Great Canadian Skyline Thread II

[Martin Mtl]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU8LkuXFGJ0/?taken-by=abichuelaluna


https://www.instagram.com/p/BU-uEkgDfsT/?taken-by=belgian_out_of_belgium

[ainvan]

Toronto 🌆 by Oscar Halder, on Flickr


_DSC75221 by Matt Crawford, on Flickr


St. Mary, Toronto by Ravi Pardesi, on Flickr


you've been heavy on my mind by Dustin William, on Flickr

[MolsonExport]

that first one is epic.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

While people don't geek out about the specifics like we do, I actually think that there's almost an innate attraction to skylines.

One of the most popular attractions in any city is an observation deck. Lookout points with sweeping views of a city's skyline are associated with romance and courtship. People pay premiums for homes with views of the skyline and are angered when those views are lost.

Most people can't help but stare at skylines the same way they are mesmerized by a campfire.

This may be true to a point, but I don't think a city needs to have an NYC-ish or Hongkong-ish skyline in order to satisfy whatever public urge there is in this respect.

Montreal has plenty of "vista" points, including Mount Royal, the tower at the Big O, Altitude 737 at Place Ville-Marie... I doubt very many people are wishing they had more and better ones than those.

Even a city like Ottawa with Canada's shittiest skyline (for a city of its size) has its spots: the Peace Tower, the former revolving restaurant at the Marriott hotel, etc.

It's not a box that's that difficult to check off.

[BillM]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Montreal is not an "awesome skyline" city anyway, even if its skyline does have some unique and interesting qualities.

I think Montreal has all of the attributes of an impressive skyline.

Natural features

notable bridges

and buildings

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I honestly don't think the average person in most any city really cares about skylines, be they Montrealers, Torontonians, New Yorkers or Shanghaites...

They don't care about analyzing/comparing them but, the average person from my generation and my parent's generation do take notice. My relatives visiting from abroad are always wow'd by Toronto's growing skyline. My parents generation that landed in Canada during the early to mid 1960s have often spoke being less than impressed by it. Of course, I don't expect today's generation to take notice that much. Skyscrapers are everywhere.

I'm sure the average Montrealer is taking notice of the new skyscraper boom that is drastically changing the skyline.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by dleung

Wow. I wonder how Montrealers who were alive during Expo must feel today.

Another one of my posts that sails right over your head.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by BillM

I think Montreal has all of the attributes of an impressive skyline.

Natural features

notable bridges

and buildings

I think you're broadly right, although what constitutes an impressive skyline is constantly evolving.

I have my doubts that it's keeping pace with that right now.

But as noted: it has other great attributes as a city, that are IMO more important.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Another one of my posts that sails right over your head.

Actually, I must admit that *his* post sailed right over my head. I have no idea what he meant, though one can assume there is probably an implicit slag at Montreal, Quebec and francophones in there somewhere...

[Darkoshvilli]

Whipper your own link shows Detroit and Cleveland were taller.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by Acajack

This may be true to a point, but I don't think a city needs to have an NYC-ish or Hongkong-ish skyline in order to satisfy whatever public urge there is in this respect.

Montreal has plenty of "vista" points, including Mount Royal, the tower at the Big O, Altitude 737 at Place Ville-Marie... I doubt very many people are wishing they had more and better ones than those.

Even a city like Ottawa with Canada's shittiest skyline (for a city of its size) has its spots: the Peace Tower, the former revolving restaurant at the Marriott hotel, etc.

It's not a box that's that difficult to check off.

A skyline will be treated like any other amenity that you can't move - people (locals) will place a value on the best of what they have in their backyard, rather than assign a relative value to it compared to the best of what's on offer in the world.

But that doesn't mean that people don't care for skylines. I think that sweeping views of cities and landscapes are attractive to just about every human being, and the more dramatic the view, the better.

[TorontoDrew]

I've always liked the Montreal skyline. The only part I'm critical of is Griffon Town but no place or nobody is perfect.

[saintjohnirish☘]

Montreal skyline w the St Lawrence is just grand. Always love the drive along the river from NB to MTL

[OutOfTowner]

Originally Posted by dleung

Wow. I wonder how Montrealers who were alive during Expo must feel today.

I'd suppose the fact that they had experienced the greatest Expo ever in their city would be more important to them than the size of the latest, could be anywhere, investorcrap, condo proposal that nobody will give a flying 🞵🞵🞵🞵 about 2 years from now and that nobody in the rest of the world could give two shits about right now.

At least I'd hope so.

Call me crazy.

[OutOfTowner]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

They feel fundamentally CRUSHED. PVM was the tallest skyscraper in the world outside of the (still high and mighty and authoritarian and if-you-don't-believe-me-you're-a-traitor-to-our-epoch) USA and (we now finally run-the-world-in-all-but-name) (former) USSR. Now, our tallest isn't even worth a damn in Deadmonton, nevermind Cowgary.

Everyday, Montrealers walk the streets of Beaubien, Gouin, St-Laurent and Jarry in dismay. They weep: (in an Othelo-like way) "If only we were subjugated again by the English from Westmount! We would rule the world once more!"

They go on:

"You know when I was your age lad, our tallest skyscraper was one of the top 25 tallest buildings in the world (and sure, half of our population lived in destitution, third-world level poverty because they were led my an autocratic clergy, backed by financial institutions that supported them) and now look at us, the masters of Canada's only corrupt jurisdiction, full of foreigners and THE FRENCH living on their own land."

Yeah. Last night on the streets of Montreal, the masses wept at the absent sight of 75-storey condos and missed opportunities of top-ranking insurance company CEO positions.

Believe me, we scream and shout about that EVERYDAY.

That's a true story.

Unless my city has giant erections I feel so.. inadequate!

Because the ladies so admire the guys from Dubai..

[OutOfTowner]

Originally Posted by dleung

For 100 years people flocked to the Eiffel tower to look out over a sea of 6-storey buildings. The key in most cases is the view over the city, not necessarily of other buildings. In Vancouver, the water/mountain views cost many times the premium of "city views"

lol, and I wasn't just thinking about the tall buildings, but the city's relative prominence at the time. One would reason that pessimism for the future might be the cause for that unique brand of socially-acceptable racism

If you're going to a city strictly for the 'view of buildings etc' then may I suggest that you are missing the essential point of what makes cities interesting?

Drive into Houston, Skyline - WOW! Can't wait to head downtown! Only, there's nothing there after 6 pm. Nice buildings..

Take the train into Berlin, no skyline except TV tower, leave 6 months later and you've just scratched the surface and just want more because the city has EVERYTHING - except for the much vaunted 'skyline' that you dullards so worship.

I think you guys spend too much time on the internet and are a little too fucked up about 'skylines' and cheap-🞵🞵🞵🞵 condo developments and office buildings that no normal people give the least bit of a 🞵🞵🞵🞵 about - they live at street, neighbourhood level most of the time. They don't check the latest 'height stats' at which, by the way, Canada does not even compete with the rest of the world - as if that matters.

Just my opinion.

[koops65]

Originally Posted by OutOfTowner

If you're going to a city strictly for the 'view of buildings etc' then may I suggest that you are missing the essential point of what makes cities interesting?

Drive into Houston, Skyline - WOW! Can't wait to head downtown! Only, there's nothing there after 6 pm. Nice buildings..

Take the train into Berlin, no skyline except TV tower, leave 6 months later and you've just scratched the surface and just want more because the city has EVERYTHING - except for the much vaunted 'skyline' that you dullards so worship.

I think you guys spend too much time on the internet and are a little too fucked up about 'skylines' and cheap-🞵🞵🞵🞵 condo developments and office buildings that no normal people give the least bit of a 🞵🞵🞵🞵 about - they live at street, neighbourhood level most of the time. They don't check the latest 'height stats' at which, by the way, Canada does not even compete with the rest of the world - as if that matters.

Just my opinion.

In fact, Canada has plenty of tall buildings, per capita, and can easily compete in a tall building competition against other world countries, like Germany for instance...

Yes, a few countries build taller, but not many...

You seem to have forgotten that Toronto's CN Tower was the tallest structure on Earth for over 30 years.

[cyeg66]

Originally Posted by koops65

In fact, Canada has plenty of tall buildings, per capita, and can easily compete in a tall building competition against other world countries, like Germany for instance...

Yes, a few countries build taller, but not many...

You seem to have forgotten that Toronto's CN Tower was the tallest structure on Earth for over 30 years.

Don't fan the flames, Koops, don't fan the flames. Just let a few posters say what they wanna say, get things off their chest, so to speak, and then life can get back to normal.

[BillM]

Originally Posted by Darkoshvilli

Whipper your own link shows Detroit and Cleveland were taller.

Look at the first 6 buildings.

Anyway, I did a modification to that link to sort the buildings by roof height.
It shows that 3 out of the 4 tallest buildings in North America outside of NYC were in Montreal.

http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=77474818

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by OutOfTowner

I'd suppose the fact that they had experienced the greatest Expo ever in their city would be more important to them than the size of the latest, could be anywhere, investorcrap, condo proposal that nobody will give a flying 🞵🞵🞵🞵 about 2 years from now and that nobody in the rest of the world could give two shits about right now.

At least I'd hope so.

Call me crazy.

You are crazy.

The usual suspects have to stop being so obtuse. The point is that Montreal is like any other North American city. (Berlin? HAHA) They have aspired and continue to aspire to build tall buildings. The economy is now chugging along and guess what? Tall buildings are sprouting up.

Skyline are wayfinding identifiers and express economic prowess here. You cannot tell Montrealers are so confidence with themselves that they don't care what others think of their city. Just look at some of their representatives on the forum; on this page!