What is the heart of your city?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

I am not familiar with South Korea of Seoul AT ALL, so this is just my novice view:

It seems like a city that was the child of Tokyo and Los Angeles. It took most of its dad's DNA(tokyo) but you still some of its mom from time to time.

I didn't spend a lot of time in Seoul, but to me it felt like that city had a higher population density than Tokyo.

[dc_denizen]

it probably does. more midrise apartment towers, less packed in single family homes

[The North One]

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

That's Capitol Park. Most locals would agree the heart of Detroit is Campus Martius:

Campus Martius is also the city's point of origin so there's some objectivity to it. Really one of the most obvious city centers in the US imo, all the spoke avenues meet here.

[lrt's friend]

Here is a classic view of Ottawa's Confederation Square featuring the famous Chateau Laurier Hotel and the National War Memorial at the centre of the square. This is truly the centre of the city and lies between the retail and entertainment district to the east and the commercial and parliamentary district to the west.



https://canoevalley.com/wp-content/u...57_OT_0144.jpg

Looking from the opposite angle, this is prior to the creation of Confederation Square and includes the historic post office demolished in 1938 and the left, the Russell House Hotel that burned down in 1928 and on the right the Parliament Buildings, still present. The big change took place between 1928 and 1939. This photo dates prior to 1912. Look at the elephants, the circus is in town.


https://apt613.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/parade.jpg

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Here is a classic view of Ottawa's Confederation Square featuring the famous Chateau Laurier Hotel and the National War Memorial at the centre of the square. This is truly the centre of the city and lies between the retail and entertainment district to the east and the commercial and parliamentary district to the west.



https://canoevalley.com/wp-content/u...57_OT_0144.jpg

Looking from the opposite angle, this is prior to the creation of Confederation Square and includes the historic post office demolished in 1938 and the left, the Russell House Hotel that burned down in 1928 and on the right the Parliament Buildings, still present. The big change took place between 1928 and 1939. This photo dates prior to 1912. Look at the elephants, the circus is in town.


https://apt613.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/parade.jpg

So if that is from before 1912, those are the old parliament buildings that burned down some years later.

[Nouvellecosse]

For Halifax the overall #1 would be Spring Garden Road and South Park. SGR is the main retail street and one of the two main transit streets served by dozens of routes. On the NW corner is the Public Gardens (the most famous and visited site in Halifax after Citadel Hill), on the NE corner is the Lord Nelson, one of city's two landmark grand old hotels, on the SW corner is a public square and meeting place.

Honourable mention would be outside the ferry terminal. The waterfront overall is probably the heart of town, but unlike much of the waterfront it's busy (well... not deserted at least) even in the winter due to the ferry and its at the foot of George St. which leads directly Citadel Hill and City Hall. It's also very close to the art gallery and other major attractions.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Acajack

So if that is from before 1912, those are the old parliament buildings that burned down some years later.

The original centre block with the Victoria tower is not visible in that photo. But yes, the original centre block burned down in 1916. The east and west blocks are original.

[downtownpdx]

Portland's heart is Pioneer Courthouse Square. It was the site of one of the city's first schools in the 1800s, then the Portland Hotel, followed by a parking lot in the 1950s. Instead of a 1960s proposed garage, the city built the public square in 1984. It sits at the intersection of all the light rail lines and hosts many cultural events throughout the year.

74555d12e1a1c435b3afcdbc7bf70109 by Ryan Miller, on Flickr

pioneer_transit by Ryan Miller, on Flickr

[benp]

Buffalo - Niagara Square was the center of Joseph Ellicott's radial street plan, as laid out in 1804, and today holds the McKinley Monument (in honor of President McKinley who was assassinated in Buffalo in 1901) along with City Hall, City Courthouse, and Federal Courthouse. The Statler Building on the square (originally Hotel Statler) was built on the site of the home of former President Millard Fillmore.


IMG_20190808_095328373_HDR by bpawlik, on Flickr


IMG_20190915_104052128_HDR by bpawlik, on Flickr

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

it's interesting hearing some people here list non-downtown locations as the "heart" of their city.

from my perspective in hyper-centralized chicago, that just seems very foreign to me.

like "how could the heart of a city not be in its downtown?"

some cities like cleveland had or have more than one downtown.

and then it depends what you mean by heart.

for example, cleveland's cultural heart would be university circle.

[Comrade]

Salt Lake City is likely the Gallivan Center. It was built as Salt Lake's 'living room' and it's generally what it is:

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by edale

I just feel like if you asked 100 Washingtonians what the heart of the city is, you'd probably have less than 10 that would say Metro Center. I also don't totally agree that the capitol is way out there, unless you're saying NE, SE, and SW don't count as part of the city. With the Nats stadium out in NE and resurgence of that whole area, it's probably more in the center than it's been for a long time.

Georgetown is the retail hub of the city and one of the most popular destinations for tourists outside of the mall. For many, many years, Georgetown was the only real game in town when it came to fine dining and shopping. Of course the university also gives it significance beyond just another neighborhood. I agree it's not really the heart of the city, but it's not just another neighborhood akin to Cleveland Park or whatever.

When I lived in DC from the mid 1980s thru 1994, Dupont Circle was pretty much the heart of things. This applied when I lived at 10th and D SE on Capitol Hill, Devonshire Place NW just off Conn. Ave just above the zoo almost in Cleveland Park, and even when I moved out to Vienna towards the end of my tenure. Almost every time I went out to eat, go to movies or a bar, or visit with friends, I ended up in the vicinity of Dupont Circle. Of course, my DC experience was as a Gay man, but it seemed to me that Dupont Circle was mission control for a large cross section of younger to middle-aged DC residents. Has it really changed all that much since then?

[cowolter]

Downtown Vancouver. Got to live in the heart of the city.
https://onplanners.com/invitations/elegant-wedding

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by aquablue

What, most US cities? There is no heart, more like a system of veins and arteries (jammed with traffic) surrounding a dead piece of coal. Probably more life in the strip malls on route-something something than in the center of most US cities.

It's not necessary to say the same thing over and over in all your threads over the years. China is building this.......why can't US be like Europe.....blah blah blah. We get it.

[hauntedheadnc]

Looking at all the life in all these crowds in all these photos...

I'll take "Things We Won't Be Allowed To Do For At Least Several Months" for $500, Alex.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

Looking at all the life in all these crowds in all these photos...

I'll take "Things We Won't Be Allowed To Do For At Least Several Months" for $500, Alex.

More like years.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by edale

Why are there those hideous walls/barricades between the sidewalks and the streets? Is it related to snow drifts?

Pedestrians have to cross in an underground tunnel to help with vehicular flows, meaning they put the barriers up to prevent jaywalking.

The city had a referendum last year about removing the tunnels and re-instituting regular crosswalks, and it was voted down.

[Innsertnamehere]

Hamilton's "heart" is certianly Gore Park.

A large urban park lined with historic buildings. It's actually quite pretty, especially since a lot of the historic buildings are in the process of being restored or have recently been restored. Several other new construction buildings are getting built right now too which will make it even more "grand".

It's a very impressive space for a city of a little over a half million.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.2563...7i16384!8i8192

The busiest specific intersection would be King and James, which is the entrance to the downtown mall and intersection of the two largest streets in the city. This intersection is on the northeast corner of Gore Park.

[Urbanjim]

For St. Louis, I’m going to choose just one structure: The iconic Gateway Arch. At 630 feet high and 630 feet wide, it’s the tallest man-made monument in the world. It can be seen for miles in several directions. The Arch is without a doubt THE symbol of St. Louis. It’s one of the 10 most recognizable structures in the US, and widely known throughout the world. The true heart of St. Louis.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Yeah Ive always thought of the Michigan Ave bridge as the heart of chicago:

https://goo.gl/maps/L56iq8zHKMVMNGNz9

I used to think this because it's a romantic idea - the bridge itself is the center, linking north and south, like Rialto in Venice, sitting right on the site of DuSable's cabin and Fort Dearborn and thus the historic origin point of the city. The design of the area is also the perfect embodiment of the Burnham plan and the Beaux Arts style, it's a vision for what the city could become through careful design. Since the bridge itself is not suitable for large gatherings, Pioneer Court provided a gathering space for events and such.

But I've changed my mind since the Apple Store was built and the Tribune left. The space no longer has any kind of public or civic function, it's just a commercial space built on the spectacular bones of history.

State and Madison is likewise just a typical downtown intersection, one out of many, and holds no civic importance other than being the origin point for addresses. If you visited State/Madison without knowing the factoid in advance, you'd have no idea that intersection was especially significant.

So I guess I'd say Daley Plaza, or Millennium Park, and the axis between them on Washington with Block 37, Marshall Fields, and the Cultural Center.