking based on sheer size, density, and amount of business/cultural institutions (which was why I phrased that as not being "conceivable"), as opposed to factors like waterfront appeal, climate and ambience -- in which case you could indeed make a case for cities like Portland, Seattle, and San Antonio to be on par or ahead of Philly.

To each their own.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by UrbanRocks

I would downgrade downtown's on a list that are primarily tourist attractions (Las Vegas, San Antonio), or feature tall skyscrapers with little street activity (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta).

The strip is not Downtown Las Vegas.

Downtown Las Vegas is a very lonely place imo. DT LV is north of the strip and is very dull, quiet and boring.

[MantaRay]

Originally Posted by Duderino

However, it was just my understanding that this was a ranking based on sheer size and amount of business/cultural institutions (which was why I phrased that as not being "conceivable"), as opposed to factors like waterfront appeal, climate and ambience -- in which case you could indeed make a case for cities like Portland, Seattle, and San Antonio to be on par or ahead of Philly.

To each their own.

The original post said

Based on cultural activity, pedestrian areas, retail, attractions, etc.

I was just going from that starting point.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

The original post said

Based on cultural activity, pedestrian areas, retail, attractions, etc.

I was just going from that starting point.

Duly noted. My apologies for not more clearly reading the ranking criteria.

[rah]

Of the cities where I've been to the downtown:

1. NYC
2. San Francisco
3. Los Angeles/Philadelphia
4. Oakland
5. San Diego
6. Providence
7. San Jose
8. Sacramento

I should add that none of those downtowns seemed boring or dead, with the exception of Sacramento...though the last time I visited downtown Sacramento was 10 years ago, and I'm sure it's more lively these days.

Originally Posted by MantaRay

The only things keeping SF from being somewhere in my top 3 is that its hilly section (Lombard, Hyde area) isn't what I'm considering downtown and its Palace of Fine Art (Marina area) isn't what I'm considering downtown. I'm considering the South of Market/Financial District/Union Square area to be downtown.

Anyway, there you have it.

No one considers Lombard street or the Palace of Fine Arts as being in downtown SF. Hyde street partially is, where it cuts through Nob Hill and the Tenderloin. "Downtown" San Francisco can be defined as:

-the Financial District
-parts of SOMA
-parts of North Beach
-Chinatown
-Union Square
-The Tenderloin
-Civic Center
-Nob Hill
-probably Hayes Valley and Mission Bay too

And what exactly is wrong with SF's downtown that keeps it off your list? Just curious.

[toughguy]

^ He keeps mentioning his dislike for "feeling like a sardine", which I guess would disqualify San Francisco.....it's a somewhat odd preference for a downtown, considering thats what makes a downtown feel lively and active.