[JManc]

Originally Posted by DZH22

I don't know. In Providence you also have the State Capital at the top of the hill, overlooking downtown from a park. You have College Hill which feels like a piece of Cambridge plopped down. You have a dense downtown with a few semi-tall buildings, but overall disappointing skyline. Still, it provides enough old/"new" juxtapositions which is something Boston is known for. You have Federal Hill as a North End of sorts.

Both Providence and Portland share the confusing street layouts. Both have a strong presence of brick, and dense residential areas surrounding downtown. Both have the hilly topography. Portland has the coastline while Providence has the river.

I mean, I can see Portland as very similar, but at the end of the day the complete lack of height means it is not fooling me as a Boston stand-in the way that Providence might. (of course, I know all the tall buildings in Providence AND Boston, but a casual observer could be fooled)

Even today, Portland is stuck on constructing 6 story buildings while Providence at least throws around the ideas of adding additional height. If I'm being nice, since I love Portland, I'll say that Portland is a Baby Baby Boston.

I got more of a Boston vibe in Portland than I did in Providence. Providence had more of a generic 'Boston area' aesthetic where as Portland channeled Boston itself.