It's funny you say that. Every time I drive or walk down Main St. in Springfield, I can't help but be reminded of Congress Street in Portland (obviously minus the high rises in downtown Springfield). To further add to the mental image, the Sheraton in downtown S'field near that little park/square provides a similar vista to One Monument Square (the building) and Monument Square (the plaza) in Portland. Portland, of course, is overall a MUCH more attractive city (and Congress Street home to more appealing businesses than Main), but Congress St. in central Portland has a very similar appearance to Main in central Springfield.
Driving around New England Pix's
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It's funny you say that. Every time I drive or walk down Main St. in Springfield, I can't help but be reminded of Congress Street in Portland (obviously minus the high rises in downtown Springfield). To further add to the mental image, the Sheraton in downtown S'field near that little park/square provides a similar vista to One Monument Square (the building) and Monument Square (the plaza) in Portland. Portland, of course, is overall a MUCH more attractive city (and Congress Street home to more appealing businesses than Main), but Congress St. in central Portland has a very similar appearance to Main in central Springfield.
Boston02124
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Old Orchard Beach Maine
early morning
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Patrick
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Yessuh, ayuh, right up theyuh in the peeah at Old Ochid beeach I tell ya what. what a zoo.
I had an apartment in OOB for a year before I moved into Portland. Wow, What a crowd, lol.
Boston02124
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that was the best thing no crowds no long waits for the rides!
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Patrick
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I dont think he meant there were no crowds through sarcasm, I think he really meant what a crowd, as in what the weirdest crowd you can imagine. makes congress street in portland almost look tame.
^exactly! Although between mid-September and memorial day it's VERY quiet. The crowd in OOB is so... Eclectic. It really is an odd mix. Beautiful coastline though.
OOB is good at being what it is. It's quieter and less rowdy than Hampton Beach and it's not as trashy and run down as Salisbury Beach in MA. It's a perfect change of pace from the hundreds of miles of gorgeous, pristine Maine coast. I got annoyed when people ragged on OOB.
OOB is good at being what it is. It's quieter and less rowdy than Hampton Beach and it's not as trashy and run down as Salisbury Beach in MA. It's a perfect change of pace from the hundreds of miles of gorgeous, pristine Maine coast. I got annoyed when people ragged on OOB.
Boston02124
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Thats what I thought he meant "white trash central" but I was'nt going to say it!
Ron Newman
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I liked Old Orchard Beach when I visited, but I wouldn't call it 'quieter' than anything, given the large amusement park.
Well, not even really that. There are certainly PLENTY of white trash, but that's not entirely what I was commenting on. What was always funny for me was the combination of white trash, Quebecois, locals, and visiting yuppies bringing kids to the amusement park. It's an odd blend that always made me laugh.
Not even than Hampton Beach? The area directly around the pier (including the amusement park) is busy from June-August, but that's a tiny pocket. It's not as expansive and "rowdy" (meaning bikers and the like) as Hampton Beach. Maybe quiet wasn't the right word (it's certainly not like Prout's Neck right down the road), but it's not as big and busy as Hampton Beach (or even Narragansett RI).
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Patrick
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Went to Hartford yesterday. Took a ton of pictures as is my MO. A large thread is pending, but in the meantime here are a few of them.
This picture is awesome. The difficult thing to achieve in city building and planning is balancing pedestrian friendly areas like this (good at street level) with some of the more impressive skyscrapers and other commercial buildings (important for prestige and sense of direction, at least I think). Hartford is a nice looking city, but I never hear positive things about its neighborhoods (actually, a lawyer that works in the same office building as I do has an office in hartford and said he used to love living in an old Queen Anne on the West side, but other than the west side, I don't hear positive things. Looks great though.
Here's a link to the Hartford thread
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=4983511#post4983511
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=4983511#post4983511
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Patrick
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Hartford just recently made a list of the top ten dead or slowly dying cities that are not going to come back. I have more faith in it than that.
http://www.businessinsider.com/10-american-cities-that-are-dead-forever-2010-9#buffalo-1
http://www.businessinsider.com/10-american-cities-that-are-dead-forever-2010-9#buffalo-1
I disagreed with Hartford, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Atlantic City being on that list.
There seems to be no reason why Hartford can't have the same type of "renaissance" that Providence has been credited with. The bones are there, so to speak. The construction of the Hartford 21 condo tower (440 feet, 4th tallest in city) and a large science museum within the last 5 years further the case that this city isn't dead.
I drove/walked through Cleveland from 6:00-6:40 am 1 day in my life, so granted I have a rather small sample for this, but the city was surprisingly pretty and clean considering its reputation. Key Tower and Terminal Tower are among the best buildings in the US. It's also in a pretty decent location, right on a Great Lake and under an hour from the greatest roller coaster amusement park in the world! Honestly, I feel like the state of their sports teams has done as much damage to Cleveland as anything. Add "city of losers" to "mistake by the lake", etc. If they won a few titles in anything, maybe it would be viewed a little less like a dump, because it isn't (at least the downtown isn't).
New Orleans, they used the stats from the year RIGHT AFTER KATRINA. No mention of how the population has been bouncing back a bit. That alone just seems lazy and invalidates this one for me.
Atlantic City is building bigger than they ever have before. Just like in Vegas, hotels over there keep pushing the limit. How can a dying city just build a 700 foot gigantic hotel? I think it's found its niche.
There seems to be no reason why Hartford can't have the same type of "renaissance" that Providence has been credited with. The bones are there, so to speak. The construction of the Hartford 21 condo tower (440 feet, 4th tallest in city) and a large science museum within the last 5 years further the case that this city isn't dead.
I drove/walked through Cleveland from 6:00-6:40 am 1 day in my life, so granted I have a rather small sample for this, but the city was surprisingly pretty and clean considering its reputation. Key Tower and Terminal Tower are among the best buildings in the US. It's also in a pretty decent location, right on a Great Lake and under an hour from the greatest roller coaster amusement park in the world! Honestly, I feel like the state of their sports teams has done as much damage to Cleveland as anything. Add "city of losers" to "mistake by the lake", etc. If they won a few titles in anything, maybe it would be viewed a little less like a dump, because it isn't (at least the downtown isn't).
New Orleans, they used the stats from the year RIGHT AFTER KATRINA. No mention of how the population has been bouncing back a bit. That alone just seems lazy and invalidates this one for me.
Atlantic City is building bigger than they ever have before. Just like in Vegas, hotels over there keep pushing the limit. How can a dying city just build a 700 foot gigantic hotel? I think it's found its niche.
Ron Newman
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Providence has Brown and RISD. Does Hartford have any comparable schools of note?
Atlantic City may have lots of casinos and hotels, but is there any city left there?
Atlantic City may have lots of casinos and hotels, but is there any city left there?
Isn't Trinity supposed to be a pretty good school?
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The Travelers Tower is still in my opinion one of most attractive buildings in the country from that period. To think that it was the seventh tallest building in the world and the first skyscraper outside of NYC to top the 500 foot mark when it was completed. Pretty impressive!