American cities with the most unique architecture

[xzmattzx]

https://dailypassport.com/us-cities-with-most-unique-architecture/

Their 6 cities:
~ Chicago
~ San Francisco
~ New Orleans
~ Boston
~ Santa Fe
~ Seattle

What do you think of their list? Any city not on there? Any city that should replace one on their list?

[xzmattzx]

Santa Fe was the first city that came to my mind, with their Pueblo Revival architecture.

I initially thought Chicago shouldn't be on the list, but with all those Chicago-style skyscrapers in the Loop and Printer's Row, it makes sense.

I am not sure on Boston. There is plenty of colonial architecture in Philadelphia. What does Boston have that Philadelphia doesn't? What does Philadelphia have that Boston doesn't?

Is the vernacular architecture in San Francisco really that unique? Is there any similar wooden housing anywhere else, like there are rowhouses both in Baltimore and Philadelphia?

[xzmattzx]

Cities I would put on the list:

~ Miami Beach, which doesn't just have Art Deco, but has tropical Art Deco that is pretty unique in the US
~ Pasadena, with its Renaissance Revival and Venetian Revival
~ Paradise, NV, with its themed casino-hotels for anything that you can think of
~ Manhattan, with its Art Deco skyscrapers, although it may be too cliche
~ Oak Park, IL, with it's Prairie architecture

[SIGSEGV]

I think Seattle is really the odd one out there.

Chicago has 3/6 flats, bungalows, and Chicago-Style skyscrapers
Boston has triple-deckers in addition to rowhouse-like and colonial-type stuff that is more similar to like Philly/Baltimore.
SF has its victorians
New Orleans has the French Quarter
Santa Fe is obvious
Seattle has... the space needle?

[craigs]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I think Seattle is really the odd one out there.

Chicago has 3/6 flats, bungalows, and Chicago-Style skyscrapers
Boston has triple-deckers in addition to rowhouse-like and colonial-type stuff that is more similar to like Philly/Baltimore.
SF has its victorians
New Orleans has the French Quarter
Santa Fe is obvious
Seattle has... the space needle?

Agreed. What is unique about Seattle architecture? Strip mall teriyaki joints?

[Shawn]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Santa Fe was the first city that came to my mind, with their Pueblo Revival architecture.

I initially thought Chicago shouldn't be on the list, but with all those Chicago-style skyscrapers in the Loop and Printer's Row, it makes sense.

I am not sure on Boston. There is plenty of colonial architecture in Philadelphia. What does Boston have that Philadelphia doesn't? What does Philadelphia have that Boston doesn't?

Is the vernacular architecture in San Francisco really that unique? Is there any similar wooden housing anywhere else, like there are rowhouses both in Baltimore and Philadelphia?

It's minor, but Boston's North End is unique among the old Northeast cores in that there is no grid; the buildings are all irregular dimensions. Lots of off-angle rhombuses and trapezoids.

Google Earth the North End and the Financial District and try to find anything like it in Philly, NYC or Baltimore. Not in terms of density or age/style, but in layout and how that affects architectural choices.

Also minor, but it's been said on this forum (not by me, but I wholeheartedly agree) that Boston's vernacular has a higher quality on the granular level than Philly's or NYC's, particularly per capita / pound per pound.

I think Beacon Hill's Federalist rows and mansions are the finest collection of pre-20th century housing in the country. The gas street lamps and cobblestone streets help, as does the topography. Philly certainly has more of this style of housing, and Fairmount / Rittenhouse Square can certainly give Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the North End a run for their money. But Boston has always been wealthier than Philly, especially when this type of housing was constructed, and it shows on the ground.

[iheartthed]

Boston has a great collection of architecture, but I don't know if I'd call it unique. A lot of streetscapes in the city would not be out of place in any other major northeast corridor city. SF, Chicago, New Orleans, etc., have scenery that you literally cannot find in any other place.

[UrbanRevival]

Originally Posted by Shawn

I think Beacon Hill's Federalist rows and mansions are the finest collection of pre-20th century housing in the country. The gas street lamps and cobblestone streets help, as does the topography. Philly certainly has more of this style of housing, and Fairmount / Rittenhouse Square can certainly give Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the North End a run for their money. But Boston has always been wealthier than Philly, especially when this type of housing was constructed, and it shows on the ground.

I think there's a bit more nuance to this, especially with a highly-subjective topic such as architecture.

I will certainly admit that the Back Bay, Beacon Hill and North End trifecta pack the biggest "punch" for first impressions. However, given that this masonry style comprises a pretty small share of Boston's vernacular in a city largely filled by modest wood-framed triple-deckers, I think that's where the most impressive concentration of architecture in Boston ends pretty abruptly.

I think the impressiveness of NYC speaks for itself, so I won't go any further on that point. But what makes Philly so notable is that its nearly completely (brick) masonry-based, with very unique rowhome styling found even in the far, impoverished reaches of the city (I think your statement regarding wealth in Philly is definitely debatable; while many of these neighborhoods are impoverished today, they formerly held lots of industrial wealth). This is clear in places like Parkside, Germantown, or Hunting Park.

This is to say nothing of the historic stone architecture in places like Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill that can be found nowhere else in the US.

I'll certainly be the first to admit that historic architecture in Boston is in a better state-of-repair, and the city has an advanced state of preservation overall. But in terms of architectural uniqueness and original construction quality, Philly has nothing to apologize for.

[mhays]

Not Seattle. It's similar to the Portland/Denver/Minneapolis vernacular except we put most parking underground (Portland too) and roofs are typically flat due to strict height limits (vs. some of these places).

[photoLith]

Top 3 cities for me are Cincy, St Louis and New Orleans. I’m a sucker for Ohio Valley and Mississippi River 1800s brick houses.

[sentinel]

- Chicago
- NYC
- San Francisco
- Santa Fe
- Miami
- Palm Springs

[Chisouthside]

Seattle is a nice town but the architecture also didnt stand out much to me, would replace it with NYC. Even though projects towers are ugly. i dont think any other city can replicate those streetscapes even as most cities tore down their public housing towers.

Even though SF is known for victorians im more fond of the housing vernacular in areas like the sunset as seen below

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7470892,...%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US&entry=ttu

[Crawford]

NOLA makes a lot of sense.

Seattle, Chicago, Boston? I'm not seeing it.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Shawn

I think Beacon Hill's Federalist rows and mansions are the finest collection of pre-20th century housing in the country. The gas street lamps and cobblestone streets help, as does the topography. Philly certainly has more of this style of housing, and Fairmount / Rittenhouse Square can certainly give Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the North End a run for their money. But Boston has always been wealthier than Philly, especially when this type of housing was constructed, and it shows on the ground.

I'm not sure if Boston, historically, was wealthier than Philly. I suspect no. Philly was considerably larger until relatively recently, and I'm pretty sure it had more corporate heft too.

And I don't think Philly has less high-end, in-town rowhouse typology. I'd bet considerably more. Beacon Hill is a pretty tiny neighborhood, especially the high-profile southern part (much of the rest was historically a poorer black neighborhood). Back Bay is much newer and I don't think the South End was historically wealthy. Philly has a pretty large, contiguous area of high-end rowhouse neighborhoods south of Market, nearly from river to river.

Relative quality, yeah, is subjective, but I don't think you'd get a clear consensus. Both cities have pretty great rowhouse blocks.

[DZH22]

Originally Posted by UrbanRevival

I will certainly admit that the Back Bay, Beacon Hill and North End trifecta pack the biggest "punch" for first impressions. However, given that this masonry style comprises a pretty small share of Boston's vernacular in a city largely filled by modest wood-framed triple-deckers, I think that's where the most impressive concentration of architecture in Boston ends pretty abruptly.

Don't forget Boston's South End. While I'd rank it 4th behind the ones you listed, it does have the biggest footprint of all the inner city brick-dominant neighborhoods.

Pic is old, from 2018, so the skyline has improved but the neighborhood in the foreground is essentially the same. Similar scale (but much smaller overall scope) buildup also exists in the Fenway and Charlestown neighborhoods.

South End Boston Real Estate Aerial by David Oppenheimer, on Flickr

[sopas ej]

Unique to the US?

My first thought was Tucson's Barrio Viejo neighborhood, which I visited back in 2021:


Photo by me


Photo by me


Photo by me


Photo by me

This part of Arizona was the last part to become part of the US, so this reflects that Sonoran adobe style of architecture that Anglo-Americans hated/considered primitive in the 19th century.

[Sigaven]

Charleston SC
Savannah GA
St Augustine FL

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Crawford

NOLA makes a lot of sense.

Seattle, Chicago, Boston? I'm not seeing it.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Really? You think the average vernacular in Seattle, Chicago and Boston is locally distinct, as with NOLA? I don't see that, at all. Milwaukee looks a lot like Chicago, Providence and Portland look a lot like Boston, etc.

NOLA, to me, doesn't look like other Deep South metros. It doesn't look like anywhere else in the U.S. Mobile, which has a sliver of NOLA built form, might be the exception.

[muertecaza]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Unique to the US?

My first thought was Tucson's Barrio Viejo neighborhood, which I visited back in 2021:

This part of Arizona was the last part to become part of the US, so this reflects that Sonoran adobe style of architecture that Anglo-Americans hated/considered primitive in the 19th century.

Good shout. I recently learned about (and visited) Mesilla, NM (part of the Las Cruces MSA), which has a similar adobe style.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesilla,_New_Mexico

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.273852,-...WWogS3ocVdg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu