Great Canadian Skyline Thread II - Page 713

Biff · #**14241** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 3:03 PM**

Edmonton looks a lot like Calgary in that last photo.

esquire · #**14242** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 3:05 PM**

For what it's worth, it's a gorgeous perspective looking west with the mountains in the background. It doesn't show the full range of the skyline like the south-facing views do, but it is to my mind the most recognizable and iconic view of the city. It's also the view that greets travellers when landing at YYC from the south... I get excited when I see that awesome close-up view of downtown Calgary from the air.

Pavlov · #**14243** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 3:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biff

Edmonton looks a lot like Calgary in that last photo.

Yeah, I still have some lingering homer bias from growing up in Calgary, but to me lio's second photo is still very distinctively Calgary. But I suppose it depends on one's familiarity with the Calgary skyline. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if a random person from the United States wouldn't be able to identify that photograph. I'd be pretty surprised if a Canadian who posts on a skyscraper/skyline forum sincerely couldn't identify it, but lio often surprises me so who knows.

esquire · #**14244** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 3:55 PM**

^ In my view, that photo from the north has more than a few similarities to the Edmonton skyline as seen from the south. I mean, I'd recognize it as Calgary right away but it would probably not be so obvious to people who don't spend time here.

Coldrsx · #**14245** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 3:57 PM**

^Ha nice.

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https://twitter.com/justinfocus516/status/1306079674653503490

Sewciu85 · #**14246** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 4:55 PM**

I wish!
Those are my 2 favourite angels of the Calgary skyline.
When I was getting into skylines/skyscrapers as a kid, it was the telephoto promotional mountain backdrop view that was readily available and really good looking.
From the north west, skyline looks big city and really like Brookfield’s prominence - such a simple but good looking building!

Chadillaccc · #**14247** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 5:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pavlov

I love how the mountains in those shots just dwarf the Calgary skyline.

Their peaks are two kilometres higher than the city, so that makes sense

The amazing sunsets lately have certainly furnished us with some amazing skyline pics..

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFIp7GjB7N5/?utm_source=ig_embed

lio45 · #**14248** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 5:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pavlov

Yeah, I still have some lingering homer bias from growing up in Calgary, but to me lio's second photo is still very distinctively Calgary.

Sure, but you're a Calgarian. You could pass off the second pic as Edmonton to me (it's lacking all the things I associate with Calgary skyline pics: the Bow dominating, the red Calgary Tower visible, the mountains as the backdrop), and therefore probably to ~90% of Canadians too.

Quote:

I'd be pretty surprised if a Canadian who posts on a skyscraper/skyline forum sincerely couldn't identify it, but lio often surprises me so who knows.

If you put a gun to my head and let me analyze the pic a bit before answering, I'd say Calgary but only due to the Bow being visible (subtle, but still visible). To me, nothing else distinguishes that pic from Pre-Stantec Edmonton.

I "often" surprise you?!? lol. That's... interesting.

Chadillaccc · #**14249** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 6:06 PM**

The Calgary and Edmonton skylines are very different, pre-stantec or not. I'm not sure which photos we are referring to, but the architectural styles, height of the towers, Edmonton's river valley being the foreground of the vast majority of photos... they're very different. From all views Calgary's skyline is beefier, taller (on average), and denser, while Edmonton's is longer and more uniform. Calgary core area skyline is about 3.3 km wide and about 2.8 km thick at its thickest (4 Street corridor) with about 410 high rises, 20 at/over 150 meters - 75 over 100 meters, while Edmonton core area skyline is about 4.2 km wide and about 1.5 km thick at its thickest (109 Street corridor) with about 250 high rises, 2 at/over 150 meters - 23 over 100 meters.

The built forms on the ground may arguably be similar, but the skylines are undeniably different. This isn't a read on Edmonton by the way, I love the direction they're going. It's just the numbers.

Also, sorry y'all for the long, number-y post. I took my dexadrine for the first time in ages this morning.

suburbanite · #**14250** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 6:12 PM**

Hmm I'm not buying those numbers. What's their wooden shack count?

Chadillaccc · #**14251** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 6:14 PM**

Lmfao! I'm dead

The numbers are from the skyscraper database and are approximate to within +/- 10. I didn't count them individually.

lio45 · #**14252** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 6:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

The Calgary and Edmonton skylines are very different, pre-stantec or not.

Sure, for you, but they actually aren't. (i.e. aren't THAT different, in the grand scheme of things.)

Let's flip this situation - I am able to easily tell the difference between vernacular architecture in Quebec City vs the same style and era of building in a city that's as close as Trois-Rivières - subtle details but they're there if you're familiar enough with this stuff.

Being honest though, I would admit that the styles are quite similar - even the styles in Eastern Ontario are somewhat similar. I would not be surprised to hear that a Calgarian can't see any difference. This would be normal.

That size of city (which isn't the Big 3, but is clearly bigger than Winnipeg, and located in plains, no mountains visible) has to be Calgary or Edmonton, but if you're not familiar with these cities, you can't go further than narrowing it down to these two.

Quote:

Also, sorry y'all for the long, number-y post. I took my dexadrine for the first time in ages this morning.

The numbers you provided simply mean that if one looked at them side by side, one could then tell which is which. Without anything to compare it to though, that caliber of city in a Prairie context with no mountains nor Bow nor Red KFC Bucket (nor 50%-taller-than-the-rest-Stantec) can be either, to the unfamiliar observer.

And FYI, we're talking about the pic that's at the bottom of last page (Calgary viewed from the west).

lio45 · #**14253** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 6:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Hmm I'm not buying those numbers. What's their wooden shack count?

According to what someone posted not long ago, Edmonton just eliminated their one remaining old detached SFH in the downtown core, or else is about to. So... zero. (For downtown Edm.)

The info is there in the Wooden Shacks thread

Chadillaccc · #**14254** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 7:00 PM**

I feel like you're being intellectually dishonest, again. The two cities have extremely distinct skylines. Calgary's is the second largest cluster of skyscrapers (100+ meters) in the country (though Montreal will likely re-take that position this decade, currently it's 82 vs. 78), while Edmonton's is fifth. It's a big difference in all measures.

To the unfamiliar observer, the person obviously wouldn't know which cities they're looking at, but no one would look at them and think "oh, well obviously that's the same city!" since none of the major buildings look similar. That's like saying Toronto and Chicago are interchangeable because they're both on lakes and have tall, modern skylines.

To correct my previous post, Calgary is 82 at 100 m+ and Edmonton is 26. Don't know where that tabulating error occurred.

Source: https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=90638416

Anywho, I need to stop participating in this farce, it's like screaming into the wind

MolsonExport · #**14255** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 7:24 PM**

found this picture of a biscuit shack

lio45 · #**14256** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 7:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I feel like you're being intellectually dishonest, again.

Why? I'm accepting all your numbers. I have no problem with Calgary being beefier than Edmonton. I'm just pointing out the obvious fact that if you only have one single pic of one of these two cities, you can't compare it to the other.

Show me Saskatoon and Regina and Winnipeg and London (Ontario) all side by side and I'm sure I can manage to tell which is which. Show me only one, out of context, and I can't guarantee I'll get it right.

Quote:

... while Edmonton's is fifth. It's a big difference in all measures.

Edmonton looks big too, when viewed alone. It looks (at first sight) to be in the same league as Calgary - clearly smaller than Toronto, but bigger than Winnipeg.

Quote:

Anywho, I need to stop participating in this farce, it's like screaming into the wind

No problem. I'll just rest my case that I'm sure you could pass this off as either Calgary or Edmonton to a random Torontonian or Montrealer pretty damn easily:

Pavlov · #**14257** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 7:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I feel like you're being intellectually dishonest, again. The two cities have extremely distinct skylines. Calgary's is the second largest cluster of skyscrapers (100+ meters) in the country (though Montreal will likely re-take that position this decade, currently it's 82 vs. 78), while Edmonton's is fifth. It's a big difference in all measures.

To the unfamiliar observer, the person obviously wouldn't know which cities they're looking at, but no one would look at them and think "oh, well obviously that's the same city!" since none of the major buildings look similar. That's like saying Toronto and Chicago are interchangeable because they're both on lakes and have tall, modern skylines.

Also to correct my previous post, Calgary is 82 at 100 m+ and Edmonton is 26. Don't know where that tabulating error occurred.

Source: https://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=90638416

To be fair to lio, his initial statement was that the view of Calgary's skyline from the East is the most iconic. That's a perfectly reasonable and defensible position (even though I don't think I agree).

I don't know why he had to go down the road of "from the other angles, the Calgary skyline just looks like the Edmonton skyline" other than "it's lio". I don't think he means it as a slag. Its just a strange take.

lio45 · #**14258** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 7:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pavlov

To be fair to lio, his initial statement was that the view of Calgary's skyline from the East is the most iconic. That's a perfectly reasonable and defensible position (even though I don't think I agree).

I don't know why he had to go down the road of "from the other angles, the Calgary skyline just looks like the Edmonton skyline" other than "it's lio". I don't think he means it as a slag. Its just a strange take.

IMO it's the same conversation - summed up as "the most iconic and classic views of Calgary are the views where the main landmarks, namely, the Bow, the red KFC bucket, and the Rockies in the distance, are all visible; in the absence of all of these, then Calgary looks less like Calgary, and an unfamiliar observer could even get it confused with Edmonton, a fellow Prairie city that's in the same general league".

If I happened to say that whenever the (iconic) Gateway Arch isn't visible then St. Louis from some angles could pass off as Cincy and/or vice versa, you'd again go on a crusade against me, I assume...? For daring to say that?

Some of you are quite special

Pavlov · #**14259** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 7:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

IMO it's the same conversation - summed up as "the most iconic and classic views of Calgary are the views where the main landmarks, namely, the Bow, the red KFC bucket, and the Rockies in the distance, are all visible; in the absence of all of these, then Calgary looks less like Calgary, and an unfamiliar observer could even get it confused with Edmonton, a fellow Prairie city that's in the same general league".

If I happened to say that whenever the (iconic) Gateway Arch isn't visible then St. Louis from some angles could pass off as Cincy and/or vice versa, you'd again go on a crusade against me, I assume...? For daring to say that?

Some of you are quite special

No, no crusade from me this time. I don't think this is unreasonable.

MattBerryOfficial · #**14260** Posted **Sep 16, 2020, 7:53 PM**

The view of Calgary from the north does look fairly similar to the view of Edmonton from the south (in broad strokes). Both are medium sized cities in the same climes, clinging to smallish rivers, neither has "old bones" type urbanity, etc. Obviously the skyline enthusiasts of this site can quickly notice the differences.

These same surface level comparisons exist all over. Chicago & Toronto can look very similar, Philly & Montreal, Perth & Miami, the list goes on.

If you pulled up the numbers I'm sure there are significant differences in the number of 100m+, 150m+ building between these cities. Doesn't make the broader point wrong.

Also long time lurker here, glad to make my first post!