Canadian Skyline Thread III

[J.OT13]

Ottawa from Hartwell Locks. By Pat on Rail Fans Discord. Dow's Lake at the right, moving west as you go left, with Tunney's/Mechanicsville, Westboro and Carling/Merivale area.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

That last Halifax shot reminds me of Montreal, Atwater area with the density, the 70s towers and the hill in the background.

Montreal is a lot larger but the cities are similar in a bunch of ways. The peninsula is the analog of the island with Mount Royal mapping to the Citadel and the neighbourhoods being kind of similar within that plan.

Their development eras are somewhat similar. Both have a lot of pre-industrial stuff and followed a similar growth trajectory in the postwar era, with lots of ambitious 60's and 70's projects, doldrums in the 90's, and more growth lately. But Montreal also saw an industrial expansion in the 1870-1930 era that Halifax mostly missed out on, and Halifax is a military town so it boomed during the wars.

Halifax was too small for major postwar transit so missed out on that and the Plateau equivalent in Halifax, Gottingen-Agricola, decayed enormously by the 2000's but is coming back quickly. I think the arc there was basically the same between the two cities but with Halifax being smaller and less dense more neighbourhoods fell below the vibrancy threshold in the 90's and didn't offer much.

Without wanting to get into the city vs. city stuff, the Halifax-Victoria comparison reminds me a lot of Montreal-Vancouver, with the common blind spots there being similar.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by someone123

Montreal is a lot larger but the cities are similar in a bunch of ways. The peninsula is the analog of the island with Mount Royal mapping to the Citadel and the neighbourhoods being kind of similar within that plan.

Their development eras are somewhat similar. Both have a lot of pre-industrial stuff and followed a similar growth trajectory in the postwar era, with lots of ambitious 60's and 70's projects, doldrums in the 90's, and more growth lately. But Montreal also saw an industrial expansion in the 1870-1930 era that Halifax mostly missed out on, and Halifax is a military town so it boomed during the wars.

Halifax was too small for major postwar transit so missed out on that and the Plateau equivalent in Halifax, Gottingen-Agricola, decayed enormously by the 2000's but is coming back quickly.

At the risk of the city vs. city stuff, the Halifax-Victoria comparison reminds me a lot of Montreal-Vancouver.

All good points. Lots of similarities between Montreal and Halifax.

Halifax and Victoria as well, I see a lot of similarities, both being coastal, mid-sized, dense, historic. They are both alike in the best possible way.

Montreal and Vancouver, I don't see it. Both are quite different outside the focus on transit and active transportation. Big fan of both for different reasons.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Montreal and Vancouver, I don't see it. Both are quite different outside the focus on transit and active transportation. Big fan of both for different reasons.

My point is more that a lot of the urbanism stuff maps onto the other cities. For example Montreal and Halifax both invested in more extensive freeway systems and 60's arcology type projects while Vancouver and Victoria didn't. They both have a substantial preindustrial core while BC cities do not.

But Vancouver and Montreal also are "book ends" in the same way. Montreal is the main East Coast port and Vancouver is the main West Coast port. They're the commercial hubs of Quebec and BC, and both provinces have a separate smaller capital city.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by someone123

My point is more that a lot of the urbanism stuff maps onto the other cities. For example Montreal and Halifax both invested in more extensive freeway systems and 60's arcology type projects while Vancouver and Victoria didn't.

But Vancouver and Montreal also are "book ends" in the same way. Montreal is the main East Coast port and Vancouver is the main West Coast port. They're the commercial hubs of Quebec and BC, and both provinces have a separate smaller capital city.

I guess I was more thinking about urban fabric but yeah, those are good points of comparisons as well.

[zoomer]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

That last Halifax shot[IMG][/IMG] reminds me of Montreal, Atwater area with the density, the 70s towers and the hill in the background.

That Victoria shot, I feel like it's rare to see the mountains in the background, especially when they are that prominent. Gives me a denser Anchorage feel. Does Victoria have height restrictions?

Yah, that’s a Mount Baker in Washington State, and the view of it combined with the skyline is only really seen from the western suburbs with a good zoom lens. The more common mountain background you’ll see if of the Olympic Mountains which are much closer and just across the straight from Victoria:

View of Moss Rock and Olympic Mountains from Government House, April 13, 2023 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

There are, well were strict height limits in Victoria, but fair to say that’s probably now a thing of the past in Victoria. The current tallest building is Hudson Place One at 85 metres and 25 storeys. That was only permitted in exchange for retaining and redeveloping the heritage Hudson Bay Department Store.

The current city council is all in regarding as much construction as possible to address the housing shortage and they’re recently approved a 5 tower all rental development which includes a 32 storey building and another development is before council with 9 towers with storeys of 10, 18, 23, 24, 25 27, 29, 29, and 32. I think once developers really trust they can go taller for better or possibly worse we’ll see in the 30’s being the starting point, with possible resistance still to anything 40 and over unless there is a significant rental or affordable housing component. I still can’t see approval of an all condo 40 storey building.

I almost never hear the Vancouver - Montreal comparisons, and not so much Halifax and Montreal, probably as I’m out on the west coast, but interesting perspectives and insights someone123. There was a post a few pages back where a member was quite upset about Victoria being compared to the older and 16% larger population Halifax; I sure hope he doesn’t see the Halifax compared to the older and 822% larger Montreal or he might have an aneurysm!

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by zoomer

I almost never hear the Vancouver - Montreal comparisons, and not so much Halifax and Montreal, probably as I’m out on the west coast, but interesting perspectives and insights someone123. There was a post a few pages back where a member was quite upset about Victoria being compared to the older and 16% larger population Halifax; I sure hope he doesn’t see the Halifax compared to the older and 822% larger Montreal or he might have an aneurysm!

I wasn't upset; I was annoyed because I was tired of hearing it. The problem wasn't that (or any other comparison) specifically but rather than laziness of the same laboured, surface level comparison always being made. I'll leave it at that since I already explained my reaction thoroughly enough to clear up any genuine misunderstandings.

[zoomer]

I’m just messing with you Nouvellecosse because of the inherent humour due to the discrepancies. You post a lot of good content that I enjoy reading.

[Blitz]

Unusual angle of Windsor from Detroit's revamped waterfront

[G.S MTL]

Originally Posted by mr.John

Please point the out the errors in my comments, if I really wanted to bash Montreal I would mention the city's 3rd world roads, crumbling infrastructure, rising number of homeless, disgusting graffiti everywhere (and I mean everywhere) rising property taxes, awful public transit (unless you live in the plateau the center of the universe) the lowest productivity of any major city in North America ,did I forget anything? Oh yeah how about having one the stupidest incompetent mayor's in Canada miss 20-20-20 ,how's that genius idea working out? ....but i didn't did I .

LOL..... what... the hell is this guy talking about ?? it makes me laugh when someone doesn't know anything about a city.... ugh....

[MolsonExport]

Mount Baker is amazing. It is truly a behemoth. But it never looms so large like that above Victoria (or anywhere else in the lower Mainland, outside of Abbotsford). Only made to look so with a telescopic lens.

[q12]

https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.dig...ine-vw1020.jpg



https://financialpost.com/feature/ha...ronto-problems

[phone]

Halifax is looking HUGE!

[Ozy_Flame]

Halifax is fast becoming my favorite skyline and downtown area.

[Rico Rommheim]

I think it's fair to say that Halifax now has a skyline that reflects its size and importance.

[905er]

That's the best skyline shot of Halifax I think I have ever seen. Looking very bulky and the quality of the design of the newer buildings is very impressive.

[zoomer]

Originally Posted by q12

Thanks for sharing q12 - always bringing the heat!

In the pic above what’s the building on the far left and is there a rendering of the new building being built right beside it?

[WhipperSnapper]

The one under construction is called Cunard. It's an unfortunate development. The biggest gaff is the a solid exterior wall on the 3rd and 4th floors hiding parking. Cladding can still save it. The cladding in the renderings doesn't suggest quality.

[alps]

Originally Posted by zoomer

Thanks for sharing q12 - always bringing the heat!

In the pic above what’s the building on the far left and is there a rendering of the new building being built right beside it?

The building on the very far left (in the distance) is part of the Richmond Yards development in the North End. It includes a bunch of new buildings – the tallest, Tower A, is 103.3 metres tall. There are some recent photos here:

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...&postcount=454

[isaidso]

He asked about the building on the far left while referencing the new building being built right beside it, so I'm assuming he means Nova Scotia Power.