When I think of Montreal the first image that pops into my head is 1000 De La Gauchetière. It's the most unique silhouette in the skyline, the Big O might trump it had it not been so far out from the core.
[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5485/...d221f613_b.jpg1000 de La Gauchetière by monkywiz, on Flickr[/IMG] |
Victoria Hall for Cobourg, no doubt.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4062/...91152a03_b.jpg Victoria Hall in Cobourg by P Thomas, on Flickr https://farm7.staticflickr.com/6190/...273a3468_b.jpg Victoria Hall by Alan Livingstone MacLeod, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3222/...c0ffd54b_b.jpg Cobourg Sunset by PJMixer, on Flickr |
In most cities, you could have a lively debate about which building is the most iconic, but for Ottawa, no one can argue that this is THE emblem of the city.
https://cdn.britannica.com/700x450/8...4-667388AB.jpg https://www.britannica.com/event/Parliament-Hill-Attack In other cities, I would vote; Halifax: Clock Tower Québec: Château Frontenac (no contest) Montréal: Big "O" or Place Ville Marie Toronto: CN Tower (no contest), City Hall comes solidly in second Winnipeg: Canadian Human Rights Museum Calgary: the Bow or Saddledome Edmonton: Muttart Conservatory Vancouver: Canada Place |
During the current "Boom", say last 10 years, Ottawa has gained at least one iconic building in the Ottawa Convention Centre.
https://9968c6ef49dc043599a5-e151928...m/692826-1.jpg https://eventseeker.com/venue/692826...ntre-ottawa-on I don't think any of the new towers can be considered iconic however. This might change in the next 10 years with 900 Albert, a three tower complex with the tallest clocking in at 65 floors. In addition, the new NHL arena could also become one of the city's signature buildings. |
It's really nice but it's not a building that comes to mind when thinking of Ottawa.
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It's the first thing I would have thought of if Parliament Hill and Chateau Laurier weren't options.
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Never heard of the convention centre for Ottawa....I doubt many others have in this country (of course, many is a vague term.....but in this case lets say 5 million).
I think over time that could be more iconic.....especially if something nearby accented it to make it more special. |
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A close second would probably be the Hill twin towers downtown, though. |
Edmonton is interesting. For a city it's size it doesn't really have an iconic building, at least visually. In terms of sheer fame (or infamy, perhaps), the most famous building in the city is easily is West Edmonton Mall, but if you saw a photo of the exterior chances are you would have no clue what building it was (unless you're like me and your childhood vacations always included driving down the street and seeing the half-dome at the back left in the photo appear through the trees).
https://shawglobalnews.files.wordpre...u003d720%2C480 http://www.hlskc.com/West-Edmonton-Mall-]Outside/ Another good option for Edmonton would be the Hotel Macdonald. It's not as visually striking as the Bessborough in Saskatoon due to the buildup surrounding it, but it's definitely noticeable in any photo of downtown from across the river. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...d_Edmonton.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...d_Edmonton.jpg Finally, and this might be a sore spot for Edmontonians, but Canada Place stands out for all the wrong reasons. https://photos.smugmug.com/Canada/Al..._MG_8156-S.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Canada/Al..._MG_8156-S.jpg Of course, there's also the buildings that will be iconic in the future, starting with Rogers Place. http://assets.rogersplace.com/wp-con...here_hero1.jpg http://www.rogersplace.com/weekly-blog-playoff-wrap-up/ Then there's also the one-two punch of the Marriot Hotel and Stantec Tower, which already dominate the skyline even though they aren't finished yet. The Stantec in particular is going to be the most striking building downtown for many years when it's done. https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1..._960/image.jpg https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/new-high...nton-1.3941861 |
I'll add this for Markham. It's the Hilton, which used to be the Embassy Suites. It was a big deal locally when built back in the early 90s. It was big, beautiful and stood out. Now it's surrounded by other buildings. The Cutting Edge starring DB Sweeney was filmed there for its impressive lobby.
Markham city hall is across the street, which was also impressive at the time. But for people of a certain age, the hotel stood out way more and would have been considered iconic back then for the locals. https://georgelimo.ca/images/hilton-markham.jpg https://georgelimo.ca/fun-things-to-...m-ontario.html http://www.volunteermarkham.ca/Markham_Civic_Centre.jpg http://www.volunteermarkham.ca/about.html |
For Burlington it's not a building but rather a pier. A short pier that cost $14.4m to build. Iconic for locals but also infamous due to the problems that plagued its construction.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7556/1...1e10a172_b.jpg https://www.flickr.com/photos/26156338@N07/15880728305 https://abetterburlington.ca/wp-cont...parks-copy.png https://abetterburlington.ca/officia...n-6-to-1-vote/ |
I can see the Markham example above being notable in the nineties. The city hall looks pretty cool actually....I wouldn't mind exploring that area.
That Hilton may look rather unimpressive to some, but I think it's a very unified and fair design. The lobby is likely much more of a central focus for the building. |
For Vancouver, my first thought was Harbour Centre. It's probably the most frequently featured in postcards, magnets, silhouette drawings, etc. But someone mentioned Canada Place, and I think that might be a possibility as well. It's hard to come up with these for your own cities, because things that might be locally iconic may not be close to it elsewhere. Like Science World, BC Place, etc.
In Winnipeg, I'd say it's the human rights museum, which is hard for me cause I think it's just brutally ugly. Other cities I can think of iconic buildings for: Calgary: Saddledome Toronto: CN Tower Ottawa: Parliament No other cities really have one strong icon that stands out over the rest to me. |
I think there is a distinction between what residents vs. other Canadians see as the most iconic building in the city. For most Canadians it might be one or two buildings if any that stand out in their mind as iconic. Here's my perception combined with what I think would be a BC viewpoint:
Victoria: Parliament buildings or Empress hotel. Perhaps the whole inner harbour in general? https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5573/...5617ae3b_h.jpgPerception by Irish Fernandez, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/453/3...4f1000fe_h.jpgPano-Victoria from the Rock by Cameron Knowlton, on Flickr Those are all I can see non-Victorians being aware of, locally iconic there's a bunch more including the new Johnson street bridge, Hatley Castle (X-Men and others have filmed here so it would at least be recognizable by some although unlikely to know it was in Victoria), Craigdarroch Castle, the pink Custom House, Christ Church cathedral, yadda yadda. One that should be up there nationally, is the gates to Canada's oldest chinatown: https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/...5e308935_h.jpgThe Gates of Harmonious Interest, Chinatown, Victoria by Jim, on Flickr Vancouver: Lions Gate Bridge, BC Place, Canada Place Edmonton: Rogers Place - the tv coverage helps for recognition. Provincial Legislature Calgary: Saddledome (the Rogers Place of its era - definitely iconic. Makes me wonder if stadiums lose their iconic status after a few decades though) and Calgary tower. The Bow for those who have visited in person. Regina: Provincial Legislature and the twin office buildings Saskatoon: For BC, or Victoria at least, this city is totally off the mental awareness map. Regina stands out because of the football team, provinicial capital, there are reasons to travel there from Victoria - but there is no real connection at all to Saskatoon. If you ask most people about it - word association, they would say "berries". Despite being a beautiful city there is no awareness - no one goes there for a holiday and the economy is not linked at all to the island economy. Some would be able to place the Delta CN Hotel. Winnipeg - great pictures previously shared in this thread, so many interesting buildings! Despite being further away, much greater awareness of Winnipeg in Victoria, helps being a larger city. The Human Rights Museum for sure, followed by the legislature. Lesser known would be the Forks Bridge, Fort Garry. Toronto: CN tower, Blue Jays stadium (whatever the corporate name is now). Montreal: Habitat 67, Notre-Dame, and Olympic Stadium. Montreal has so many great historical buildings that they tend to get lost in the crowd, like Toronto so many high rises that would be icons in 95% of all other cities, but don't even raise an eyebrow in their city. Saint John! Yes Saint John, visited there for the first time this spring, what an amazing city (skyline shots do it no justice) - would put it in my top 5 of all Canadian cities. It has to be Trinity Church as someone else previously mentioned - it's magical and draws in. A smaller church perched on a small hill, you're drawn to it like a magnet - so inviting. Halifax: Purdy's Wharf - they are looking dated now, but they do stand out on the water, so very recognizable. Clock tower - that would not be remotely iconic for people who haven't been to the city and don't recognize it's significance. St. John's: No building stands out, other than the overall image of the harbour, the colourful houses and the houses hugging the rocks. I think it has a strong overall iconic image out here, but more a case of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Edit: oh yah, Ottawa! Well, obviously there is just one, but again lots of great historic buildings that in a smaller city would be stars. |
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Yah, I forgot Science World - I'd agree with that. But not so much the Hotel Vancouver - it absolutely was before the 1980s, but now it's not visible and who goes there to walk around or take pictures? I doubt it makes the top ten list of must see man-made sights in Vancouver although it's a great living piece of history.
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A lot of Canadians I've encountered don't even know anything about cities they've never visited or lived in other than vague "Vancouver is rainy, Calgary is by the Rockies" type stuff. In terms of landmarks, the only things I'd expect the average non-local to recognizing are the house of commons, CN Tower, Skydome, and Chateau Frontenac. Beyond that, people either have some familiarity with the city, or is an above average, non-typical person. And even then there's no guarantee. I still remember the time at work when a couple of co-workers who seemed like pretty average guys were looking at a magazine cover that showed a Shanghai skyline image that prominently featured the Oriental Pearl tower, and one was like, oh there's the CN Tower! Must be something about Toronto. They actually had to start reading the article before they caught on.
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For example, I'd actually assume that many of my friends wouldn't recognize Skydome, and even I can't picture the Chateau Frontenac. |
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