Manchester and Portland Videos

[M. Brown]

These are from each city's website.

Here is the Manchester one here

Here is the Portland one here.

Nothing against Pland but that has got to be the corniest video ive ever seen

[BigCityAttitude]

Portland's video has a fun concept (to me anyways... courthouse and all) ... Bad visuals and sound, though. Manchester's is really long and drawn out but you get to see a lot of the city in those 10 minutes so that kinda makes up for it.

[pvenne]

wow. who ordered corny on the cobb? that is the corniest thing ive ever seen. but keep in mind it was made over TEN years ago. manchesters had to have been made within the last 4 years...that probably has something to do with the differences.

i did like the manch video, but way too much emphasis on the mills. i say tear them down, they are so ugly. portland has plenty of buildings like that and i hate driving through sections of town where you have to look at them. it is funny how new england towns think it is something to be proud of that they have an industrial past. at least its good that manch has started to revitalize them at least.

or, maybe if they built up around them then they wouldnt be so noticeable. or maybe just redesign the outside like they do to other buildings every now and then. i dont know, does anyone agree with me? i just cant stand endless rows of brick mill buildings in the middle of a nice modern city.

a few things about the portland video: its so funny cause they show views of other cities in the background at least twice. once they are talking about portlands great "port" and its access to europe etc and then they have a cardboard skyline in the background that looks like it could be montreal or NYC.. hahaha...yeah right.

and then, when the guy was talking about growing for the future, he shows a night time shot of portland that i can only guess is sometime in the future and it has weird looking skyscrapers...yeah right again. this is the future and all portlanders do is shut down development proposals. when i am old and experienced enough i am going to attempt to get on city government and change all of this.

what a corny corny video that was.

but thanks for the contributions anyway, i enjoyed both of them.

P.S. Manchester's video was sponsored by a portland company...no wonder it was so good..

[M. Brown]

I think the mills look nice. There is now way they would tear them down especially today becuase they are historic. They were the largest mills in the world.

[pvenne]

I think the mills look nice.  There is now way they would tear them down especially today becuase they are historic.  They were the largest mills in the world.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

well, i love history as much as the next guy. but if you ask me they are preventing manchester from moving in the direction it should be. it would just look so much nicer without them i think. but like i said, manch could build up around them so they would blen in more with the rest of the city instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. i guess it is all individual taste though.

plus, are you sure they were the largest mills in the world? what about the city manchester was named after...manchester, UK? not saying youre wrong, i just would imagine england would have bigger mills cause thats where the indust. rev. started and stuff...

portlands old port has a bunch of buildings like that but they have been built up around and rennovated to such an extent that they look real nice now. i hope manch does something like that if noto tear them down. its just such a stark contrast between downtown and the river front. again, this is just my personal opinion.

[Vatt]

We've got large mills where I live and I think they do play a large role in the identity of the city. If they were to tear them down, I think a large chunk of Manchester's heritage would be gone and I don't think that they would be easily replaced. Large office space would be something desired so close to downtown.

[Cotuit]

i dont know, does anyone agree with me?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No.

The rest of the country is falling all over themselves trying to create buildings that mimmick the mill buildings we have here in New England. Manchester's mills are it's greatest architectural resource and their redevelopment is key to the city's future.

[BigCityAttitude]

Yes, if mills are revitalized they can become a huge asset to a city in the form of lofts, office spaces, centers for the arts... They were huge in the past and can be huge again if used the right way. Tearing them down would be a signifigant no-no.

[Loughlin]

I love the mill district, it just needs to be more flashy, putting stores and such on the first floors and making the area a walking district like amsterdam has.

[Loughlin]

PC Connections moved from Dover to the tradeport, so now that large mill building across the street from the Butterfield gym is empty

[pvenne]

The rest of the country is falling all over themselves trying to create buildings that mimmick the mill buildings we have here in New England.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i cant think of any cities that would want to mimmick a mill town. lewiston, lowell, biddeford, and previously manchester never get good mentions. manchester has turned itself around from a struggling milltown into a modern city and my only point is that those mills remind us of that.

obviously they were a major economic strength of manchester's or else the population would never have gotten so large...but they arent much to look at.

can you name some of those places that want to mimmick the mill towns of new england, i would be interested to see what type of place they are to begin with if building mill-like structures would be an improvement.

this is all my personal opinion...sorry if it offends anyone who is strongly for the mills.

[pvenne]

still wondering which cities are trying to recreate the mill look...

[Cotuit]

There's actually a pretty famous New Urbanist project that is completely using the New England mill as it's design asthetic, I'll see if I can find anything on it (I can't remember what it was called).

In Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Lowell, and Boston people are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to live in renovated mill buildings. The mills in Providence and Pawtucket are being bought up by developers from across the country to be converted to residential, retail, and office spaces. The entire Olneyville section of Providence, which is dominated by mill buildings is being transformed because of this. In Pawtucket, nationally recognized arts groups (especially from New York) are buying up and rehabilitating mills left and right, the whole resurgence of that city is directly tied to it's mills.

[pvenne]

There's actually a pretty famous New Urbanist project that is completely using the New England mill as it's design asthetic, I'll see if I can find anything on it (I can't remember what it was called).

In Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Lowell, and Boston people are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to live in renovated mill buildings. The mills in Providence and Pawtucket are being bought up by developers from across the country to be converted to residential, retail, and office spaces. The entire Olneyville section of Providence, which is dominated by mill buildings is being transformed because of this. In Pawtucket, nationally recognized arts groups (especially from New York) are buying up and rehabilitating mills left and right, the whole resurgence of that city is directly tied to it's mills.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

mills can be a great asset. i agree. but thats not what i am against. i am against their look. developers only buy mills cause it is cheaper to redevelop them than to build new projects. I, at least, find nothing attractive about mills. they remind me of industrial low class urbaness rather than modern aesthetically appealing urban development. and most of those towns you mentioned already have the mills, i thought you meant the rest of the country (as in places that arent in new england) were trying to build mills like structures. i am just totallyt anti-mill. but i seem to be a minority when it comes to this (although i cant imagine why) so i im just going to stop arguing my point.

[pvenne]

In Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Lowell, and Boston people are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to live in renovated mill buildings.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i wonder what theyd pay to live in a new building...

[Cotuit]

developers only buy mills cause it is cheaper to redevelop them than to build new projects.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, it's much cheaper to knock a mill down and build from scratch, the only reason mills in Rhode Island are finally being redeveloped is due to creative tax incentives from the state.

There are other cities outside New England that covet our mills.

[pvenne]

There are other cities outside New England that covet our mills.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

can you name any?

[pvenne]

Actually, it's much cheaper to knock a mill down and build from scratch, the only reason mills in Rhode Island are finally being redeveloped is due to creative tax incentives from the state.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the only thing ive heard of is that some cities are trying to invite artists to their cities to mimmick the "creative economy" in cities like burlington and portland that attracts a younger crowd...and they do this by giving them incentives to occupy the mills and factory buildings as their homes. but i just cant see other major cities wanting to convert their image to a new england mill town...

[M. Brown]

I think the mills look awesome. I'd never tear them down. The mills are full of businesses now...execpt for the one last abandon one. They helped the recent Manch boom. There is even a museum in one. I have to take you on a tour one of these days and vise versa. And Manchester was named after Manchester England becuase Manchester NH has surpased Manchester England as far as the mills go.

[pvenne]

I have to take you on a tour one of these days and vise versa.  And Manchester was named after Manchester England becuase Manchester NH has surpased Manchester England as far as the mills go.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hey you got it man, maybe thats what i need. i really dont mean to be anti mill, and im sure the functions they serve are great...maybe the manchester mills arent as bad as in other places....but...ahhhh....has anyone on here been to lewiston, maine? i rest my case. that is the city in which i was born, and thank God i dont live there now. there is nothing positive that can be said about those mills. same with brunswick....seriously, has anyone been to lewiston?

M Brown: you are from manchester and know more about it than i do, so if you say the mills are a good thing, i will take your word on it.

[billpa]

Getting back to the videos; they're both goofy, but the Manchester one had me laughing at the start. Does anyone remember the beginning of the movie "The Full Monty"?

Sheffield....A City on the Move!

[CoreyPortlandME]

I'm also glad that you don't live in Lewiston Pvenne, you would probably be a crack dealer. They should really demolish everything in Lewiston and evict all the people and start over fresh.

[Loughlin]

Its so annoying how they call Lewiston-Auburn L.A.

[pvenne]

I'm also glad that you don't live in Lewiston Pvenne, you would probably be a crack dealer. They should really demolish everything in Lewiston and evict all the people and start over fresh.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hahaha, both of you make good points. lewiston is such a dump and calling it L.A. as if it is los angeles doesnt fool anybody!!!