Prof. Dave, on the residential aspect, and the super high-end retail, Manayunk will never be the exclusive enclave that Georgetown has always been (I'm a 'Hoya). In Philly, I'd compare G-town more to Society Hill, and if/when Penn's Landing ever develops into something, the area may resemble G-town even more.

There are similarities, to be sure, but I would not put Manuyunk in that category. Comparatively, it is more bottlenecked and compact, plus to my knowledge, there aren't any homes in the $10's of millions range in Manayunk.

I do agree that Georgetown is much more established, but the elements of G'town and Manayunk are very similar. Give it another 10 years - I just see an evolution of Manayunk on the upswing.

I agree that Manayunk is a great spot; it is bogged down in traffic though, and it is getting worse. If transit improvements are made which bring subway-style service there, it could see huge gains. Georgetown, incidentally, has a subway line running deep below Georgetown Park mall, though from what I had heard, the neighborhood opposition to a stop there prevented them from ever building a station stop. With so much traffic on "M" street these days, I bet some wish they could have reversed their decision.

They are the property and business owners on Main Street.

mikeg it was a comment on where manayunk is headed not to where it's at. the clientele, the canal, the river, and the geogrpaphic separation from the rest of the city are things they have in common. it's Pain in the ass to get to G-town as it is to manayunk. society hil is right in the thick of things. at any rate, it will never be entirely the same (big hill) but I do see it headed in that direction.

My mom was commenting on the commercial aspects of Georgetown as being comparable to Main Street, not the residential aspects. In that regard, Society Hill is nowhere close to Georgetown or Manayunk... I don't think Society Hill (as I define it, I know the borders are all over the place, depending on what realtor you talk to) has much of a "commercial district."

I agree that Main Street has the potential to be a great destination for shopping and retail. The location is really super - I have a number of Main Line clients that will only venture as far "east" as Manayunk for dining. What they need is some better options on Main Street at this point...

The canal has so much potential. It's a great asset. In terms of atmosphere, it can offer what many of the other sections of the City cannot.

We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Main Street - as it exists today - has not been long in the making. This is not an area of the City that has been a shopping/restaurant area for 50 years - or even 25 years. Main Street has been 'finding' itself as it evolves over the past two decades. There are some good people on board - and clearly, some opportunists who care more about the money than the future. I am optimistic that those folks will be sorted out and what will remain will be only positives for the area. How long that will take is the big mystery...

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www.taxgirl.com

Professor Dave: Ah, you went to Olde City . . . I was talking about Old City, a far different place.

But, you misread me . . . or I didn't state things clearly enough. Old City has, you are right, become the mecca of the college cool kids . . . which has driven many of us residents out of town.

And even many of the restaurants, including such pioneers as Philadelphia Fish & Company, Serran, Sassafras, etc. have trouble because the throngs of young twits overruns the place every weekend - actually, from Thursday to Sunday. There's no parking for folks who want a more serious meal or a comfortable place to eat. And, unless you go unfashionably early, you just have to deal with the noise, screaming, yelling, loud music, etc. Not to mention the traffic.

Unfortunately, Old City has become exactly what Manayunk was headed for. And the sad things, that it's a false economic boom - since there is constant turnover among restaurants, most of the money (income) is taken outside of the community, the restaurants do not, for the most part, appear to those in the neighborhood. And even worse, like bad money driving out the good, bad development drives out the good.

I remember the guys at Osuna (the wonderful furntiture store on the 200 block of market) saying "Drunks don't buy furniture."

The same thing has happened with a number of good, small clothing stores.

And the odd thing is that while the "boom" goes on, there are nearly as many vacant or badly used storefronts along Market as there have always been. And the upstairs floors in most of the buildings remains vacant and unused - with unfriendly boards over many of the windows.

Manayunk has got a chance now to regather itself and move on with real development.

The only hope for Old City these days, in my opinion, is that some other neighborhood will get "hot" and give Old City the breathing room it needs to figure out where it wants to go.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs

As for the Georgetown/Manayunk comparison - about the only thing that I would see is a canal and a river (although both are fairly inaccessible).

Georgetown started out with a high end residential section - Manayunk is working, blue collar. Georgetown as a large university (for high income students - for the most part); Manayunk has none. Georgetown also has access to nearby GWU and American University students; Manayunk has Roxborough HS students ;-) ; And Georgetown has a booming commercial/office district which Manayunk doesn't have.

Both do sort of run from the south to the north (roughly) - Man Street vs. Wisconsin Avenue.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs

however, old city acts as a magnet for many young people who move there first and then move on in the city. given that very few people lived there and the district was mostly commercial it's not a surprise. and the over 25 scene has already moved to rittenhouse to a alrge extent but old city still has the name. I know plenty of people who go there, that are older, because they know it's the place to go when you want to go out. unfortunately, they usually don;t like the throngs either but then again, they get tired at 10 anyways.
Eulogy does pretty decent business as a good bar. I also think that as these condo places fill up there will be a change in character of the neighborhood. Hopefully it will never be as staid and boring as neighboring society hill.

I have been thinking the same thing as I watch the renovations and new construction. Nothing against renters in OC (I have met many nice people who are renters), but I think it's important that most of the condos are occupied by the owners--it would impact the area more.

Perhaps Manayunk will have an easier time getting this, since it is not as "snooty". I'm sure the G'town residents to this day are glad that there is no Metro stop (BTW, they have also managed to eliminate all of the nightclubs and a few bars). Georgetown Park mall and other businesses sure would do a lot better, though.