Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > August > 08 > Entry
Austinites in Upstate New York, Part 5
For more “Austintes in Upstate New York,” scroll down to posts below, or link to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
The glorious summer weather here — highs in the 70s, mostly sunny, a light, steady wind in the Susquehanna River Valley — encourages walking.
Over the course of four full days here, I will have walked about 25 miles.
I’ve covered the main East-West trajectory across Main and Court streets, a 6-mile axis from the Square Deal arch to the far side of the new medical school (formerly the Inebriate Asylum). And each day, I’ve made multiple trips North-South from my hosts’ home on the Southside, across the well-traveled Washington Street pedestrian and bike bridge, to the city’s increasingly lively downtown core.
Last night, we savored the nightlife on State Street during the city’s First Friday gallery ramble. We ended up at Tranquil, where one could run into a state senator, a state assemblywoman, numerous city hall officials, artists, Web designers, retirees, plus folks leaving the B-Mets game a block away.
Later today, a small group of us will trace the creek that flows through the Southside from source to mouth. So a little nature hiking to go with the urban trekking. Then I’m hoping for a B-Mets game with my godson, Alfie.
One thing strikes me, beyond the city’s glorious density, is the age of the building stock. I know there must be some late 20th-century residences, but I haven’t seen them. Instead, I’ve walked past hundreds of blocks of enormous Victorian or Edwardian beauties.
And here’s the other deal: One can buy a four-bedroom in good condition for under $100,000. A fixer-upper for $25,000. And that’s in part because they built strong-boned houses and apartments in the central city rather than flinging them out over surrounding hills.
I’m not trying to tempt anyone to move. The winters here can be as brutal as the summers in Texas. Also, the economic, cultural and social wounds here are still healing.
But it’s heartening to know that Austin could learn a few things from Binghamton.
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By David Frink
August 10, 2009 11:04 AM | Link to this
Michael: I thought I was the only person to call Binghamton, my hometown, "Big Bing." Thanks for the blog series, timely for me as I'm headed to the shores of the rippling Susquehanna this week for a 40-year high school reunion. Unfortunate that the glorious summer weather is followed by about six months of quite awful, inglorious wintry fare. Brutal, indeed.