Jump to content

Favorite midwestern US city

urbanvb

By urbanvb
in Urban Design & Architecture

  

116 members have voted

  1. 1. Pick your favorite midwestern City

    • Cleveland
      6
    • Columbus
      6
    • Cincinnati
      8
    • Louisville
      6
    • Indianapolis
      8
    • Detroit
      19
    • Madison
      1
    • Chicago
      36
    • St. Louis
      9
    • KC
      5
    • Minneapolis/St. Paul
      12

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 62
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Louisvilleslugger Whistle-Stop

Louisvilleslugger

Posted
Posted

No its not a big deal. I wish Louisville was more a part of the "southern boom" actually. The fact is, it has way more in common with Saint Louis than with Charlotte (excluding size). Louisville is best defined as industrial, Ohio Valley, and NOT southern. Sure, some Louisvillians have southern accents; so do some in Saint Louis, Missoura or Cincinnat-uh, Ohiyuh. Most of these people are transplants from out in the state or in Cincy's case, from the eatern parts of KY and WV.

So its not a big deal. Classify it as southern bc it is in KY if you want. But know that its is not really the south. For someone from Minneapolis, it may be all the "south" they can take. But I always tell people, if you want a true southern city, try Nashville or Birmingham.

[/quote

As I stated earlier St. Louis or Cincinnati are not the definiton of Midwestern cities as they are too often considered to have a strong Southern inflence (Cincinnai more than St. Louis; St. Louis got there Southern vibe from the black Migration to the North). Cincinnati as called by residence of upper Ohio Cincinatucky is obviously more mix of Southern and Midwestern.

Louisville is more of a boom town to all, But maybe 5 Midwestern cities when it comes to population growth. Also Louisville is growing faster than New Orleans (post Katrina) and just about every major Louisiana, Alabama, and mississippi cities. There are also onlt 2 manufacturing centers on the Ohio (louisville and Cincinnati) so I don't think it was that symbolic for Northern manufacturing.

The fact is that Louisville has much more Culturally, Historically, and Architecturally in common with Memphis than St. Louis. Afterall most people view Louisville as a Southern city.

Also do you have stats stating that the Southern folks in Louisville aren't from Louisville or are you going around looking at the license plates of every person with a Southern accent, if so I'd love to see the complete report of your study. If you look at the map of the way people pronounce Coke (Louisville's red with the rest of the SOUTH,whereas the midwest is BLUE), it would seem a little strange if the conductors of the study only asked the transplants from he rural areas ;)

Louisville was (back in the 19th century) actually defined as the manufacturing Captial of the South and the Gateway city to the South. Due to Louisville's location on the Ohio, which helped it to attract to Industry to the area just like other Southern River cities suchas Memphis and New Orleans and even non river cities like Birmingham. Louisville's title as the manufacturing Capital of the South also came into play when the L&N (Louisville and Nashville) (there was no L&C; Louisville and Chicago) was constructed that connected Louisville to Nashville and further South to Atlanta.

Louisville also had one of the largest slave owning populations (there were no slaves in the North except for the southern edge of Missouri) in the country (even though it was just across the river from a free state) which was just a reflection of it's state which had the 3rd largest slave population after (Virginia and Georgia). During the Civil War Louisville was constently under question by the North for aiding the Confederacy, and was by no means trusted by the North. To this day a Confederate monument stands in the City of Louisville.

Also unlike Midwestern cities Louisville does not have a sigifigant population of Eastern and Southern Europeans (from places like Poland and Hungary) that came during a European Migration period (WWII). Even small Midwestern cities like South Bend and Toledo received a substantial number of immigrants from those areas of the world.

Archtiecturally Louisville's first suburb Old Louisville with it's wrought iron, huge fountains, huge Magnolias looming over the streets and Victorian style architecture that are found only in the most prominent Southern cities of the 19th century like Charleston, New Orleans, Savanah, and even Richmond, NOWHERE in the Midwest. Also Louisville like New Orleans urban areas (at least in the West or older parts of town) are lined with Shotgun houses destintively Southern, found mostly in cities like New Orleans.

Culturally Louisville is much much more of a Southern city than Midwestern, Like i've said earlier if you compare louisville's Culture, History, and Architecture to that of New Orleans and Birmingham (2 Deep Southern cities) and then compare it to that of Minnianapolis and Milwaulkee (2 upper Midwestern cities) Louisville undoubtibly has 3x more in common with the Southern cities.

KNOW LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY IS WILL AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE SOUTH!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Choirboy622 Whistle-Stop

Choirboy622

Posted
Posted

its funny....you ask people down south where Louisville is and they will tell you midwest...you ask people in the midwest where Louisville is and they say down south...bwwwhahaha....just leave us alone...we are nowhere ok...we're just in the middle of nowhere......................... :rolleyes:

Louisville isn't in the middle of nowhere...it just constitutes its own region. No other area is worthy to be associated with Louisville! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Snowguy716 Burg

Snowguy716

Posted
Posted

I also like Duluth, MN. Despite its very strong industrial, blue collar history, the city is very progressive and forward thinking. I believe they have a bright future because people really want to live there because of affordable housing and the beautiful views.

Not quite the student atmosphere of Madison, but I would say it's kind of comparable in certain aspects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
Evergrey Hamlet

Evergrey

Posted
Posted

I think he was kidding about Steubenville. I've never seen a city so desolated. It breaks my heart to think people could just abandon their homes and cities like that. It doesn't happen in Europe

The reason I like Steubenville is because it's the closest "Midwestern city" to Pittsburgh! ;)

In all honesty though... I like Cincy... due to its hilly terrain and gorgeous rowhouses. Over-The-Rhine is one kickass urban district.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ChattyPlanner Unincorporated Area

ChattyPlanner

Posted
Posted

I would have chosen MILWAUKEE had it been on the list. Louisville is VERY borderline midwestern, but Milwaukee is certainly more midwestern. Once again, it gets overshadowed by Chicago.

Madison is by far the smallest metro area on the list. To me, it's a glorified college town just because it has a capitol building.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Minneapolitan Whistle-Stop

Minneapolitan

Posted
Posted

I would have chosen MILWAUKEE had it been on the list. Louisville is VERY borderline midwestern, but Milwaukee is certainly more midwestern. Once again, it gets overshadowed by Chicago.

Madison is by far the smallest metro area on the list. To me, it's a glorified college town just because it has a capitol building.

I agree with your statement about Milwaukee. It's unfortunate the city doesn't get the type of respect it deserves. I can't agree with your opinion about Madison though. The fact that many people respect the city has nothing to do with it being a college town or the state capital. Unlike a lot of cities, Madison has a positive vibe. It's safe, progressive and has a great economy that is rapidly diversifying. It definitely benefits from being so close to Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
dimebag1980 Metropolis

dimebag1980

Posted
Posted

Chicago would defintely be my #1, but after that I would have Saint Louis, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Kansas City.

I've never been to Minneapolis or Detroit (though I do want to visit both) so I'd have to list, from my own personal experience with the midwest, Chicago, St. Louis, and then Kansas City. Basically your list, but without Minneapolis and Detroit. Chicago MUST be #1!! The other cities are awesome, but Chicago is king of the midwest!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Minneapolitan Whistle-Stop

Minneapolitan

Posted
Posted

there is only one real city in the midwest and tht city is chicago. rest are have beens, declined into nothings. east coast and west coast is where its at, rest of the country is depressing.

:rofl: The Minneapolis area has declined into nothing even though it's one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country (faster than a lot of east and west coast cities), home to 18 Fortune 500 companies, 15 Fortune 1000, and some of the largest private companies in the country. Its downtown area is also booming with cultural and housing projects. I guess this and all its other positive attributes makes it a "have been".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 7 months later...
Chazarelli Unincorporated Area

Chazarelli

Posted
Posted

Chicago is definatley king, but it's also in a class of its own when speaking about midwest cities.

1. Chicago

2. Kansas City

3. Detroit

4. St. Louis

If I wasn't so knowledgeable about Kansas City I probably wouldn't have included it, but Kansas City is beautiful and has so much to offer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.