Great Canadian Skyline Thread II - Page 719

Chadillaccc · #**14361** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:17 PM**

Minneapolis circa 2040, on the mighty Mississippi!

Another mid-September Adventure by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

lio45 · #**14362** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Only you would be proud of razing a historic structure...

I think there's the potential here to have interesting conversations about heritage preservation, and I've never been opposed to going off-topic (I also don't see why it couldn't be a civil conversation...)

First off, though, if you look at what I said, which is that I did not even feel THAT bad (just, well, moderately bad) about razing that one structure (for reasons mentioned already: it wasn't that old nor that architecturally significant), I think Chad would have to invent new words to describe you saying I was "proud" of razing it, because "intellectually dishonest" wouldn't cut it.

I tried to get my hometown to not raze a 1922 hotel downtown; didn't work.

I wasn't a fan of razing these post-WWI utilitarian cubes either. I knew I couldn't stop it (well, I might have, but it would not have been realistic).

A decade ago, I led an effort to save one historic building downtown (against huge head winds) that went all the way to being in the hands of City Council and several of them actually voted for our project (despite all odds, we managed to be convincing enough it seems) but not enough to stop the powerful train that had already been set in motion.

There's no way anyone who knows me can say I am not a huge proponent of heritage preservation. I also think our societies aren't doing enough at all and I keep deploring that it's way too easy to demolish buildings. Anyone who pays attention to my posts will be aware of that. Ask someone123 for example, I am sure he will recall plenty of conversations about that over the years (in which we generally agreed that Quebec City sucks at heritage preservation while by contrast Halifax is indescribably horrible at it.)

Quote:

... to build whatever cheap garbage you put in its place (though if memory serves you left it as a parking lot as a screw you to the city?)

I've never ever built "cheap garbage". I developed land twice, i.e. built buildings twice, and they were both high quality constructions - in fact, more solid than nearly everything in my hometown. (Hurricane-rated FL constructions.) I'm proud of my building record, I intend to continue to limit it to stuff I'm genuinely proud of, I despise all the people who build cheap garbage, and I find that your totally baseless insult was completely unnecessary.

Out of curiosity - why would you accuse me of "building cheap garbage"? You must have known that it was not true at all, yet still decided to say it.

Don't wonder why conversations don't always stay friendly

esquire · #**14363** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Minneapolis circa 2040, on the mighty Mississippi!

Nice pic! And given the resemblance, if it weren't for the tower, some people might actually be convinced that is Minneapolis!

lio45 · #**14364** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Minneapolis circa 2040, on the mighty Mississippi!

That one dominant building there, it must be Minneapolis' tallest, it somehow always manages to look taller than everything else in all the more common angles of Minneapolis

(I will even go as far as to think that without it prominently visible, Minneapolis would look less like itself! Yes, I know it's the controversial statement of the year on this forum, but still.)

lio45 · #**14365** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Nice pic! And given the resemblance, if it weren't for the tower, some people might actually be convinced that is Minneapolis!

Huh. Semi-related simultaneous post

esquire · #**14366** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

Huh. Semi-related simultaneous post

As one of my old professors liked to say: great minds think alike, and fools seldom differ

MolsonExport · #**14367** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:34 PM**

Minneapolis is often quiet dead at the street level. Hopefully Calgary doesn't share that trait. I know some people will come out and defend Minneapolis (and it isn't a bad place) but from my own experience, it is rather dull (and on that metric, Calgary has more pedestrian traffic, certainly in the summer), like most newer North American cities.

esquire · #**14368** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Minneapolis is often quiet dead at the street level. Hopefully Calgary doesn't share that trait. I know some people will come out and defend Minneapolis (and it isn't a bad place) but from my own experience, it is rather dull (and on that metric, Calgary has more pedestrian traffic, certainly in the summer), like most newer North American cities.

It isn't great. It wasn't a hollowed out city like Detroit, but downtown was clearly becoming a bit of an afterthought in Minneapolis. It felt a bit like downtown Calgary despite the fact that MSP is several times bigger.

There was a downtown upswing in recent years inn Minneapolis similar to other inland American cities where there was more downtown residential being built, but I have read some horror stories about what has been going on there this year... there has been unrest as you know, with many people and businesses leaving. It sounds like a lot of the progress over the last 15 years is being lost.

From what I can tell, relative to the sizes of both cities, downtown Calgary is much better off and in a better position than downtown Minneapolis.

lio45 · #**14369** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Minneapolis is often quiet dead at the street level. Hopefully Calgary doesn't share that trait.

One trait that Minneapolis, Montreal and Calgary all share, is that the Mighty Mississippi is navigable all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Being landlocked sucks.

Chadillaccc · #**14370** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 6:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

From what I can tell, relative to the sizes of both cities, downtown Calgary is much better off and in a better position than downtown Minneapolis.

From the data I would say that's true, likely even an understatement. Calgary's downtown (not even total inner city) population is around 50 000 in 4 km2, while Minneapolis' is 51 000 in just under 8 km2 (total inner city), with our core population growing far more rapidly. In Calgary the city has also been undertaking a lot of initiatives to get suburbanites and families moving to/visiting the core over the last ten years, so that has also noticeably increased the vibrancy. From what I know about midwest cities, there are only certain areas of inner cities that are perceived as safe, while all of the Calgary inner city has that perception... except for perhaps the 300 m2 immediately surrounding the Drop-In Centre. Though it is the largest homeless shelter in the country, so that is to be expected.

O-tacular · #**14371** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 7:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

I think there's the potential here to have interesting conversations about heritage preservation, and I've never been opposed to going off-topic (I also don't see why it couldn't be a civil conversation...)

First off, though, if you look at what I said, which is that I did not even feel THAT bad (just, well, moderately bad) about razing that one structure (for reasons mentioned already: it wasn't that old nor that architecturally significant), I think Chad would have to invent new words to describe you saying I was "proud" of razing it, because "intellectually dishonest" wouldn't cut it.

I tried to get my hometown to not raze a 1922 hotel downtown; didn't work.

I wasn't a fan of razing these post-WWI utilitarian cubes either. I knew I couldn't stop it (well, I might have, but it would not have been realistic).

A decade ago, I led an effort to save one historic building downtown (against huge head winds) that went all the way to being in the hands of City Council and several of them actually voted for our project (despite all odds, we managed to be convincing enough it seems) but not enough to stop the powerful train that had already been set in motion.

There's no way anyone who knows me can say I am not a huge proponent of heritage preservation. I also think our societies aren't doing enough at all and I keep deploring that it's way too easy to demolish buildings. Anyone who pays attention to my posts will be aware of that. Ask someone123 for example, I am sure he will recall plenty of conversations about that over the years (in which we generally agreed that Quebec City sucks at heritage preservation while by contrast Halifax is indescribably horrible at it.)

I've never ever built "cheap garbage". I developed land twice, i.e. built buildings twice, and they were both high quality constructions - in fact, more solid than nearly everything in my hometown. (Hurricane-rated FL constructions.) I'm proud of my building record, I intend to continue to limit it to stuff I'm genuinely proud of, I despise all the people who build cheap garbage, and I find that your totally baseless insult was completely unnecessary.

Out of curiosity - why would you accuse me of "building cheap garbage"? You must have known that it was not true at all, yet still decided to say it.

Don't wonder why conversations don't always stay friendly

Your flippant comments and dismissal of anything post war being worth saving gave the impression that your consideration of what is historic is quite narrow. That combined with previous comments that you have made and the fact that you are a landlord led me to said conclusion. I am happy to be corrected if you do care and have preserved historic structures before. As for the comment about the quality of your developments I originally invited you to post a before and after pic to judge but didn’t want to derail things further. IMO almost all new homes look worse than 100 year old ones unless they are modern or classic and well constucted.

Acajack · #**14372** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 7:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Your flippant comments and dismissal of anything post war being worth saving gave the impression that your consideration of what is historic is quite narrow. That combined with previous comments that you have made and the fact that you are a landlord led me to said conclusion. I am happy to be corrected if you do care and have preserved historic structures before. As for the comment about the quality of your developments I originally invited you to post a before and after pic to judge but didn’t want to derail things further. IMO almost all new homes look worse than 100 year old ones unless they are modern or classic and well constucted.

What I really want to know is if Lio would be OK with demolishing the Frank Lloyd Wright falling water house, as it's less than 100 years old.

mr.John · #**14373** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 7:50 PM**

some really nice drone videos of Montreal
https://youtu.be/t5hXuYs4B4Y

https://youtu.be/TZSyS4ZTvFQ

https://youtu.be/SotKEV40X3k

https://youtu.be/WcxireXtpjY

Martin Mtl · #**14374** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 8:15 PM**

Beautiful shot!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masoliantekw

@pagarneau, sur Instagram

TorontoDrew · #**14375** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 8:26 PM**

QC reminds me a bit of Edinburgh, at least from that angle.

J.OT13 · #**14376** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 9:02 PM**

Ottawa.

West end of the CBD and Escarpment district on the lower, left. Dow's Lake area in the centre. Central Experimental Farm centre, right. July 12, 2020.

ottawa_D840700 by Chuck Clark, on Flickr

Dow's Lake area on the bottom. August 1, 2020.

C-GDSA DF02221 by Chuck Clark, on Flickr

Maldive · #**14377** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 9:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

This place is so weird. I've got to get out of here.

New Thread suggestions, with no "Ignore" option:

1. The lio45 Compilation Thread

2. The lio and Chad Cage Match Thread

3. The Lio King (produced by Walt Dizzy Pictures, based on the autobiography "How My Uncle Scarred Me").

Coldrsx · #**14378** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 9:14 PM**

https://twitter.com/uptown_one/status/1306605166548799489

esquire · #**14379** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 9:21 PM**

^ Great angle!

Coldrsx · #**14380** Posted **Sep 17, 2020, 9:29 PM**

Similar angle from the edge of the CBD.

https://twitter.com/TheHenleyShift/status/1306609389751599106