The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[leftimage]

Montreal from Peel Basin... this particular vantage won't be around much longer (Bassin du Havre project)

[Rico Rommheim]

^Perhaps my favorite view when seen in person.

this particular vantage won't be around much longer (Bassin du Havre project)

Provided all of the BDH phases go ahead, this project isn't slated for completion until 2020.

Which means in Montreal lingo, the year 5000.

[kw5150]

Edmonton from this weekend. Pearl is crazy looking. I like it.

[kw5150]

July 2013 edmonton pano. Left good camera at home.

Scroll over --------------------------------->

[kw5150]

[craner]

Originally Posted by leftimage

Montreal from Peel Basin... this particular vantage won't be around much longer (Bassin du Havre project)

Rico Rommheim
^Perhaps my favorite view when seen in person

.
But PVM is not visible?

[Chadillaccc]

It is visible, just behind 1000.

[MonkeyRonin]

Toronto aerial by atlasnaaa, on Flickr


Toronto Aerial by atlasnaaa, on Flickr

[rousseau]

Imagine if the strip between Spadina and Bathurst were a river. To the east would be a Manhattanesque downtown hemmed in by the water, and to the west would be the most totally groovy neighbourhood on the continent.

It would be awesome.

[Razor]

^ Awesome pics and pano on Edmonton above, and those aerials of Toronto.Amazing! Thanks...Edmonton is actually more dense then I thought judging from those recent pics.

[craner]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

It (PVM) is visible, just behind 1000.

Ahh yes - didn't see it till I zoomed in.

. . . is actually more dense then I thought . . .

Funny, this statement would normally be an insult, but on this forum it's considered a good thing.

[Razor]

^ ya perhaps a little off-putting now that I re-read what i typed, but it wasn't meant to be..Edmonton looks good from that angle.

[kw5150]

Edmonton has all of the fundamentals in place to move to the next level. I think Calgary should be worried. It looks like they are tearing their entire downtown apart and revitalizing at the moment. The downtown seems surprisingly dense without all of the height and lots of street level action.

The length of Jasper Ave is really great and you can see all the way down it form the west end. (This is the way I like to enter into Edmonton instead of coming from the south, especially on a hot summer evening). There is a strong sense of arrival while entering the city. The tree canopy is extensive and goes beyond the main core for quite a ways. One of the mains drives (97th ave (North to South)) they have limbed up all of the trees quite high and the tree growth is great. It is like one giant tree corridor into the city.

We only have this tree tunnel effect on Memorial drive in Calgary and only for short distances. Calgary is very beautiful (as we noticed coming back in) but I miss something about all of the green up there on both sides of the streets.

[TallBob]

I'm really liking the "Pearl"! Going to be a great looking building!

[kw5150]

There is something really awesome about having a giant building respectively sitting on the edge of a beautiful river valley.....gets me every time. Is Edmonton the only city in Canada with this many examples of building clinging to the sides of an escarpment? It is a crazy look, feeling and experience.

Originally Posted by TallBob

I'm really liking the "Pearl"! Going to be a great looking building!

[ue]

^ Perhaps in an inverted way from Edmonton, Hamilton ? But again, in an inverted way, so its a bit different in appearance. So no, I would say...

Originally Posted by kw5150

Edmonton has all of the fundamentals in place to move to the next level. I think Calgary should be worried. It looks like they are tearing their entire downtown apart and revitalizing at the moment. The downtown seems surprisingly dense without all of the height and lots of street level action.

The length of Jasper Ave is really great and you can see all the way down it form the west end. (This is the way I like to enter into Edmonton instead of coming from the south, especially on a hot summer evening). There is a strong sense of arrival while entering the city. The tree canopy is extensive and goes beyond the main core for quite a ways. One of the mains drives (97th ave (North to South)) they have limbed up all of the trees quite high and the tree growth is great. It is like one giant tree corridor into the city.

We only have this tree tunnel effect on Memorial drive in Calgary and only for short distances. Calgary is very beautiful (as we noticed coming back in) but I miss something about all of the green up there on both sides of the streets.

Thank you for this honest outsiders opinion of my fair city. Seems like us Edmontonians like to look to Calgary with envy, but it's great to hear a Calgarian applauding us instead.

Yes, one of the great things about Downtown Edmonton (ironically) is all the empty space to the west of the CBD and north of Jasper Ave (in the Warehouse District). It really makes for a blank canvas. Unlike Calgary, Edmonton's downtown will likely build out to a more mixed use form, which I prefer. It won't have a glistening skyline with amazing landmarks (or at most not nearly as many), but the street level should be awesome.

There is a lot finally going on downtown. Jasper ave is being ripped up and redone, as is Capital Blvd (108 St). The Walterdale's replacement is being constructed as we speak, as is the revitalization and addition to the Kelly-Ramsey Block, and of course the Arena District and adjacent LRT expansion. There's the new condos on 103rd St and 104th St respectively (Fox and Ultima), the Dub Hotel, 107 St infill, and many other projects look close to starting.

At the end of the day, I can say Edmonton has tremendous potential. It can be a bit slow at times, and just frustrating in general at others. But there's always that potential for a better city at the end of the day. Cities like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Hamilton, London, and Saint John are all in similar states. Cities like Calgary and Toronto have lots of potential too, but they're actually getting close to realizing it.

I think you mean 97th St (not Ave), I know exactly where you mean. Yep, the tree canopies are an oft-forgotten beauty of Edmonton (and other "older" Prairie towns like Saskatoon and Winnipeg).

Unfortunately, even if we do take things to the "next level", I don't think Calgary need worry. You guys are big boosters, we're not. The folks in Kapuskasing and Dawson City will still have their eyes on you, not us, as the face of Alberta.

[kw5150]

Oil Sands Alert!

Click on the link, http://bit.ly/191uHsm the oil is literally running through a forest, literally!.........

*Just remember, the whole planet, in general terms, uses oil, not only Alberta A.K.A. the home of the oilsands!

[kw5150]

Edmonton will always have that special spot in my heart, alongside all of the other canadian cities I visit and enjoy discovering. I wouldnt hesitate to move there. It is great to have these two (essentially) twin cities that are both at a similar stage of development. Its funny, the streets feel almost exactly as busy in Edmonton as they do in Calgary in the popular districts......just with less of those loud exhaust pipes that seem to proliferate in Calgary these days......The crowds were identical, the street sizes are similar, the traffic is similar........its actually pretty interesting to examine the similarities.

Anyway, yes, I enjoyed the trip.

Originally Posted by ue

^ Perhaps in an inverted way from Edmonton, Hamilton ? But again, in an inverted way, so its a bit different in appearance. So no, I would say...

Thank you for this honest outsiders opinion of my fair city. Seems like us Edmontonians like to look to Calgary with envy, but it's great to hear a Calgarian applauding us instead.

Yes, one of the great things about Downtown Edmonton (ironically) is all the empty space to the west of the CBD and north of Jasper Ave (in the Warehouse District). It really makes for a blank canvas. Unlike Calgary, Edmonton's downtown will likely build out to a more mixed use form, which I prefer. It won't have a glistening skyline with amazing landmarks (or at most not nearly as many), but the street level should be awesome.

There is a lot finally going on downtown. Jasper ave is being ripped up and redone, as is Capital Blvd (108 St). The Walterdale's replacement is being constructed as we speak, as is the revitalization and addition to the Kelly-Ramsey Block, and of course the Arena District and adjacent LRT expansion. There's the new condos on 103rd St and 104th St respectively (Fox and Ultima), the Dub Hotel, 107 St infill, and many other projects look close to starting.

At the end of the day, I can say Edmonton has tremendous potential. It can be a bit slow at times, and just frustrating in general at others. But there's always that potential for a better city at the end of the day. Cities like Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Hamilton, London, and Saint John are all in similar states. Cities like Calgary and Toronto have lots of potential too, but they're actually getting close to realizing it.

I think you mean 97th St (not Ave), I know exactly where you mean. Yep, the tree canopies are an oft-forgotten beauty of Edmonton (and other "older" Prairie towns like Saskatoon and Winnipeg).

Unfortunately, even if we do take things to the "next level", I don't think Calgary need worry. You guys are big boosters, we're not. The folks in Kapuskasing and Dawson City will still have their eyes on you, not us, as the face of Alberta.

The folks in Kapuskasing and Dawson City

That is wayyyyy to far to travel-----> Inuvik to Calgary, haha. Edmonton is far enough for them! My family exclusively drove through Edmonton and never Calgary when we lived in Fort St John. All of our "big city days" were spent in edmonton. Calgary was the mystery city to to the south that we never saw..... until I asked to go there for my 12 birthday!!!!.....lol. So I suppose, yes, I saw pictures of tall buildings and was drawn to Calgary, but Edmonton will always be my first love...haha......

[ue]

^ Well, its a bit different now, but I wasn't meaning proximity to either city or whatever. I'm meaning that the urban identity of Alberta, the face of the province is still Calgary. Calgary is the city that the media talks about, not Edmonton. Calgary is the city with the can-do attitude to become more known internationally (even though both cities are peanuts relatively). But I appreciate the sentiment, nonetheless. I agree, the two are different cities, but still incredibly similar. Similar demographics, similar feel, similar age, similar urban built form, etc.

[travis3000]

I was looking on the Emporis database last night to see what cities in North America have the most skyscrapers (defined as buildings over 100m/328ft) . I'm sure everyone in here has been on this site many times. I was intrigued at a few things:

-Canada has five cities on the list... Mississauga (19), Montreal (32), Vancouver (47), Calgary (51), and Toronto (169)

-Toronto is 3rd on the list in North America after NYC (582), and Chicago (289) which to be honest didn't surprise me much

-The difference is huge between third place Toronto (169) and fourth place Miami (79)

-With the planned additions of both Herald Sq buildings, Telus Sky, the new Manulife building, City Centre 1, Eighth Ave Place, and Kings On Fourth, plus a few other buildings that materialize in the meantime, by 2020 Calgary will easily break the 60 barrier which, depending on growth of these other cities, could take it ahead of Los Angeles (56), Atlanta (56), and Honolulu (59). Regardless, Calgary will remain a strong 2nd for the most skyscrapers in Canada and potentially move from #10 in North America to about #7 or #8 over the next decade.

-With literally dozens upon dozens of "100m+ skyscrapers" currently under construction or proposed in Toronto, the current number of 169 is sure to increase drastically between now and the next decade. TO will def exceed the 200 number by that time and in my opinion will hit Chicago's numbers by about 2030 or perhaps a bit later. Because Chicago is still adding to their skyline, I think TO will remain at #3 for the foreseeable future.

-I was actually pretty shocked how low Montreal was. When you are in the city, you get the idea that it's bigger than it really is. At only 32 structures above 100m, Montreal ranks 17th in North America. It's probably the excellent street layout and urban feel as well as the mixed use of old churches, historical buildings, and skyscrapers that gives the illusion that the city is actually taller than it is.

How often do they update this list? Do they count a building once it's 100% completed, topped out, or do they include buildings under construction? Either way, I found the data very interesting and am super stoked to see how this list changes over the next 10-20 years as Canada continues it's building boom .