The Great Canadian Skyline Thread!

[Chadillaccc]

Downtown from Uptown by Osarieme Eweka, on Flickr

Downtown from Uptown by Osarieme Eweka, on Flickr

Birds over Calgary by JesseJ., on Flickr

from Calgary tower to the west by tuanland, on Flickr

Commute Home by kylefmdavies, on Flickr

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Tone

Yes its a different ball game if things are put in perspective.

Calgary City Skyline by Acuraelin, on Flickr

I realize you probably chose this because of the view of the mountains, or because it was one of the first aerial photographs you found, but this is not the full picture. North of downtown is oddly residential due to the river cutting it off and historic century old houses being in the way, but areas like Kensington and Bridgeland are beginning to see 6-8 story buildings going up everywhere.

What your picture is missing is the entire area south of DT including the Beltline and Mission which have their own skylines. These will give better context. In no way does this rival Montreal's density as it is 3x bigger and 3x older, but it does show that Calgary is not simply a suburb with a skyline.

[SkahHigh]

Originally Posted by travis3000

My ranking :

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver
4. Calgary

But I will say , Calgary is a solid #4 and will certainly solidify that in the future. Nothing not to be proud of for a city that size.

Couldn't agree more with you!

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Calgary from the NW


by @makecalgarytalk via twitter

by @makecalgarytalk via twitter

Gorgeous view. I love the view from the west.

[O-tacular]

Some pics courtesy of CorporateWhore showing the rapidly changing East Village skyline.

Originally Posted by CorporateWhore

Took a quick walk through a East Village on a brisk day.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by travis3000

My ranking :

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Vancouver
4. Calgary

But I will say , Calgary is a solid #4 and will certainly solidify that in the future. Nothing not to be proud of for a city that size. In the tall buildings department though Calgary would be #2 , which will be enhanced again with Brookfield , Telus , and the big CF tower years down the road should that go (chances are it will). But a skyline isn't just about height , there are other factors which is why I keep Calgary at #4.

Agreed on all counts.

Dubai may have more buildings beyond a certain height than Shanghai. But I much, much prefer Shanghai's skyline over that of Dubai. And for me, worldwide, Hong Kong and NYC are near impossible to beat, the first due to its dramatic setting and density (analogous to Vancouver in Canada), the second due to its sheer variety and density (analogous perhaps to Toronto in Canada). Dubai has many tall buildings, but overall it is not the most attractive skyline. Subjective for sure.

Calgary gets the coveted PER CAPITA () skyline award, no doubt.

[The_Architect]

Oh look it's this argument again... We're taking something subjective and trying to state it as if it's all factual and impossible to argue.

Anyway my personal list is:
Toronto
Vancouver
Calgary

Montreal
Ottawa
the rest

What really does it for me is the fact that I like the shape of Calgary's better, and I don't like PVM at all. It's an unpopular opinion but I honestly don't see its appeal.

[Boris2k7]

New


Calgary Skyline by chrismcdowell19, on Flickr

[mistercorporate]

Top skylines:
1. Toronto
2. Vancouver
3. Montreal
4. Calgary
5. Ottawa
6. Winnipeg (boy is this starting to grow on me)
7. Niagara Falls
8. Edmonton

Top per capita:
1. Kingston
2. Niagara Falls
3. Quebec City
4. Calgary
5. Victoria

[Calgarian]

Calgary vs Montreal again? really?

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Tone

Montreal definitely has some fantastic low and midrise density, very impressive indeed.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

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from Calgary tower to the west

Love this shot, not the density of the Montreal one I quoted above, but we are getting there...

[O-tacular]

Just realized I never actually listed my top skylines. These are bound to change particularly once Edmonton builds Stantec and their arena district.

1)Toronto
2)Calgary
3)Vancouver
4)Montreal (with points for the Jacques Cartier bridge)
5)Winnipeg
6)Edmonton

This is purely based on the aesthetic shape of the skyline. If I were to rate the city on midrises and streetwall my list would be as follows:

1)Montreal
2)Vancouver
3)Toronto
4)Calgary
5)Winnipeg
6)Edmonton

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Love this shot, not the density of the Montreal one I quoted above, but we are getting there...

Once those parking lots backing onto the tracks get developed this view will be infinitely better. Centre 10 and the Marriott can't come soon enough.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Gorgeous view. I love the view from the west.

What building is this from? Must be in Dalhousie by the U of C?

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

What building is this from? Must be in Dalhousie by the U of C?

I was wondering if that street was 14 St, looks too far west though. Maybe from the Bowness area?

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Calgary gets the coveted PER CAPITA () skyline award, no doubt.

I think Niagara Falls and Yellowknife would like a word with you.

I've decided to reform my list of best skylines with a semi-per capita standard focused on aesthetics:

1. Montreal
2. Winnipeg (follows Montreal's shape but less interesting topography and architecture)
3. Calgary and Vancouver tie (too different to declare a winner)
5. Hamilton (what? I love that 70s residential, also a good spread of buildings across the CMA)
6. Toronto (not due to the core skyline, but the shear number of skylines across the GTA)
7. Quebec City
8. Edmonton
9. Halifax

The order after 5 is a bit iffy, and after 9 there's just too many options.

[Tone]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

I realize you probably chose this because of the view of the mountains, or because it was one of the first aerial photographs you found, but this is not the full picture. North of downtown is oddly residential due to the river cutting it off and historic century old houses being in the way, but areas like Kensington and Bridgeland are beginning to see 6-8 story buildings going up everywhere.

I liked these two shots together because the tall towers are more or less at the same distance and they both look in the SW direction, I thought it was cool. But yeah some of the Beltline is missing unfortunately.

[vegeta_skyline]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

Those are the Westgate Park tower. Brava (2006), Encore (2008), and Ovation (2010). They sit across Bow Trail from the Westbrook LRT station (2012).

There are some other highrises outside of downtown. There's the South Macleod Trail cluster, the Brentwood/University cluster, and isolated tower complexes at South Glenmore Park and Point McKay. Outside of these, yeah, the highrise development is heavily concentrated in Calgary.

Thanks for the info! Hopefully as the city grows more highrise nodes will develop over time.

[Ashok]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Montreal definitely has some fantastic low and midrise density, very impressive indeed.

oh the shade, the shade of it all! Notice how he does not mention hi-rises!