Jump to content

Lil' Rhody Lounge | Off-topic posting


Cotuit

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 2k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Huh, I hadn't considered Nova Scotia...  I've heard it's gorgeous.  What else is there to do, however?  Is it a decent restaurant town?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, like I said, I did it in 3-days so I was mostly driving and didn't stay long at any one spot. I really want to go back though. The drive from the ferry landing in Yarmouth to Halifax is quite beautiful. There are plenty of small villages to pull off and explore such as Lunenburg. Halifax reminds me a bit of Portland. Atlantic Canada is still a bit stubbornly depressed economically, so it's not all gentrified out like Portland is, but it is certainly nice. Saint John in New Brunswick was also a funky small city. The trip is more about going off the main roads and exploring the villages and natural beauty of the area, but the cities can hold ones attention.

Halifax is a great photography city, the Harbour is in a deep cut with bluffs on either side. There's probably some great vantage points of Halifax across the harbour in Dartmouth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brussat's ideal

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

I am so tired of Mr. Brussat's gratuitous and unrelenting crusade against modern architecture ("Architecture as haute couture," Commentary, April 7). Enough already!

It's time for him to take on modern painting and sculpture. Let's start with the Museum of Modern Art: Down with Picasso, Rauschenberg, Stella, Jasper Johns; banish Brancusi, Arp, Louise Bourgeois, David Smith. Only representational or neo-classical art will be accepted by the new academy. All museum facades will be altered to conform with Dr. Downtown's credo. When these offenses have been eliminated, we can focus on 20th Century music.

Soon we will occupy a perfect Disneyland, with fake castles, Madame Tussaud figures, and Muzak wafting through the atmosphere.

BARBARA LEVINE

Providence

Online at: http://www.projo.com/opinion/letters/conte...ev.2058f4d.html

:rofl:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I was thinking to ask if one of you wrote that when I read it. I've never been able to pick a side in the whole modern vs. classic debate because I don't believe in absolutes in the first place. I understand the concerns of unchecked modern architecture ruining our city but for different reasons and definitely not to the same extent. I feel that sense of place is the most important aspect of a city's character and I don't want that to be compromised in Providence but I think modern aspects can be introduced without turning away from our heritage. Old doesn't equal good but neither does new. What's important is to evolve from what's there. Take the prominent features of the city and build on their ideas. A city should tell a story of it's history by it's architecture. So far, so good. I just don't want there to be a huge chapter about the rest of the world. You have to admit, we can only take so many glass curtains before it starts to look anonymous.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Garris:

Cotuit is pretty right on about Nova Scotia being beautiful. I spent a week circling the southern part of the peninsula. It sounds as if Cotuit did the Southeast coast, which is awesome in its own right. But if you have time, do the Southwest coast as well. I did a circuit where I stayed in Maine one night, hit the CAT the next morning to Yarmouth (so-so, as far as towns go), then started driving west. These were the places I stayed/hung out:

Digby- picturesque, but tough scalloping / fishing town with some local flavor. The southwest coast is dotted with VERY out of the way Acadian towns. http://www.townofdigby.ns.ca/gallery.html

Annapolis Royal- has a few shops in town, some historic buildings, but an awesome botanical garden just outside of town http://www.historicgardens.com/tourpic/victorian.htm

Wolfville (actually stayed at a B&B in Grand Pre that had a vinyard next door to walk around in)- Acadia University is there, along with a main street with some good restaurants. While in or near Wolfville, you HAVE to give yourself several hours to drive up to Lower Blomidon, where there is a park on a cliff overlooking the Minas basin which is the head of Bay of Fundy (40 foot tides). You can walk down to the beack and literally watch the tide go out or come in about a horizontal foot a minute. It's definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth. http://www.holmpage.com/blomidon/pages/blomidon10.htm

Halifax- dowtown near the port is very hang-outable, there's good vegan, steak places and nightclubs, shops, and definitely check out the NovaScotia College of Art and Design (like RISD North)- good museum

Lunenburg- cool shops and eateries, nice Germanic architecture

Peggy's Cove- Lighthouse on huge rocks on the shores of the Atlantic complete with fishing village houses and boats a la old time Block Island. And the clearest water in the coves I've ever seen. http://www.tourcanada.com/pegcove.htm

Liverpool- very friendly town with several grassroots museums (photography, local culture, craftmanship)

That's one week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Scotia Prince, which runs from Portland to Yarmouth, has been closed for the season due to a dispute between the cruise line, and the City of Portland over it's port facilities. It's a big blow to the tourism industry in both Maine and Nova Scotia. The CAT is still running out of Bar Harbor, ME though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello all:

I finally decided to sign up after reading a series of very insider posts (especially the whole Providence V2.0).  I've been reading the postings in between trolling for an apartment to rent.  So, greetings to all fellow Provi-dites from Millboy!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I missed this post earlier, welcome millboy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to a RI Philharmonic Concert at the VMA on Sunday night (the RI Phil is OK, pretty decent for a small community group, but also pretty pricey for a small community group), but the thing of interest to most UP'ers here is the VMA itself. It's a beautiful concert venue, much nicer and more comfortable than Boston's Symphony Hall, in my opinion.

But if you're going to go to anything there, don't forget to look up at the ceiling! There's a dome recess into the top with the coat of arms of each Rhode Island town in a circle linked by RI's coat of arms. It's pretty cool, and I just love stuff like that. Some of the towns in RI have some pretty impressive coat of arms. I tried to find a photo on the web but couldn't. Maybe I'll smuggle my camera in next time and take a shot.

Also, don't miss lots of little RI details scattered about, like the light fixtures under the balconies in rows U-Z that have a tiny RI anchor in the center. I pointed this out to my girlfriend, and I heard a couple in back of us looking up with us too and saying, "We've been coming here for 30 years and never noticed that." There's lots of little details like that around, I wish I had more time to stay.

That "Avenue of the Arts" when it's done is going to be wonderful.

- Garris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all...

Just got back from Buenos Aires....

all I can say is wow, wicked awesome, insert 100 superlative words and multiply by 1000!

When I get a chance, I'll post some photos...a trip south of the equator offers some new perspective on our little city of Providence!

Edited by eltron
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just wanted to introduce myself since I've been lurking on this forum and on skyscraperpage for quite a while. Brian.....urban junkie..I live over the border in Mass. Can find me in Prov or Boston on most weekends. Think I have at least 1500 or so pics of Providence I've taken. Will start posting them soon..Will be moving to some urban jungle next year. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok.

Here are a few quick observations:

[snip]... its obvious that Buenos Aires has severe difficutlies keeping its infrastructure intact, but they somehow carry it with a dignity we just don't have here...kinda hard to explain.

[snip]... later, I'll try to piece together what Providence can learn from Buenos Aires. I'm sure there is something.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the great post. On the point I quoted above, I've heard many folks from overseas point out the same thing: that there is a civic pride and dignity in cities that seems to be lacking in the modern age in the United States. As if we're just going through the motions and really don't care about urban living, which, until very recently, has been the case. I've also heard others blame the US rules regarding having to accept the lowest bid.

I know someone from Montreal who made the point specifically about Providence's sidewalks and the fact that US cities seem to be the few in the Western, developed world that haven't buried their power lines. She says driving down Wickenden, with all the power lines everywere, drives her nuts.

I look forward to more of your insights!

- Garris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two other forums here you folks might be interested in...

Check out all the condo construction happening right in the center of downtown Minneapolis! It dwarfs even our best case Providence scenario. I lived in Minnesota previously and trust me, MN/St Paul are going to be among the hottest urban neighborhoods in the US. The population of the core downtown of Minnepolis is almost at 30,000 and in 10 years they'll be at 40,000 or more. I think they're getting their 3rd grocer and light rail just came online... Here's the link:

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7290

St Paul is picking up steam as well. Look at the number of developments here! It's significant since St. Paul isn't that much bigger (as far as the downtown goes) than Providence:

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7290

Here's also a link to Minneapolis' cool downtown neighborhood newspaper:

http://www.skywaynews.net/

- Garris

Edited by Garris
Link to comment
Share on other sites

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'LL GET THE HANG OF THIS EVENTUALLY. LONG TIME RI RESIDENT NOW LIVING IN HOLLYWOOD FL SINCE 1993. HOPE TO BE MOVING BACK IN 3-4 YEARS DOWNTOWN SOMEWHERE. I CAN'T COME BACK TILL THERE IS A PLACE TO GO TO. THIS SITE IS GREAT. I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY PERSON INTERESTED IN THE BUILDING OF PROVIDENCE EXCEPT FOR OUR FRIEND AT THE PROJO. I READ THIS SITE EVERY DAY AND I LOVE THE DRAWINGS AND PHOTOS. CAN'T WAIT TO COME BACK. ONLY REASON I LEFT IS THE WEATHER. MY PROBLEM IS THAT I CAN'T FIND THE LISTING FOR THE GTECH BUILDING, INTERCONTINENTAL, CAPITAL COVE, ETC ETC. WHY HAVE THEY BEEN REMOVED????

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're blessed with a wealth of new projects in Providence so a new section has been created for them.

PVD Projects & Construction. The link to it is on the main section above the pinned threads.

A lot of people have trouble with the posting, I had a little trouble with it when we firs upgraded to the latest level of the forum software.

If you want to post to a thread, click the t_reply.gif button at the very bottom of the page.

If you want to add a reply and respond to another members post in your reply click the p_quote.gif button under that users post.

If you want to quote a couple different members posts, click the p_mq_add.gif button under each post you want to quote (the buttons will turn red), then click the t_reply.gif button, all of the post will be put in your post as quotes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UP is the first hit for a search of Providence 2020 on Google (sorry J., Art In Ruins is number 2 :P ).

So I've noticed some new faces (well not actually faces, but screen names) today. Welcome to all the new people who are stumbling in here through Google. Please feel free to jump into the discussion, we won't bite. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lucky Garden Dim Sum Review: North Providence

I went to Lucky Garden on Smith St in North Providence this past weekend to satisfy my Dim Sum craving and I came away very satisfied. I'd say it was slightly below the quality of the best Dim Sum I'd had in Minneapolis (NYC, SF, and Vancouver Dim Sum exist on another level... I won't compare Lucky Garden to those). However, it definitely is much better than the other two Providence Dim Sum options (Phoenix Dragon on Broadway and a place in Rolfe Sq in Cranston that I can't remember the name of right now) and better than I've had at some of the "big name" Boston Chinatown Dim Sum outfits.

My sister and I got sticky rice in lotus leave wrappers, vegetarian dumplings, scallion pancakes, choi sum, sticky rice buns, vege rice rolls, and chicken spring rolls. All were very good, with the rice in lotus leaf being especially tasty. The choi sum was also very well done, being well cooked but still quite crunchy. The vege rice roll may have been the weakest element, being perhaps slightly overcooked compared to what I'm used to and consequently a bit too soft, but it was still very good. Everything came out of the kitchen right when ready and steaming hot.

All of the above, far more than we could finish (and we took quite a bit home) came to about $33 with tax and tip, quite good for such a complete dim sum. Ordering more realistically, we could have shaved 10 dollars off easy...

Atmosphere is what you'd expect in a North Providence strip mall, but that's not why you're there. Also be aware that like all our local Dim Sum offerings, you order off a menu here (no carts).

In all, I'm shocked this place doesn't get more attention given how few our Providence Dim Sum options are and the high quality of the food.

Their menu (regular and dim sum) is at www.luckyandpearl.com.

Enjoy!

- Garris

Providence, RI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hey everyone!Lived in RI all my life untill 7 months ago, grew up in woonsocket, lived in Mt. Pleasant till i moved.Moved to Norfolk, Virginia, What a culture shock...LOL... Love the site, great news im hearing everyday. Can't wait to visit and see the transformation first hand. Providence has a bright future if all the plans prevail! Later guys

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hey everyone!Lived in RI all my life untill 7 months ago, grew up in woonsocket, lived in Mt. Pleasant till i moved.Moved to Norfolk, Virginia, What a culture shock...LOL... Love the site, great news im hearing everyday. Can't wait to  visit and see the transformation first hand. Providence has a bright future if all the plans prevail! Later guys

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Try to plan your trip for the Fall of 2007 when just about everything will be completed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • 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.