99 replies to this topic

[ShowMeKC]

What do you think are the most underrated midwest cities?

1. Kansas City, MO
2. Omaha, NE
3. The Twin Cities
4. Indianapolis, IN
5. Clayton, MO

I couldn't decide on a 5th one so I looked at Clayton, MO (which I think most people don't know of) and it has a 408ft skyscraper (along with other 20 floor skyscrapers).

[turlough]

Kansas City

[ShowMeKC]

Yes, Clayton is a suburb of STL

[monsoon]

[ShowMeKC]

nope, i looked on google, and altavista, that is the only one i found (besides a small, very bad quality photo)

[Neo]

Clayton, MO isn't a city you see everyday...that's for sure!

[ShowMeKC]

i havent even seen it,
The city i live in is barely less populated than Clayton, yet our tallest building is 10 floors  

[Jonzo]

I know that it is late to report but I think that Milwaukee, Wisconsin is very underrated.  Also Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[Allan]

Jonzo, on Dec 24 2004, 12:31 AM, said:

I know that it is late to report but I think that Milwaukee, Wisconsin is very underrated.  Also Grand Rapids, Michigan.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I definately agree there.  Both cities are overshadowed by larger cities - Milwaukee by Chicago, and GR by Detroit (and to a lesser extent Chicago).

[NorthStar]

KCDevin, on Aug 18 2003, 03:57 PM, said:

I couldn't decide on a 5th one so I looked at Clayton, MO (which I think most people don't know of) and it has a 408ft skyscraper (along with other 20 floor skyscrapers).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Clayton MO?  Rochester, MN is by far more important than Clayton will ever be and Rochester doesn't get any respect in these boards.

ROCHESTER

Edited by NorthStar, 24 December 2004 - 03:08 AM.

[NorthStar]

Also, St. Paul, Madison and Omaha are the most underated midwest cities.  These three cities have more positve qualities than any other midwest city.  St. Paul is part of the most progressive midwest metropolitan area outside of Chicago.  Madison is a great, growing liberal city located right between the Twin Cities and Chicago.  Omaha is definitely benefitting from being located between the Twin Cities and Denver.  No other cities in the midwest can compare.

Edited by NorthStar, 24 December 2004 - 03:00 AM.

[Jonzo]

Although, we know that Detroit is so much better then Grand Rapids that it doesn't really matter    

[Garris]

NorthStar, on Dec 24 2004, 02:16 AM, said:

Rochester, MN is by far more important than Clayton will ever be and Rochester doesn't get any respect in these boards.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As someone who recently finished over 4 years of living in Rochester, I feel it gets too much respect!  It has no reason to exist if not for Mayo, its downtown is virtually dead by 7 PM, anything built more than 80 years ago architecturally badly underachieves (save for the new Gonda Building), has virtually no good dining, and almost nothing in the way of culture.  It's a city of 70,000 that wishes it were a town of 7,000.  

Rochester underrated?  I don't think so...  Madison, WI, on the other hand...

- Garris
Providence, RI

[NorthStar]

Garris, on Dec 31 2004, 01:30 PM, said:

As someone who recently finished over 4 years of living in Rochester, I feel it gets too much respect!  It has no reason to exist if not for Mayo, its downtown is virtually dead by 7 PM, anything built more than 80 years ago architecturally badly underachieves (save for the new Gonda Building), has virtually no good dining, and almost nothing in the way of culture.  It's a city of 70,000 that wishes it were a town of 7,000. 

Rochester underrated?  I don't think so...  Madison, WI, on the other hand...

- Garris
Providence, RI

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Every major city in the U.S. "exists" or has made a name for itself because of a dominant company or industry that is located there or was once located there.  You can argue all you want that Rochester wouldn't exist without Mayo, but it's not going to get you anywhere.  Also, Rochester's downtown is dead by 7pm, but there are several cities throughout the U.S. (many larger than Rochester) whose downtown areas are dead by 7pm.  Rochester gets plenty of respect throughout the upper Midwest, but outside the region, it's a different story.  How many other cities with a population of 90,000 (85,806 Census 2000) have as much clout as Rochester?  There are very few and that's why I think it's underrated.

Finally, Clayton, MO is a city that "exists" because of its location to and dependence upon a major metropolitan area.  So, should it even be part of this discussion?

Edited by NorthStar, 06 January 2005 - 03:36 PM.

[PghUSA]

Would Pittsburgh be considered Mid-west?

The Federal Reserve has us in the MW "Cleveland" Banking District (Not the Philly Fed's district--even though Philly is "Pennsylvania's Fed Bank"), the FAA has us under ClevelandCenter, the Pittsburgh District for the Army Corps of Engineers covers much of Ohio, Eire, Western PA, and WVa.--but not Philly or Maryland or NJ.  

Might the most underrated be the one that everybody thinks is a 3 hour drive to the Atlantic but is actually in the Ohio Valley?  True this isn't MW like a KC or Des Moines or Omaha, but a Milwaukee, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit in some minds have more in common with Pgh then Philly NYC or Boston.

Hurry we are a city in limbo!

[Garris]

NorthStar, on Jan 6 2005, 03:04 PM, said:

Every major city in the U.S. "exists" or has made a name for itself because of a dominant company or industry that is located there or was once located there. 

If IBM were to leave Rochester (not unlikely with the way the company is moving) and Mayo went under (almost impossible, but having just worked there, I know they are under tremendous financial pressure), would Rochester still exist in anything like its current form?  Other cities might have been started by one industry or company, but they mature into something greater and deeper than their roots.  Rochester's biggest failing as a town is to have not capitalized on the Mayo and IBM.  It should be a thiving center of food, culture, and the entertainment for all of SW MN and nearby Wisconsin and Iowa...  It isn't.  They should be using their leverage to get new industries.  The whole biotech boom the Twin Cities are enjoying should be happening in Rochester, not Minnetonka.

NorthStar, on Jan 6 2005, 03:04 PM, said:

Also, Rochester's downtown is dead by 7pm, but there are several cities throughout the U.S. (many larger than Rochester) whose downtown areas are dead by 7pm.

But there isn't anything else within 1 and 1/2 hour's drive of Rochester as an entertainment/restaurant/culture alternative after 6PM.  It is the capital of its region, and offers nothing after the business day ends.  This is why it dramatically underachieves as a city.  It's a great vanilla, bland, boring bedroom community, and if this is what you want?  Great...  As a vibrant, "urban" area?  It fails miserably...   It only has two or three blocks ("historic" Third St. and part of Broadway, most of which is still vacant...  The Galleria's doin' great, huh?) that can only remotely be called urban in layout.

NorthStar, on Jan 6 2005, 03:04 PM, said:

Rochester gets plenty of respect throughout the upper Midwest, but outside the region, it's a different story.

Highly debatable.  Everyone I know who lives in Madison, the Cites, Duluth, Iowa City, and even Mason City could care less about Rochester, mostly because unless they come down with Multiple Myeloma or develop Psychogenic Polydipsia, there is never a reason while they are alive and healthy to ever consider traveling there.  

NorthStar, on Jan 6 2005, 03:04 PM, said:

  How many other cities with a population of 90,000 (85,806 Census 2000) have as much clout as Rochester?  There are very few (quote clipped due to reader nausea )

Oh, please...  Within a 3 hour drive alone in any direction from where I now live in Providence, RI, I can think of a ton!  Let's see...

White Plains, NY: Population, 53077
Only home to about a zillion Fortune 500 companies, with an impressive skyline, clean and increasingly hip downtown, tons of wealth, a major airport, and several regional universities.

Stamford, CT: Population, metro, about 100,000
Home to about another zillion Fortune 500 companies, a major transportation center, perhaps one of the most exclusive residential communities in America.  

New Haven, CT:  Population, about 95,000, with an additional 25-30,000 students.
No one's ever heard of this one...  It's only home to Yale University, a cutting edge restaurant community (including being the region's historic pizza center), and it's an important international center of the arts and theater.  Somewhat downtrodden in the past, surging now...    

Northampton, MA Population (year 2000): 29,000
Incredibly hip and desirable small city in Western, MA.  Home to Smith College and known the world over for being one of the most desirable cities for gays and lesbians.  

Newport, RI: Population, about 27,000 to 29,000
A major center for the US Navy, America's traditional sailing capital (remember the America's cup?), site of the Tennis Hall of Fame, home to some of the NE's most stunning cliffside Atlantic Ocean geography and jaw-dropping historic mansions, not to mention it's traditional role as a huge vacation destination and having one of the most beautiful and pedestrian downtowns packed with art and culture you'll ever see...  No clout at all....  

And I haven't even started reviewing fantastic, desirable, deep, and diverse cities like Manchester, NH; Portsmouth, NH; Newburyport, ME; etc. etc. etc...  And that's just New England alone forgetting the rest of America!

The plain truth is that if unless you're dying of some disease you're hoping Mayo will cure or you've been transferred there by IBM, there isn't a single reason to ever travel to Rochester.  Underrated?  No...  I reserve that special term for truly special and underappreciated cities nationally like Madison, WI and Duluth, MN, which don't have the reputation they deserve.

- Garris
Providence, RI

[Garris]

I'd consider Pittsburgh midwest, and it is certainly underrated.  Pittsburgh is one of my favorite cities.  I'd say it might have been one of the most underrated nationally several years ago, but I think the word is out now about how desirable that area has become...

Are there many more dramatic skylines than Pitt's in the US?  With the three rivers, and the buildings, and the cable-cars?  Wow...

- Garris
Providence, RI

[dredebbs313]

Anybody with any knowledge knows in the state of Michigan, Grand Rapids is the best city in the state and therefore an underrated Midwestern city.  Detroit is yesterdays news, and though the city is trying to save face with new development in the CBD is just simply too late.

[daniel nudnik]

suburbs don't count. I dispute clayton, and omit my home (ann arbor) out of fairness.

1. grand rapids, michigan
which leads the way in the state in nearly all aspects of progressive planning, from affordable housing to intermodal public transit to comprehensive economic growth strategy. and for a city of 200,000 to do what it has done - especially in a conservative midwestern region such as the one in which it is situated - makes it a leader in this part of the country.

2. pittsburgh, pennsylvania
it is definitely a midwestern city (although its culture and dialect don't resemble anything else in the midwest.) where grand rapids has demonstrated creativity and flexibility with policy, pittsburgh has done so on a different scale. it has greater natural beauty than most cities in the midwest.

3. cleveland, ohio
okay, I don't really like ohio. but cleveland is a great place, its rail system is nice (could be bigger, but it's the midwest, who's to criticize) and it has played up the city-of-neighborhoods feel which is crucial when geography does nothing to delineate places. it's also the home of dennis kucinich and harvey pekar.