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  #41  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 8:30 AM
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To be fair, that picture of Phoenix above is their second skyline. When combined, Phoenix isn't that bad


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  #42  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 5:58 PM
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But the city itself is 390 some thousand.
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Originally Posted by wrabbit View Post
Minneapolis has an especially tall, dense skyline for an American city in the under-500k set.
And if we cut downtown Manhattan from New York City and let it exist by itself everyone would be impressed that a city of 200,000 could have a bunch of 750'+ skyscrapers.

Minneapolis is a city of 390,000 people surrounded by 3.2 million other people, many of whom go into that city to work. Minneapolis has a large skyline for a city of 390,000 people because it is the centre of a metropolitan area of over three million. City limits, especially in the United States, are very arbitrary things with regards to population. The population of Minneapolis proper has nothing to do with its skyline, and it isn't "an impressive skyline for a city of 390,000 people" because, legal boundaries aside, that is not what Minneapolis is.

You could make a similar argument: The riding of Toronto Centre has only 120,000 people but wow, a 298m skyscraper and a 553m observation deck?! How impressive for only 120,000 people! Imagine how impressive it would be if the 5.5 million people living nearby weren't there!
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  #43  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 6:16 PM
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Okay, then let me rephrase - Minneapolis has an especially tall, dense skyline for an American metropolitan area of only 3.2 million people (a region it shares BTW with St. Paul, which has its own CBD & skyline.)

Also, I understand that you were making a general point when you cited a population figure of 200,000 for Manhattan, but the actual 2008 census figure is 1,634,795.

Last edited by wrab; Dec 26, 2009 at 6:52 PM.
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  #44  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 6:50 PM
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I meant downtown Manhattan. Below 14th. Because that is how arbitrary many American city limits can be.

And no, Minneapolis' skyline isn't really that impressive for a city of over 3 million. Compare it to Montreal.
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  #45  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 7:06 PM
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http://www.fortworthology.com

I'd say Fort Worth's skyline is a bit weak, but when you have a Main Street that is 100% occupied and bustling... who cares.
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  #46  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 7:24 PM
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USA & Canada metro areas of between 2-4 million people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_o...tistical_Areas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...reas_in_Canada):

Montreal/Lavall/Longueuil 3,635,571
Seattle/Tacoma/Bellvue 3,344,813
Minneapolis/St Paul/Bloomington 3,229,878
San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos 3,229,878
Vancouver/Surrey/Burnaby 2,116,581
St Louis MO/St Louis IL 2,816,710
Tampa/St Petersburg/Clearwater 2,816,710
Baltimore/Towson 2,667,117
Denver/Aurora/Broomfield 2,506,626
Pittsburgh PA 2,351,19
Portland/Vancouver/Beaverton 2,207,462
Cincinnati/Middleton 2,155,137
Sacramento/Arden Arcade/Roseville 2,109,832
Cleveland/Elyria/Mentor 2,109,832
Orlando/Kissimmee 2,054,574
San Antonio TX 2,031,445
Kansas City MO/Kansas City KS 2,002,047

-----

I'd say that the skyline standouts here are Vancouver, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Minneapolis. I'd put skylines like Cincinatti's, Denver's, KC's & Baltimore's into a second tier.

Last edited by wrab; Dec 26, 2009 at 7:39 PM.
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  #47  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 9:18 PM
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I meant downtown Manhattan. Below 14th. Because that is how arbitrary many American city limits can be.....
I'll take the point - that USA city limits can be arbitrary - but not the example.

Manhattan's city limits are the Isle; you are either in Manhattan or you're in the water - there isn't anything arbitrary about it.

Or are you saying that it would be more rational/less arbitrary if Downtown & Midtown were officially treated as two different cities?
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  #48  
Old Posted Dec 26, 2009, 9:29 PM
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It's sort of impossible to have a really horrid skyline in America - American skylines tend to have a consistent variety, even if the buildings are boring, at least they look different. A lot of third world-ish countries can't say the same thing for parts of their skylines.
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  #49  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2009, 3:04 AM
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I live in Tucson and am embarrassed by our skyline. This city refuses to build highrises as it "blocks the mountain view". This is very frustrating. Our city is over a million now and our skyline looks like it belongs in Pocatello (sorry Pocatello). There is a new hotel on the horizon but that project will probably self destruct too. We haven't built a new highrise since 1986. HELP US!!!!

Last edited by FFLush; Dec 27, 2009 at 3:16 AM.
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  #50  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2009, 5:00 AM
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Tucson's skyline isn't that bad.

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  #51  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2009, 5:45 AM
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Oh don't get me wrong three hundred, I think it is very beautiful. Its just so darn small for our size. We're definitely long over due for another.
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  #52  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2009, 6:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by texcolo View Post


http://www.fortworthology.com

I'd say Fort Worth's skyline is a bit weak, but when you have a Main Street that is 100% occupied and bustling... who cares.
For its size its really pretty good. Size wise, compare to similarly sized cities Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Orlando, Tucscon, Portland. Its a relatively old downtown so there is a very good stock of older buildings and the density is very good overall.
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  #53  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2009, 6:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Thunder Bitch View Post
I meant downtown Manhattan. Below 14th. Because that is how arbitrary many American city limits can be.

And no, Minneapolis' skyline isn't really that impressive for a city of over 3 million. Compare it to Montreal.
Wrong. By any standard Minneapolis has a very nice skyline.
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  #54  
Old Posted Dec 27, 2009, 7:17 AM
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minneapolis has a nice skyline and a pretty good downtown...so does st.paul actually....both are quite urban, with their own unique identity and character.


maybe using canadian cities as a comparison isnt fair, but that is my frame of reference....and i am talking more about urban quality instead of skyline....

i have been to phoenix a few times and have always been blown away at the lack of urban quality in that city....the skyline honestly rivals regina saskatchewan, a city of 200k....the downtown has almost no urban quality at all....practically no retail or residential....phoenix would have a poor downtown if it were a city 10 times smaller....consider that it is twice the size of vancouver and 3/4 million larger than montreal and it is astounding.

another city that i find has a low urban quality for a city of its size is atlanta....i know people will post images of the skyline at night in defence, but if you consider that it is a city the size of toronto (5.5 million), the downtown is amazingly small.....it is literally 4 or 5 blocks wide and a couple of kilometers long....which is why the skyline can be photographed to not look bad...in overall area though it is very small and completely void of the elements of a living, breathing downtown, especially for one of the biggest cities on the continent.

Last edited by trueviking; Dec 27, 2009 at 7:32 AM.
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  #55  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2009, 1:50 AM
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Oh don't get me wrong three hundred, I think it is very beautiful. Its just so darn small for our size. We're definitely long over due for another.
Yes, you are overdue. For such a fast growing city, Tucsons downtown has hardly changed in years. It looks virtually the same as it did on my last visit in 1991.
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  #56  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2009, 2:48 AM
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Phoenix's skyline is awful. Pyongyang and Athens, btw, seem built in much the same way, lots and lots of ugly Brutalist buildings melding into a handsome whole. If there is any better proof that the whole is better than the sum of its parts, I've yet to see it.
I think Phoenix's skyline fits well with the beautiful terrain that is found right in the city (and metro area).
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  #57  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2009, 7:10 AM
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you probably couldnt say corpus christi texas has a bad skyline for 300+k, but it is irrevocably marred by the most hideous prominent tower in all of america's middle rung cities:





well, ok to be fair maybe amarillo's prominent tower is just as bad, but man that brutal corpus omni hotel is a monster.
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  #58  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2009, 8:16 AM
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It looks very Mid-Eastern. Corpus Christi has a very "un-American" skyline. (Not un-American "you hate liberty", but un-American "that architectural style on that scale is somewhat uncommon in this country".)
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  #59  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2009, 10:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wrabbit View Post
USA & Canada metro areas of between 2-4 million people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_o...tistical_Areas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...reas_in_Canada):

Montreal/Lavall/Longueuil 3,635,571
Seattle/Tacoma/Bellvue 3,344,813
Minneapolis/St Paul/Bloomington 3,229,878
San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos 3,229,878
Vancouver/Surrey/Burnaby 2,116,581
St Louis MO/St Louis IL 2,816,710
Tampa/St Petersburg/Clearwater 2,816,710
Baltimore/Towson 2,667,117
Denver/Aurora/Broomfield 2,506,626
Pittsburgh PA 2,351,19
Portland/Vancouver/Beaverton 2,207,462
Cincinnati/Middleton 2,155,137
Sacramento/Arden Arcade/Roseville 2,109,832
Cleveland/Elyria/Mentor 2,109,832
Orlando/Kissimmee 2,054,574
San Antonio TX 2,031,445
Kansas City MO/Kansas City KS 2,002,047

-----

I'd say that the skyline standouts here are Vancouver, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Minneapolis. I'd put skylines like Cincinatti's, Denver's, KC's & Baltimore's into a second tier.
I'd definitely add Seattle to the standouts, and would probably omit Cleveland.
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  #60  
Old Posted Dec 29, 2009, 2:49 PM
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^ Whoa - how'd I leave that out? Yeah, Seattle belongs, no question.

Cleveland's skyline isn't as impressive as Seattle's IMHO but still lots of tall things and visible for miles around.
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