Nashville Bits and Pieces

[NissanvilleTitans]

6 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

I completely hear what you're saying, and I too wish Nashville's skyline would reach higher.  However, I think it's a pretty big overstatement to say that a city "needs" a tall skyline.  I don't even really think it's important for a city to have an aesthetically attractive skyline, to be honest.  Yeah, they're nice to look at from a distance or on a postcard, and they're good for boasting about, but in reality, that's about it.  Of far more importance is the experience one has when actually on the ground IN the city, not the tingles they feel looking at it from great distances.  

That is exactly my thoughts on the matter as well. That's why Chattanooga, Sedona, and Juneau are right up there with Seattle and San Francisco to round out my top 5 favorite cities, not because of height but because of the experience. 

[titanhog]

13 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

I completely hear what you're saying, and I too wish Nashville's skyline would reach higher.  However, I think it's a pretty big overstatement to say that a city "needs" a tall skyline.  I don't even really think it's important for a city to have an aesthetically attractive skyline, to be honest.  Yeah, they're nice to look at from a distance or on a postcard, and they're good for boasting about, but in reality, that's about it.  Of far more importance is the experience one has when actually on the ground IN the city, not the tingles they feel looking at it from great distances.  

[Canuck87]

1 hour ago, wreynol4 said:

We don't have a company big enough here to justify a 50+ story office building like Charlotte and Atlanta does because of the banks. I'm hoping we will crack the 600 mark in next 10 years.

True, we don't have a company large enough to require a 50+ story office building on its own. But I'm assuming the overwhelming majority of 50+ story buildings aren't occupied by a single tenant (I don't have any statistical evidence backing up this claim; it's just a hunch). Between Nissan, HCA, Bridgestone, Dollar General, and the other large companies based in the area, a 50 story building wouldn't be completely unreasonable.

[KJHburg]

Here are some photos from Charlotte's UrbanPlanet. Look at some of the most recent photos

I live here in Charlotte and we do have large users of office space with Bank of America HQ, Wells Fargo east coast HQ and Duke Energy HQ all have driven large and tall office buildings. Most are multi tenant buildings however but  Bank of America is pushing out about 200K of other tenants in their corporately owned 60 story building to consolidate into buildings they own downtown. The 2 tallest buildings in Charlotte Bank of America Corp. Center at 60 stories and 48 story Duke Energy Building are taller than anything in Nashville. However all the recent high rise growth and we have quite a bit is in the 20-40 story range. 

[titanhog]

^^Charlotte has several "Signature" towers...all better looking than anything in Nashville.  I see at least 4 or 5 I wish I could pluck from Charlotte and drop in DT Nashville.

[BnaBreaker]

Call me crazy...call me biased...but given the balance, the river and bridges, the rail yard, the hills, and the mixture of architecture from all eras etc., I actually prefer the overall composition of the Nashville skyline to the 'office park in the sky' look of Charlotte's.  I'm positive I'm in the minority on that one.  Charlotte definitely has some gorgeous individual towers though that any city would be lucky to have.  

[bhibbs]

7 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

Call me crazy...call me biased...but given the balance, the river and bridges, the rail yard, the hills, and the mixture of architecture from all eras etc., I actually prefer the overall composition of the Nashville skyline to the 'office park in the sky' look of Charlotte's.  I'm positive I'm in the minority on that one.  Charlotte definitely has some gorgeous individual towers though that any city would be lucky to have.  

I honestly never paid attention to their skyline before till now.
Like you said, there are a few buildings there that stand out, but, I guess im biased as well
Give me our skyline that fronts the river, the beautiful bridges we have, and the mixture of newer and older architecture.

[jmtunafish]

7 hours ago, BnaBreaker said:

Call me crazy...call me biased...but given the balance, the river and bridges, the rail yard, the hills, and the mixture of architecture from all eras etc., I actually prefer the overall composition of the Nashville skyline to the 'office park in the sky' look of Charlotte's.  I'm positive I'm in the minority on that one.  Charlotte definitely has some gorgeous individual towers though that any city would be lucky to have.  

Oh gosh me too.  I was in Charlotte a few weeks ago to attend a wedding in the county courthouse downtown and stayed a few days.  NOT impressed.  From a distance Charlotte has a nice skyline with some impressive towers.  But at the street level?  B-O-R-I-N-G.  There is absolutely nothing that a visitor would enjoy seeing in downtown, oops "uptown" Charlotte.  Plus, I'm convinced that Nashville's urban core has a larger footprint than Charlotte's.  Charlotte's downtown is also surrounded by a freeway, but unlike Nashville, Charlotte's downtown loop (I-277) seems to be a barrier.  I didn't see anything in Charlotte to compare to Nashville's West End / Midtown / Hillsboro Village conglomeration.  Having premier universities within stone's throw of downtown is something Nashville has that Charlotte doesn't, and it has been a boon to Nashville.

[Nashtitans]

5 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

Oh gosh me too.  I was in Charlotte a few weeks ago to attend a wedding in the county courthouse downtown and stayed a few days.  NOT impressed.  From a distance Charlotte has a nice skyline with some impressive towers.  But at the street level?  B-O-R-I-N-G.  There is absolutely nothing that a visitor would enjoy seeing in downtown, oops "uptown" Charlotte.  Plus, I'm convinced that Nashville's urban core has a larger footprint than Charlotte's.  Charlotte's downtown is also surrounded by a freeway, but unlike Nashville, Charlotte's downtown loop (I-277) seems to be a barrier.  I didn't see anything in Charlotte to compare to Nashville's West End / Midtown / Hillsboro Village conglomeration.  Having premier universities within stone's throw of downtown is something Nashville has that Charlotte doesn't, and it has been a boon to Nashville.

That's the thing I like about Nashville and Austin unlike Atl and Clt. Charlotte and Atlanta are surrounded in freeways with no scenery, no river, etc...Love how Austin and Nashville has tons of scenery around it and isn't a freeway-fest.

[MLBrumby]

 I'm from Atlanta, live in Chattanooga and visit Nashville, Charlotte and other cities several times a year, mostly for business. While I admit to skyline envy sometimes, I always anchor on the character of a place. It's why I still live on a mountain with a nice view of a valley with a river and a short commute to a vibrant downtown where I can afford to eat/drink/park/shop and walk easily from one interesting place to another (especially for a city its size).  I would not trade the natural beauty and strong community I have for any of the places mentioned. However, of all the places being compared I think Nashville has far more character than the others. It just feels more authentic to me. 

Edited November 29, 2016 by MLBrumby

[smeagolsfree]

Very true in all accounts of Charlotte, as I make it a point to visit other cities and get into to fabric of the worlds in those place. I have been to 20 plus cities in the last 2 to 3 years and it is always exciting to visit.

Lets just make sure we are not slamming other cities and do valid criticism.

I love a gridded city as far as ease of travel, and functionality, but I will say the quirkiness of a city can add a lot of surprises, especially if you add in elevation changes, Rivers, RR tracks, etc. Nashville being a hub and spoke city with many streets coming together at angle is very cool. Wishing very much we had a number of Flatiron buildings that other cities have. Chattanooga has a number of those in their downtown.

I have said this before and will say it again, and that is Nashville has huge areas of real estate that can be developed without tearing down one thing vs Charlotte, that has very little open space to build on in the core. Birmingham is another city that has huge areas that can be built on, but that is a long way down the rd. However they are getting a number of smaller midrise apartment and condo building on the south side. Nashville and B'Ham are similar as they both have large areas of RR Tracks that separate the main areas of town.

As far as Austin goes, a major drawback is the fact they do not have a loop around their core where Nashville does. I have driven in Austin and traffic is a bear with giant claws. Not only there but the entire I 35 corridor from San Antonio up to Dallas.

Elevation can play a big role in the way a city plays. Two examples come to mind and those are San Fran and Cincy. San Fran is a different animal all together so there is no comparison.

Nashville is sorely lacking in pre WW II masonry buildings that really adds to the fabric of a city. A great example is Carson Street in  Pittsburg and somewhat to a lesser degree is Bardstown rd. in Louisville. The northern cities will always be ahead of us in that area with two exceptions being Birmingham which has a decent stock, once being called the Pittsburg of the south, and the other city in the south that is more like a northern city is NOLA.

Guys, I could go on for hours about my travels to our great sister cities, but alas, you would get bored

 

[Nashtitans]

6 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

Very true in all accounts of Charlotte, as I make it a point to visit other cities and get into to fabric of the worlds in those place.

Lets just make sure we are not slamming other cities and do valid criticism.

I love a gridded city as far as ease of travel, and functionality, but I will say the quirkiness of a city can add a lot of surprises, especially if you add in elevation changes, Rivers, RR tracks, etc. Nashville being a hub and spoke city with many streets coming together at angle is very cool. Wishing very much we had a number of Flatiron buildings that other cities have. Chattanooga has a number of those in their downtown.

I have said this before and will say it again, and that is Nashville has huge areas of real estate that can be developed without tearing down one thing vs Charlotte, that has very little open space to build on in the core. Birmingham is another city that has huge areas that can be built on, but that is a long way down the rd. However they are getting a number of smaller midrise apartment and condo building on the south side. Nashville and B'Ham are similar as they both have large areas of RR Tracks that separate the main areas of town.

As far as Austin goes, a major drawback is the fact they do not have a loop around their core where Nashville does. I have driven in Austin and traffic is a bear with giant claws. Not only there but the entire I 35 corridor from San Antonio up to Dallas.

Elevation can play a big role in the way a city plays. Two examples come to mind and those are San Fran and Cincy. San Fran is a different animal all together so there is no comparison.

Nashville is sorely lacking in pre WW II masonry buildings that really adds to the fabric of a city. A great example is Carson Street in  Pittsburg and somewhat to a lesser degree is Bardstown rd. in Louisville. The northern cities will always be ahead of us in that area with two exceptions being Birmingham which has a decent stock, once being called the Pittsburg of the south, and the other city in the south that is more like a northern city is NOLA.

Guys, I could go on for hours about my travels to our great sister cities, but alas, you would get bored

 

No I appreciate your telling of other cities and I'm sure others do to. I like seeing Nashville compared to other cities.  I know we get compared to Austin and CLT alot since all three of these cities are very similar, and its nice to see how we stack up to other cities.

 

Oh and about the elevation thing you talked about. Isn't Nashville one of the hilliest cities in the country? Do you think the topography changes how Nashville is? I know SF, Pittsburgh, Cincy, Seattle, are the hilliest, with Nashville next after Seattle I think.

[Canuck87]

7 minutes ago, Nashtitans said:

I love a gridded city as far as ease of travel, and functionality, but I will say the quirkiness of a city can add a lot of surprises

Truer words were never spoken. I was in Boston this summer and its downtown is the antithesis of a grid.

It's fairly obvious that large segments of the city were built before "urban planning" was a thing. It makes the downtown an absolute nightmare to navigate but an adventure to explore.

[rookzie]

55 minutes ago, Canuck87 said:

Truer words were never spoken. I was in Boston this summer and its downtown is the antithesis of a grid.

It's fairly obvious that large segments of the city were built before "urban planning" was a thing. It makes the downtown an absolute nightmare to navigate but an adventure to explore.

That hits home with me as well.  I consider KCMO as a rather easy city in which to navigate, because of its well defined and extensive grid.  Greater Boston was my home for a number of years, starting close to a half century ago ─ Cambridge, Medford, and Lynn ─ and although I had a car for a while, the car actually got in the way.  Even then I found it very difficult and frustrating to drive anywhere around there, period, except within the outlying areas, then-unserved or underserved by transit.

I actually had developed a rather keen sense of navigation by foot, subway, streetcar, bus, and commuter rail, much of which had still been privately owned back then, and over time, I grew mentally oriented to nearly every sector in the greater core region, such that I could determine exactly how and where I needed to go.  Needless to say though, that had been made possible because of the alternatives readily available, which worked well with the intrinsic charm of the city.

Edited November 29, 2016 by rookzie

[Canuck87]

^ Not to mention the fact that the cheapest parking I saw in downtown Boston was close to $40 for the day... walking or paying $2 for a Charlie Card were the only affordable options. 

[KJHburg]

Sorry to start such a controversy. Nashville needs to be Nashville which maybe means not as many huge office towers as Charlotte. Charlotte needs to be Charlotte. I for one love downtown Nashville and the hills make the whole area beautiful. Our downtown and yes we do call it uptown as it on a ridge line is more compact and with our office users we needed to go tall. Our skyline makes it special as we don't have a river running through it or dividing it either. Nashville and Charlotte both have better downtowns than Atlanta. As for being near the courthouse in Charlotte that is called the government district and the most lifeless area of downtown after 5 pm. Believe me we locals dont like it either. But for every intown neighborhood in Nashville we have a counterpart. One thing you beat Charlotte in hands down is parking costs downtown. I hope your light rail comes right through the heart of downtown and links your universities to it. By next summer Charlotte will have 20 miles of light rail and huge transit oriented developments all along it including what is being called the most transit accessible Whole Foods in the country that opens onto the light rail line right downtown. Just keep building residential building downtown and that brings so much life. Our office park in the sky was a very true statement years ago but after 1000s of units of condos and apartments there are so many residents in our downtown now and a lot more coming.    Question: can you park a low cost or free at the stadium and walk across the bridge to downtown? I am coming back in the spring. 

[MLBrumby]

I think what many here mean when they say "a new tallest" is that with a 700-footer, the skyline which is quite dense (and getting more so each month) will look spectacular with it.  The Buckingham tower and JWM will stretch it farther to the west. Nashville may never get a BoA-type tower soon, but the city is certainly moving in more of a Vancouver direction.  I would rather be Vancouver than Atlanta.  

[BnaBreaker]

48 minutes ago, MLBrumby said:

I think what many here mean when they say "a new tallest" is that with a 700-footer, the skyline which is quite dense (and getting more so each month) will look spectacular with it.  The Buckingham tower and JWM will stretch it farther to the west. Nashville may never get a BoA-type tower soon, but the city is certainly moving in more of a Vancouver direction.  I would rather be Vancouver than Atlanta.  

No doubt about it, and that's not a knock in Atlanta either.  Vancouver is just such an unbelievably remarkable city by just about every measure I can think of, that it'd be hard for most cities to stack up.  The only bad thing I can think to say about it is that I hate their NHL team.  lol  Canuck87, which Canadian city do you hail from originally, if you don't mind me asking?

Also, I really apologize for going off topic like this, but speaking of Vancouver, I couldn't help but share this stunningly gorgeous picture of the Vancouver metro area taken by a forumer named Vanman over at SSP.  I mean...what can you say about this other than WOW...

FULL SIZE IMAGE HERE (I highly recommend seeing this): http://i.imgur.com/xEGLFFC.jpg

Edited November 30, 2016 by BnaBreaker

[Nashtitans]

^Geez vancouver has like 6 different skylines.

[Canuck87]

1 hour ago, BnaBreaker said:

Canuck87, which Canadian city do you hail from originally, if you don't mind me asking?

I was born in Vancouver, and a lot of my extended family still live there and on Vancouver Island. I also lived in Calgary for 8 years (which by the way is a criminally underrated city if you're asking me). My parents currently live in Toronto. All that to say, I have ties all across the Great White North.

And I agree that Vancouver is remarkable (though I'm probably biased). Vancouver is also proof positive that a skyline doesn't need super-tall buildings to be impressive; I think the city only has one building over 500 ft. Not only is the city great, the surrounding landscape is phenomenal. 

 

I thought I'd throw in a picture of Calgary since it doesn't seem to get much love.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Canuck87

[titanhog]

The good thing about Vancouver's skyline, even though they don't have a lot of really tall buildings, it's dense and it appears there is a lot of height variance and interesting architecture...from a viewing standpoint.

[Canuck87]

7 minutes ago, titanhog said:

The good thing about Vancouver's skyline, even though they don't have a lot of really tall buildings, it's dense and it appears there is a lot of height variance and interesting architecture...from a viewing standpoint.

One thing about water is that it does a great job of promoting density.

[LA_TN]

3 hours ago, Canuck87 said:

I also lived in Calgary for 8 years (which by the way is a criminally underrated city if you're asking me). 

I thought I'd throw in a picture of Calgary since it doesn't seem to get much love.

Calgary is very much underrated. Great transit, truly international airport, ....

[Nashtitans]

These canadian cities look better than most US cities.

[smeagolsfree]

15 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Sorry to start such a controversy. Nashville needs to be Nashville which maybe means not as many huge office towers as Charlotte. Charlotte needs to be Charlotte. I for one love downtown Nashville and the hills make the whole area beautiful. Our downtown and yes we do call it uptown as it on a ridge line is more compact and with our office users we needed to go tall. Our skyline makes it special as we don't have a river running through it or dividing it either. Nashville and Charlotte both have better downtowns than Atlanta. As for being near the courthouse in Charlotte that is called the government district and the most lifeless area of downtown after 5 pm. Believe me we locals dont like it either. But for every intown neighborhood in Nashville we have a counterpart. One thing you beat Charlotte in hands down is parking costs downtown. I hope your light rail comes right through the heart of downtown and links your universities to it. By next summer Charlotte will have 20 miles of light rail and huge transit oriented developments all along it including what is being called the most transit accessible Whole Foods in the country that opens onto the light rail line right downtown. Just keep building residential building downtown and that brings so much life. Our office park in the sky was a very true statement years ago but after 1000s of units of condos and apartments there are so many residents in our downtown now and a lot more coming.    Question: can you park a low cost or free at the stadium and walk across the bridge to downtown? I am coming back in the spring. 

No controversy IMO, as this seems to be a popular topic and in the right place as this is a catch all thread.