Best Skyline in Canada ?

FrAnKs · #1 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 12:27 AM**

Which city has the best skyline in Canada ?

Nouvellecosse · #2 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 12:32 AM**

No city has the best skyline in Canada. The best skylines belong to national parks such as Banff and Jasper.

hipster duck · #3 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 12:34 AM**

Unless natural backdrop is the overarching factor, Toronto.

lio45 · #4 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 12:46 AM**

I agree with hipster_duck, I refuse to consider a skyline to be anything other than the man-made parts of a city, therefore I voted for Toronto.

Is a '90s Toyota Corolla that happens to be parked in front of gorgeous scenery a more appealing car than a '60s Jag E-Type in a surface parking lot? No, because it's the vehicle we're talking about and that we're supposed to be judging.

If you asked which city has the best backdrop, we'd probably vote for some tiny village in the Rockies over anything on your list, but that would be a different question.

FrAnKs · #5 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 12:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

I agree with hipster_duck, I refuse to consider a skyline to be anything else but the man-made parts of a city, therefore I voted for Toronto.

Is a '90s Toyota Corolla that happens to be parked in front of gorgeous scenery a more appealing car than a '60s Jag E-Type in a surface parking lot? No, because it's the vehicle we're talking about.

100% agree. I did not asked ''Which skyline was built in the best natural environment/settings''. I would have been a completely different question.

someone123 · #6 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

I agree with hipster_duck, I refuse to consider a skyline to be anything other than the man-made parts of a city, therefore I voted for Toronto.

Is a '90s Toyota Corolla that happens to be parked in front of gorgeous scenery a more appealing car than a '60s Jag E-Type in a surface parking lot? No, because it's the vehicle we're talking about and that we're supposed to be judging.

If you asked which city has the best backdrop, we'd probably vote for some tiny village in the Rockies over anything on your list, but that would be a different question.

What about a skyline that looks better or worse because of elevation changes, e.g. there's a cluster of buildings and some of them look like they are 250 m tall instead of 200 m because they're on a hill, and you can't tell from a distance?

Nouvellecosse · #7 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

I agree with hipster_duck, I refuse to consider a skyline to be anything other than the man-made parts of a city, therefore I voted for Toronto.

Is a '90s Toyota Corolla that happens to be parked in front of gorgeous scenery a more appealing car than a '60s Jag E-Type in a surface parking lot? No, because it's the vehicle we're talking about and that we're supposed to be judging.

If you asked which city has the best backdrop, we'd probably vote for some tiny village in the Rockies over anything on your list, but that would be a different question.

For me it would depend on the wording. If the question were "What is the best city skyline in Canada" - a question on which is the best city skyline - then I would answer differently than to the question "What is the best skyline" (skyline type not specified) or "Which city has the best skyline in Canada?", a question containing the presumption that the overall best skyline of non-specified type is within a city.

lio45 · #8 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

What about a skyline that looks better or worse because of elevation changes, e.g. there's a cluster of buildings and some of them look like they are 250 m tall instead of 200 m because they're on a hill, and you can't tell from a distance?

That's okay to count (in my standards.) So is the difference in points of view / view angles and view cones. If you have really cool buildings but they just can't be seen, then too bad, they don't contribute to the skyline even if they're there.

The line has to be drawn somewhere, and that's where I choose to draw it.

For example, while I'd ignore the lake in the case of Toronto (i.e. I'd consider the skyline to be just as good as if, in the classic pic from the water, instead of water in the bottom part of the pic, it was a brownfield, or the world's largest parking lot)... one could argue that BECAUSE the downtown abuts a lake, the tallest and nicest buildings are lakefront, while in the case of a city like, say, Calgary, which can expand in all 360 degrees, the tall buildings will be in the center and you'll likely have a bell curve of shorter and shorter buildings in all directions outwards (which should also get visually cheaper and less flagshippy as we go outwards; less prime locations), therefore you won't have this "wall of the best and nicest tall buildings" effect, which is directly a product of the lake, even if the lake doesn't count for skylines purposes.

MonkeyRonin · #9 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

Is a '90s Toyota Corolla that happens to be parked in front of gorgeous scenery a more appealing car than a '60s Jag E-Type in a surface parking lot? No, because it's the vehicle we're talking about and that we're supposed to be judging.

Unlike a car though, the geography of a city is an immutable characteristic; and the interplay of the built and natural environments isn't something that can just "not count".

That doesn't mean that the best natural backdrop = best skyline, of course, but the geographic context does need to be considered along with and how it relates to the buildings.

lio45 · #10 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:50 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

For me it would depend on the wording. If the question were "What is the best city skyline in Canada" - a question on which is the best city skyline - then I would answer differently than to the question "What is the best skyline" (skyline type not specified) or "Which city has the best skyline in Canada?", a question containing the presumption that the overall best skyline of non-specified type is within a city.

For an even clearer question, "Which city has the most visually appealing bunch of buildings, from an architectural/aesthetic POV, when they're viewed from a distance as a whole"?

lio45 · #11 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Unlike a car though, the geography of a city is an immutable characteristic

More or less. For example, "Calgary skyline, viewed from NE of the city" and "Calgary skyline, viewed from SW of the city" is the same skyline but with a completely different background.

lio45 · #12 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Unlike a car though, the geography of a city is an immutable characteristic; and the interplay of the built and natural environments isn't something that can just "not count".

That doesn't mean that the best natural backdrop = best skyline, of course, but the geographic context does need to be considered along with and how it relates to the buildings.

As you may have seen, I gave an example in the case of Toronto (the lake's influence on the skyline being impossible to dismiss even if one wants to ignore the lake). Another example would be SF (or, in Canada, Montreal) where the bridges, which are man-made and count (and add to the skyline), would not be part of any skyline pic if it weren't for the terrain that required the construction of bridges there. Yet they count, IMO.

SignalHillHiker · #13 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 1:57 AM**

Gotta be Toronto. What I love about most other Canadian skylines, Toronto has more of (i.e. non-glass skyscrapers) - and what I hate, Toronto has less of (i.e. green window condos).

wave46 · #14 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 2:41 AM**

Toronto.

It's the only one you could reasonably say that is distinctive enough that it would be known worldwide.

Largely, that's because of the CN Tower, literally towering over anything else.

Montreal and Vancouver have nice backdrops, but they'd be nice backdrops without the city too. Vancouver's city skyline is about the most generic I've seen - it could be 'generic North American city' in a TV show or movie.

Oddly enough, when I think of second place, Quebec City comes to mind, probably due to the Chateau Frontenac.

But mostly when people think of Canada, they think of places like Banff, Lake Louise, Niagara Falls, etc. etc. etc.

osirisboy · #15 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 2:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

No city has the best skyline in Canada. The best skylines belong to national parks such as Banff and Jasper.

Ugh

Nouvellecosse · #16 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 2:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wave46

Toronto.

Montreal and Vancouver have nice backdrops, but they'd be nice backdrops without the city too. Vancouver's city skyline is about the most generic I've seen - it could be 'generic North American city' in a TV show or movie.

You really think Vancouver looks North American? I don't see it at all. In fact once when I saw a partial skyline backdrop on TV and I was trying to figure out what city in eastern Asia it was. I was sure it was either in China or Japan but couldn't quote place it. Needless to say I felt rather silly when i found out.

rousseau · #17 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 3:28 AM**

I'm thinking it's gotta be Edmonton. Two people from Edmonton can't be wrong!

lio45 · #18 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 3:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'm thinking it's gotta be Edmonton. Two people from Edmonton can't be wrong!

So strange, one of the two users who voted for Edm has a grand total of 5 posts and no activity at all since 2006! He came back to cast this vote and that's it...

niwell · #19 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 5:01 AM**

You can argue whatever but when it comes to skyline it’s toronto. Duh

Dr Awesomesauce · #20 Posted **Dec 22, 2018, 5:05 AM**

For a fraction of a second I considered Vancouver and even Calgary but then I realised I was trying too hard.

Edmonton? Shame on you...