Architecture Here and There

That is, the wonder of living downtown. It rocks.

A couple days ago I received an e-mail from a friend. After reading my blog flogging the open house of downtown residential complexes (see the blog entry "Tour of downtown living" on June 17), she asked whether it was really feasible to live downtown. She knows I do. Maybe she was just pulling my leg. Anyway, I replied thus:

"It is perfectly feasible to live downtown. There are many shops - add to them now a grocery and a pharmacy. There are scores if not hundreds of shops of various sorts. There are some really nice shops on Westminster. There are shops that have shut down because of the recession (as is true everywhere). Having Providence Place means that what you cannot get in shops on the streets downtown you can get at the mall. All in walking distance. And some of that walking rather lovely into the bargain. ...

[See, for example, the shot above of Westminster Street, a block away from where I live in downtown. Oh, and I forgot to mention all the fine restaurants! The shot below is our view, looking past City Hall on the left, through Kennedy Plaza and up College Hill.]

"Anyway, you don't have to work downtown to live downtown. A lot of people live downtown and work in Boston - again, without having to have a car. There are a lot more shops in and near downtown than near most single-family residences either in the city or in the suburbs, and in the latter you often must drive to get to the closest. And a part of what everyone requires is downtown - such as city and state services.

"Living downtown is certainly safer than living in the suburbs, since the chance of dying in an auto accident is much larger than that of dying as a victim of crime. It helps if you like the hustle and bustle of the city. If you don't, don't live downtown. ..."

 Tags  downtown Providence RI Westminster Street

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