The Great Canadian Skyline Thread!

[Metro-One]

Yeah, was going to leave this one alone, but Gastown and CHina town are much more than just tourist trap ghettos

They have cleaned up dramatically in the last 15 years (especially their western halves) and are super popular with locals.

Gastown has many of the best bars and pubs in Vancouver and China town has many of the best restaurants. Not to mention many fantastic cultural institutions enjoyed by both locals and out of towners.

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Quite the contrary...............I stayed in the area for 3 weeks late last year while I was attending class, right near Chinatown.

As I said, the area is improving but it has a long way to go. Maybe you have gotten use to people shooting-up or having track marks on ever part of their body but I haven't. If you were to place the social ills of Gastown and Chinatown in any other city in the country there would be an incredible outcry at the inhumanity, drugs, poverty, prostitution, filth, garbage, and despair. Vancouverites have gotten use to it and seem to be able to pass it by without a second thought and Victoria and City Hall view the area and her many troubles with supreme indifference.

The streets every morning were littered with dirty syringes, plastic bags, and people heading to the park to get some sleep because it's closed after dark. Maybe you find it agreeable but most in the city don't and wouldn't be caught dead in the area. Hell, when Campbell was showing off Vancouver to the IOC he completely avoided Hastings which is the main street in the area. I can count on my fingers and toes how many children I saw in the area walking with their parents.

It's coming along but it is still a very pathetic environment which would not be tolerated in any other city in the country.

I would not ever consider Hastings the main street in Gastown (Water) nor Chinatown (Pender). You have wonderfully jumbled the DTES, Gastown and Chinatown together. As I was saying, it is never difficult to tell who is pretending to know what is happening in Vancouver...

[Brizzy82]

Couple of recent Winnipeg shots (by me). The first one is an angle I've taken many times, but it was a nice sunny day so I said f*ck it & took another.

2nd one is from a similar angle but it was my first time taking a shot from this particular building & I thought the view was great. (14th fl @ 400 Stradbrook, MB Housing seniors residence). Osborne Village in the foreground.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by beatlesque

As for the earlier comments about the Exchange District and Gastown, again having lived in both cities, I think both are great architecturally and there is information in the link below. They list 141 buildings in Gastown and roughly 150 in the Exchange, although some of the taller buildings in the Exchange stand out as well, e.g., below. http://www.historicplaces.ca

Thanks for that link. More specifically, here's an interactive map - http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/results-...272956889769326&swLng=-123.1179428100586

The huge silver lining for the DTES is the large concentration of historic buildings that are lying dormant and waiting to be brought back to life. When the rest of the DTES is included in the historic buildings map, the total goes from 141 to around 240.

As an urban enthusiast, it's very interesting to watch this area come back to life. At some point, the cool places to be will be East Hastings and East Pender and the rest of the DTES. Downtown Vancouver already has a decent urban vibe, but we are on the cusp of taking a major leap forward.

[beatlesque]

[QUOTE=Brizzy82;6703158]Couple of recent Winnipeg shots (by me). The first one is an angle I've taken many times, but it was a nice sunny day so I said f*ck it & took another.

Great shots - seeing the CMHR poking through, and of course the stand-out gem is the legislature. I guess some of the new buildings coming along the river will keep the skyline moving ☝ although it's too bad Glasshouse might not be seen from there as it might end up nicer than pretty much all of those other mid-rises.

[beatlesque]

Originally Posted by logan5

Thanks for that link. More specifically, here's an interactive map - http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/results-...272956889769326&swLng=-123.1179428100586

The huge silver lining for the DTES is the large concentration of historic buildings that are lying dormant and waiting to be brought back to life. When the rest of the DTES is included in the historic buildings map, the total goes from 141 to around 240.

As an urban enthusiast, it's very interesting to watch this area come back to life. At some point, the cool places to be will be East Hastings and East Pender and the rest of the DTES. Downtown Vancouver already has a decent urban vibe, but we are on the cusp of taking a major leap forward.

Yeah, I agree completely - there is a lot of potential to develop the historic part of downtown and I've seen some excellent-looking proposals/projects at different points. That trend would continue to reintegrate an essential part of Vancouver's dwtn fabric.

Actually the same situation exists in WPG, where there are other historic buildings still standing but not re-developed which could add to the collection. So hopefully both places will continue that push, and as you say make the leap forward.

With today's Napa earthquake, I do wonder what the latest is regarding reinforcing historic structures in the Lower Mainland, Victoria, etc. I remember walking around Seattle after a small earthquake there and being struck by the disparity of damage btw the old and new neighbourhoods.

Damage from this morning:



Eric Risberg / Associated Press

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Brizzy82

Couple of recent Winnipeg shots (by me). The first one is an angle I've taken many times, but it was a nice sunny day so I said f*ck it & took another.

2nd one is from a similar angle but it was my first time taking a shot from this particular building & I thought the view was great. (14th fl @ 400 Stradbrook, MB Housing seniors residence). Osborne Village in the foreground.

Great shots of the Peg! Great bones for sure. You can really tell that it was one of Canada's original prominent cities, and it still is a cultural centre with the re-knowned Ballet and what not.

[Delirium]

Photo by Sadi Santos Photography https://www.flickr.com/photos/sadi-junior/14967508966/sizes/o/

[Klazu]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Spamming this a little bit, but these are just great photos and, well, I just love MNP tower.

Thanks, I forgot to post them here. Here's one more to the south.

[Surrealplaces]

Cloudy by Giulio Calisse, on Flickr

[MonkeyRonin]

Don't forget this one!



Cloudy Panorama by Giulio Calisse, on Flickr

[Dylan Leblanc]

Nice to see BA2 getting up there

[travis3000]

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

Cloudy by Giulio Calisse, on Flickr

Beautiful TO shot!!

[MolsonExport]

^second that. The shot just screams big fucking city.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

^second that. The shot just screams big fucking city.

Agreed. That picture is damn impressive. Toronto has really taken things to the next level.

[SignalHillHiker]

That's a great angle of TO. You can see the street-level density - which is missing from shots taken from the other angle, with the railroad visible. This angle also puts the meatier buildings up front, even some of the grand, older ones. Fantastic shot. And the islands visible in the background really add something... not sure how to explain the feeling they give me, but it's positive.

[caltrane74]

The Entertainment District is becoming a downtown unto itself.

Wasn't that long ago there were many, many parking lots. They are getting harder to find now.

[Chadillaccc]

That's what I'm looking forward to happening in the eastern Beltline, in the area surrounding Stampede Park. There are 4 uc and 5 proposed in the area, but it's nowhere near enough at this point The reason I mentioned that is because I see that part of the Beltline/downtown becoming Calgary's 'entertainment district' of sorts, due to it being sandwiched in by Stampede Park, First Street, and 17th Ave, and already containing two casinos and an extremely popular club, plus the city's 2nd largest convention centre.

Those Toronto shots are amazing though. Almost looks like the first one is taken from Aura.

[floobie]

Those Toronto shots... wow! I have two new wallpapers.

[Ramako]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Those Toronto shots are amazing though. Almost looks like the first one is taken from Aura.

Yeah, that's my thought as well. I'm jealous of whoever buys that penthouse.