Cool Stuff in Other Cities

[spenser1058]

3 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

Spenser, check out this old photo of Florida Avenue in DT Tampa from 1940. . . Amazing what could have been had they not focused on the Interstate and Expressway. Much like I-4 did here, I-4, I-275 and the Crosstown Expressway/Connector destroyed the potential for downtown Tampa and ripped right through the heart of historic/ethnic communities such as Ybor City. I would argue the damage was even worse for Tampa. Had they not built the highways right through the heart of the town, the would have had the sprawl following out of Tampa along the roadways to areas like Tampa Heights, New Tampa, Brandon, Lutz, etc. The population could have stayed concentrated in the core, with streetcars and other mass transportation serving them, historic areas and buildings could have been preserved and built around instead of razed, and they would have a more vibrant and connected downtown. They are trying to do a lot right now to fix the problems after the fact, finally, but I just wonder how it would be if they never screwed it up in the first place. 

 

You’re right. Tampa has so much potential and hopefully everything they’re doing will work out well for them. I lived in Hyde Park back when I was working in the Senate and it was great, but everything just seemed so spread out compared to downtown Orlando so I moved back over here.  

I loved the history of Tampa and there was a much more “professional” bar scene for us gay folks than Orlando has ever had (over here, it’s more about clubbing after 11pm while Tampa had great happy hours).

The Crosstown Expressway going through downtown is also quite a trip as it gets closer to buildings than I4 does through Orlando.

I also must confess I prefer the Atlantic beaches to the Gulf - I like waves and surfers!

[JFW657]

On 4/20/2019 at 12:46 PM, Uncommon said:

St. Pete has a couple of pretty cool projects I wanted to highlight. Two of them is an addition to their Dalí museum that looks very promising and a new museum centered around arts and craft:

Another project that I hadn’t heard of but that looks very cool and will dramatically alter St. Pete’s already bustling downtown and skyline is 400 Central Ave:

Finally, St. Pete has already seen a new addition to their skyline in the past year with St. Petersburg ONE but St. Petersburg TWO, a 35-story 400 ft condo is starting construction soon.

Add all the ingredients in and out pops a bitter Envy Pie that Orlando is getting served, left behind by the once-sleepy St. Pete that will soon have several 400-footers and even a 550-footer if things work out.

LeSigh.

Damn shame they demolished their iconic, 5 story, upside down pyramid pier...

...and are replacing it with this useless, cheesy looking glass box...

What is the point of this thing anyway?

What are people supposed to do there?

Other than stand around going "Ooooh!!!! - ahhhh!!!!"

Way to go St Pete.

.

Edited May 10, 2019 by JFW657

[spenser1058]

2 minutes ago, JFW657 said:

Damn shame they demolished their iconic, upside down 5 story pyramid pier...

...and are replacing it with this useless, cheesy looking glass box...

What is the point of this thing anyway? What are people supposed to do there? Stand around going "Ooooh - ahhhh"?

Way to go St Pete.

It doesn’t do much for me, either, but then the pyramid was panned also when it replaced the previous, more traditional pier.

In any case, it beats Daytona who didn’t bother to replace the 1/3 of the pier taken out in a storm and replaced the old dance hall with a generic Joe’s (and don’t even get me started about losing the sky ride and the Space Needle).

[spenser1058]

How about a green Notre Dame?

https://www.cnn.com/style/amp/france-notre-dame-green-scli-intl/index.html

From CNN

[dcluley98]

So I fell into an internet wormwhole and somehow stumbled upon the new flag for the City of Little Havana, FL and oh my god it is GLORIOUS!
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/little-havana/article222747150.html

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Uncommon]

19 hours ago, JFW657 said:

Damn shame they demolished their iconic, 5 story, upside down pyramid pier...

...and are replacing it with this useless, cheesy looking glass box...

What is the point of this thing anyway?

What are people supposed to do there?

Other than stand around going "Ooooh!!!! - ahhhh!!!!"

Way to go St Pete.

.

The new pier isn’t much to look at but the old pier was hideous.

[spenser1058]

19 minutes ago, Uncommon said:

The new pier isn’t much to look at but the old pier was hideous.

It certainly was very 60s-ish.

[JFW657]

13 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

So I fell into an internet wormwhole and somehow stumbled upon the new flag for the City of Little Havana, FL and oh my god it is GLORIOUS!
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/little-havana/article222747150.html

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Kinda "busy".

2 hours ago, Uncommon said:

The new pier isn’t much to look at but the old pier was hideous.

I thought it looked cool as.... heck. 

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

It certainly was very 60s-ish.

That's what was so cool about it.

[spenser1058]

I guess I just prefer my pyramids right side up.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Pyramid

From Wiki

[prahaboheme]

The new St Pete pier proposal looks like a solid architectural statement to me. 

As several others have stated here, St Pete seems to be leading the charge in Central Florida at creating a world class downtown.

[spenser1058]

The funniest part about the resurgence of St. Pete is that the folks who have done the most to bring it back alive could mostly care less about baseball.

The Trop was a white elephant from the start, conceived by the grumpy old men who ran the city for decades under the old weak-mayor system. That might as well have been in a different century.

Although Rick Kriseman still has to give the appearance that keeping the Rays in town is important because of the seniors in town who still vote at near-100% levels (but apparently rarely go to the games), they become less of a force each year.

The best thing that could ever happen to the city is for baseball to hop the bay or leave town entirely. That would free city hall to concentrate on the downtown and other components that have actually made a difference.

(Special note: a lot of sports fans say that having a major league sports team puts your name on the map. That may have been true once but it’s less true today - see Austin, TX. It’s never been true for St. Pete - if you get more than a couple of hundred miles away, very few people have any idea that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays aren’t in, ummm, Tampa.)

Edited May 11, 2019 by spenser1058

[prahaboheme]

For those interested, a fly-through video of the pier concept can be found here:

http://www.newstpetepier.com/overview.php

[dcluley98]

While I loved the overall design of the old Pier and its historic nature, I like the overall concept of the new pier and tying it all together into the city as a park and ecosystem much better. We may get nostalgic for an old landmark we lost, but there is no denying that the new space will bring visitors to the waterfront and tie into the existing parks better than the old one did.  You have to look at the whole project, not just the building on the end. (which I rather like also). 

[spenser1058]

2 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

While I loved the overall design of the old Pier and its historic nature, I like the overall concept of the new pier and tying it all together into the city as a park and ecosystem much better. We may get nostalgic for an old landmark we lost, but there is no denying that the new space will bring visitors to the waterfront and tie into the existing parks better than the old one did.  You have to look at the whole project, not just the building on the end. (which I rather like also). 

Hmmm - 1972 is historic? That must make me a landmark! *hangs a plaque around my neck*

[dcluley98]

Ha, I guess "Iconic" might be a better word. 

[Dale]

Does Moscow have the best pedestrian realm in the world ? 

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=2047505

[spenser1058]

Tampa’s upscale mall, International Plaza, is adding a bowling alley and movie theater to remain relevant.

Will ourMall at Millenia which has the same owner, Taubman, consider the same option?

https://www.tampabay.com/business/international-plaza-eyes-two-story-bowling-alley-and-movie-theater-expansion-20190510/

From ST Pete Times 

Meanwhile, The city’s more traditional mall, West Shore Plaza, is going the mixed-use route after losing its Sears and other stores:

https://www.tampabay.com/business/westshore-plaza-owners-buy-43-million-in-land-as-part-of-new-mixed-use-development-plan-20190423/?template=amp

Edited May 12, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

What Tampa wants to do with transit:

https://www.fox13news.com/amp/news/local-news/new-cross-county-transit-options-could-be-on-the-horizon-for-the-tampa-bay-area

From FOX13

It will be interesting to compare this with whatever MayorDemings’ group has in mind.

 

 

 

[spenser1058]

The Jaxson digs in deeper to see what options cities have to restrict the explosion of self-storage facilities now occurring:

https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/packed-murray-hill-house-debates-self-storage-proposal/

[spenser1058]

It seems Tampa has a new Lost Cause. Despite the window being closed on the Rays relocating until 2027, the Tampa Sports Authority continues to pay a consultant to lure baseball across the bay.

Given that the Rays’ attendance is at the bottom of MLB teams, it’s intriguing this continues. Admittedly, the Trop was never the best location for maximizing attendance (most of those living west of it are fish and traffic can be a bear for those to the east) but the fact that the Marlins’ attendance isn’t much better suggests Florida may simply not be a baseball state (in much the same way the Northeast has little interest in NCAA Division 1 football).

Oh well, hope springs eternal for the boys of summer.

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/296644-yes-hillsborough-tampa-are-still-trying-to-build-a-new-rays-stadium

From Florida Politics 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

Scooters arrive in Tampa - there are bumps in the road:

https://www.tampabay.com/transportation/scooters-have-arrived-on-tampa-sidewalks-and-there-are-growing-pains-20190528/?template=amp

From the St Pete Times 

[spenser1058]

While we live through the trials and tribulations of I4 Ultimate, what does Tampa have to look forward to when FDOT fixes the infamous Malfunction Junction?

The St Pete Times takes a look:

https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/05/30/how-could-malfunction-junction-be-transformed-new-videos-offer-a-glimpse-of-the-future/

 

 

[spenser1058]

Super Arbor Man will like this - 650 trees are planned as part of downtown Tampa’s Water Street project:

Water Street Tampa is the first neighborhood in the world to get this wellness certification

https://www.tampabay.com/business/water-street-tampa-wins-healthy-community-certification-20190528/

 

(Via Tampa Bay Times)

[spenser1058]

Even a Millionaires’ Row can go downscale  after a while:

https://amp.businessinsider.com/millionaires-row-miami-tour-map-luxury-condos-photos-2019-5

From Business Insider 

Perhaps most interesting, wealthy younger buyers are eschewing this Miami Beach neighborhood once popular with celebrities in favor of more walkable districts.

[prahaboheme]

9 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Super Arbor Man will like this - 650 trees are planned as part of downtown Tampa’s Water Street project:

Water Street Tampa is the first neighborhood in the world to get this wellness certification

https://www.tampabay.com/business/water-street-tampa-wins-healthy-community-certification-20190528/

 

(Via Tampa Bay Times)

Really hope this whole thing pans out for Tampa. It could finally be the type of project to turn the tide.