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Originally Posted by Broadstrexpresstrain
Ok PHILLY skyscraper/ skyline enthusiast, when and if these west philly towers (Shown in the sketchup model renderings) get built, where will the PHILLY skyline stand nationally? Currently I have it tied with San Francisco behind NY and Chicago.....I don’t include Miami in this discussion because the towers there mostly hug the beach side for miles as opposed to being in one location to form a city district. Will these towers propel PHILLY to # 3 nationally? I know that people in Houston, Dallas and LA point to the number of towers on emporis however, I conclude that unlike the other cities, the PHILLY Emporis list does not include all of the towers in the city. I know for a fact that several older residential towers are not included on the PHILLY emporis list.
What do you think?
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Before I answer this question there is a huge skyscraper missing in the line drawling; north of 30th Street at 29th and Arch
I would put Philadelphia Skyline at 3# place right now and I'd do it for the following reasons; (1) its scale because it really spreads from Delaware Avenue to 40th and Walnut; there are 30 story buildings stretching 4 miles; east to west; Pine to Vine; and in the future that will increase. (2) its typography and geography; Downtown Philadelphia is relatively flat and University City has a slight bluff; San Francisco is a big hill and on a peninsula would not look as dynamic if the city were flat and spread out. (3) its psychological; when a good percentage of New Yorker look at the Philadelphia skyline and they think its New York then that's saying something; it says the Philadelphia Skyline is much more dynamic than those who live here actually think in some cases. (4) lastly is the diversity of Philadelphia's skyline; you have styles of skyscrapers from French Second Empire with the City Hall which was topped off in 1894 to Comcast Tech Tower in 2018; Dallas, Houston, most of the towers in most cities are post 1970 which a similar style and this isn't a negative towards those cities because; they can't help that but when you look at the Philadelphia skyline you are seeing growth, stability, an established metropolis and that adds to the dynamism of the skyline that other cities don't have; even New York and Chicago don't have skyscrapers before 1920 that stand out in a panorama; they just over come this by overwhelming size; Philadelphia has the size and will continue to have the size while still having all of this so it should be 3rd I think easily.
Now when these Skyscrapers in Schuykill Yards and University City; maybe even 38th Street (who knows) in Callowhill are built out; Philadelphia will be with New York and Chicago; but we'll have the scope of time they don't because Chicago is a great city; I love it actually but they didn't get big until about 1920; and New York was big like Philadelphia back then but they tore a lot of their early skyscrapers down like the Singer Building. I'll say Philadelphia is 3# and in a generation; soon we'll be higher