The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[Beedok]

Halifax or St. John's would make more sense, but probably wouldn't work as well.

[Chadillaccc]

Calgary's Kensington - 10th Street skyline. Outside of the primary core.


Kensington by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Differences in scale and culture aside, there is a lot about Montreal that Hamilton can learn from.

I wouldn't be so quick to put down Hamilton. It may never become an alpha city, but it's a city with charm and character in spades. Very few Canadian cities have such a strong identity yet it remains an under appreciated city... especially by Hamiltonians. The Steel City will be great again one day, just wait and see.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I wouldn't be so quick to put down Hamilton. It may never become an alpha city, but it's a city with charm and character in spades. Very few Canadian cities have such a strong identity yet it remains an under appreciated city... especially by Hamiltonians. The Steel City will be great again one day, just wait and see.

I'm sorry if it came across as a put-down, but it was meant as an honest remark. It's actually my hometown, and I'd like to make it home again in the near future.

I happen to agree with you. Hamilton has a lot going for it and things are changing... more slowly than some would like, and in spite of inertia in the culture at city hall. But a lot of people are creating change themselves even in small ways, and city management may be slowing changing too (given a better emphasis on being business-friendly, and taking small steps toward things like complete streets; city council needs a big refresh though). I still hear a lot of Hamilton folks, friends included, talk about the city being "a hole" or how they'd never set foot downtown, and there's a long way to go but the old perceptions are becoming outdated... some people just won't make the effort to take a good look and open up their mind.

Montreal certainly has challenges too, but whenever I've visited, and from what I've seen posted here about the city, I see a lot of things that I'd like Hamilton to emulate.

[Chadillaccc]

Found this fantastic picture in my travels around the net. It's a gorgeous and rare angle on a common view, from the North Hill.


http://www.getdown.ca/2013/01/02/call-for-guest-bloggers-2013/

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I'm sorry if it came across as a put-down, but it was meant as an honest remark. It's actually my hometown, and I'd like to make it home again in the near future.

I happen to agree with you. Hamilton has a lot going for it and things are changing... more slowly than some would like, and in spite of inertia in the culture at city hall. But a lot of people are creating change themselves even in small ways, and city management may be slowing changing too (given a better emphasis on being business-friendly, and taking small steps toward things like complete streets; city council needs a big refresh though). I still hear a lot of Hamilton folks, friends included, talk about the city being "a hole" or how they'd never set foot downtown, and there's a long way to go but the old perceptions are becoming outdated... some people just won't make the effort to take a good look and open up their mind.

Montreal certainly has challenges too, but whenever I've visited, and from what I've seen posted here about the city, I see a lot of things that I'd like Hamilton to emulate.

I understand the difficulties in living next to a big, glamourous/powerful city like Toronto, but it still pains me to hear Hamiltonians talk about their city like that. When I moved to Toronto from Halifax I knew nothing of Hamilton besides the Ti-Cats, steel, and the put downs. When I visited I loved it immediately. It's a diamond in the rough, but some people can't recognize a gem unless it's been polished. Ironically, it's decades of economic problems that have saved so much of Hamilton from re-development.

Mississauga, Brampton, Oshawa, Windsor, even Calgary don't have the historic building stock that exists in Hamilton. Hamilton's going to shine again. I just hope it never loses its character in the process. That would be a tragedy. If I had $300,000 to spend on a 2nd property it would definitely be in Hamilton... downtown if I could snag something.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by isaidso

I understand the difficulties in living next to a big, glamourous/powerful city like Toronto, but it still pains me to hear Hamiltonians talk about their city like that. When I moved to Toronto from Halifax I knew nothing of Hamilton besides the Ti-Cats, steel, and the put downs. When I visited I loved it immediately. It's a diamond in the rough, but some people can't recognize a gem unless it's been polished. Ironically, it's decades of economic problems that have saved so much of Hamilton from re-development.

Mississauga, Brampton, Oshawa, Windsor, even Calgary don't have the historic building stock that exists in Hamilton. Hamilton's going to shine again. I just hope it never loses its character in the process. That would be a tragedy. If I had $300,000 to spend on a 2nd property it would definitely be in Hamilton... downtown if I could snag something.

for the love of all that is holy, please do not lump us in with the likes of Mississauga, Brampton, Oshawa, and Windsor
and yes Hamilton has great bones upon which to prosper once again.

[Chadillaccc]

Isaidso, Calgary has an entire 5-block stretch of buildings built over a century ago right in the core, with several mid-rise and high rise buildings from 1915 and earlier nearby as well, and several nearby streets with entire blocks of century old buildings. Just because Calgary is perceived as new and shiny doesn't necessarily mean it is, it only means we didn't stagnate for decades. Calgary may not have the historic influence of Hamilton, but we're really just missing a high-rise historic office tower like the Pigott Building and it would appear at par. Afterall, while Hamilton was about 120 000 in the 30s, Calgary wasn't too far behind with 80 000.

Also, Windsor has quite an impressive stock of historic high rise offices, 3 towers I believe? Not bad for a city its size. I wish one of the rail companies had built a grand hotel there to complete the stock! Unfortunately for Windsor though, so much of their core was bulldozed for cheap 60s crap.

Also to note, history/historic buildings aren't what make a city. They can add interest and layers of different architecture when viewing the city, and inspire thoughts of a grander time, but it's not an imperative. Just look at Shanghai, Seattle, Tokyo or Hong Kong...

I think we idolize history so much because what we usually perceive as the most interesting and cultural cities on the continent have so much historical architecture, New York, Chicago, Mexico City, Boston, Toronto, Washington, etc. But this is changing as younger cities develop their culture and build newer and interesting cultural centres like Vancouver's Convention Centre and Calgary's UC National Music Centre... culture, vibrancy, and attractions are really what is important.



The underlying point of this comment is, Calgary and Windsor most certainly should not be lumped with Mississauga, Oshawa, or Brampton. I feel as if it may have been a directed attempt at offense, but no worries, people who haven't been here usually know nothing about it even after having been shown thousands of pictures on sites like this

[MonkeyRonin]

Toronto Skyline by Nitish_Bhardwaj, on Flickr


Spadina by stephanie.keating, on Flickr


Masterpieces Live Here by stephanie.keating, on Flickr


Toronto Skyline by Nitish_Bhardwaj, on Flickr


F--Photos-2013-09-08 0095 by James Gonneau, on Flickr


http://www.canadianart.ca/


swans by fragilemuse, on Flickr

[Wooster]

the AGO is a hot mess.

[caltrane74]

The Burano Condo looks amazing in that first shot. For a condo that isn't lit by LED it looks just amazing, like artwork, considering its only lighting is the interior lights of the residents.

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Calgary has an entire 5-block stretch of buildings built over a century ago right in the core

whoa holy fuck — five as in... five?

move over vienna!

(i'm just kidding. your point about vibrancy, tokyo, and all the rest is spot-on, and calgary does have some impressive older buildings — such as the palliser — for a city of its age and location).

[Chadillaccc]

Lol you meanie!

No it was just an example of something people don't usually realize when considering Calgary's historic stock (or lack of) buildings. It's not just that five block stretch, but that is the most prominent. I realized last week that 90% of those buildings are at least a century old now, something I found surprising and impressive. Even the Palliser is almost a century now, just another 15 months. Doesn't compare to Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver, but it's still pretty good for a city only 110 years old, and definitely within a reasonable comparison of Hamilton.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Lol you meanie!

No it was just an example of something people don't usually realize when considering Calgary's historic stock (or lack of) buildings. It's not just that five block stretch, but that is the most prominent. I realized last week that 90% of those buildings are at least a century old now, something I found surprising and impressive. Even the Palliser is almost a century now, just another 15 months. Doesn't compare to Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver, but it's still pretty good for a city only 110 years old, and definitely within a reasonable comparison of Hamilton.

While Hamilton has certainly lost a lot of buildings to parking lots, surely Calgary has lost more to intesification with all those office towers, and had less to begin with? (Personally I don't find historic stock all that important, but it just seems that if Calgary was a bit smaller then, and has built so much more downtown since they'd have to have less now.)

[Chadillaccc]

Of all of our larger historic buildings, I believe Calgary has lost about 1/3. Though most of the nicest ones remain. Obviously many of the older street faces were demolished to make room for towers though unfortunately :/


Here's a link to our historic diagram. Many buildings are missing including the Burns Building - 6 storeys, one of first buildings in Calgary to have an elevator, 101 years old, the Lancaster Building - 10 storeys, 100 years old, and the Canada Life Building, 7 storeys, 100 years old. The diagram includes demolished buildings.

http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=61130504

This was the skyline in 1931,

Source: Glenbow Archives

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Beedok

While Hamilton has certainly lost a lot of buildings to parking lots, surely Calgary has lost more to intesification with all those office towers, and had less to begin with? (Personally I don't find historic stock all that important, but it just seems that if Calgary was a bit smaller then, and has built so much more downtown since they'd have to have less now.)

Most of downtown Calgary aside from 7th, 8th and part of 9th was sfh. Some heritage buildings were lost, but few existed to begin with. I went to grade 2 at Macdougall school downtown (lived in an apartment on the site that a now Western Canadian Place) and remember houses across 5th that had chicken coops in the back. Calgary is a postmodern city. The only one in Canada. Its growth was not organic, transitioning straight from agrarian to service based.

[suburbanite]

Mississauga skyline looking huge from the airport.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Doug

Most of downtown Calgary aside from 7th, 8th and part of 9th was sfh. Some heritage buildings were lost, but few existed to begin with. I went to grade 2 at Macdougall school downtown (lived in an apartment on the site that a now Western Canadian Place) and remember houses across 5th that had chicken coops in the back. Calgary is a postmodern city. The only one in Canada. Its growth was not organic, transitioning straight from agrarian to service based.

That's a really good point Doug! But wow, you went to Macdougall School? That's one of my favorite historic buildings in the city. I didn't realize it had been an elementary, I thought maybe some kind of prep school or something. Do you know what its current function is?

[Jimby]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

That's a really good point Doug! But wow, you went to Macdougall School? That's one of my favorite historic buildings in the city. I didn't realize it had been an elementary, I thought maybe some kind of prep school or something. Do you know what its current function is?

The provincial government centre for southern Alberta.

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Lol you meanie!

No it was just an example of something people don't usually realize when considering Calgary's historic stock (or lack of) buildings. It's not just that five block stretch, but that is the most prominent. I realized last week that 90% of those buildings are at least a century old now, something I found surprising and impressive. Even the Palliser is almost a century now, just another 15 months. Doesn't compare to Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver, but it's still pretty good for a city only 110 years old, and definitely within a reasonable comparison of Hamilton.

Calgary does have some very nice older buildings, but it is in no way comparable to Hamilton in terms of older stock. Like, not even close. This isn't a knock on Calgary but it's very apparent when comparing the two in person. Huge swaths of lower Hamilton are comprised of pre-war brick houses and rowhomes. As Doug alluded to in his post, most of Calgary's older residential stock was not exactly impressive. Lots of smaller, wood-frame houses that did not age well.

Calgary is a lot of things, but a historic city it is not.