Your top five skylines of the south

[Lakelander]

In the South:

1. Miami
2. Houston
3. Atlanta
4. Dallas
5. New Orleans/Baltimore

In the Southeast

1. Miami
2. Atlanta
3. Charlotte
4. Tampa
5. Birmingham

Honorable Mention:

Fort Lauderdale
Jacksonville
Richmond

[sleepy]

I always liked this one of New Orleans

[LouisianaRush]

You can see Canal St. It is one of my favorite streets in the U.S. It has a very European feel to it. They are going to rip up all of the different trees along canal because it is blocking pedestrians and there is not theme to the trees. The city is going to plant huge sable palms down Canal in key places. It is going to be an awesome street once this and the trolley down it is finished.

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by HoustonRush

You can see Canal St. It is one of my favorite streets in the U.S. It has a very European feel to it. They are going to rip up all of the different trees along canal because it is blocking pedestrians and there is not theme to the trees. The city is going to plant huge sable palms down Canal in key places. It is going to be an awesome street once this and the trolley down it is finished.

LOL! Twenty-five years ago, they had palms planted up and down Canal Street, ripped them out and planted what they have now. BTW--I thought the Canal line was finished already.

[Sunstorm]

The South has many nice skylines. It's hard to choose since they are all so different from each other and each has it's own style. I honestly can't think of one I don't like. I guess I'm just indescive.

Instead of naming my faves, I'll mention certain notable ones for their superlatives.

*Houston-Grandest Skyline. More 700'+ than any other Southern city.

*Miami-Most Changed. This skyline is booming. It has already improved so much, and will continue to do so.

*Atlanta-Most Showy. Nothing understated about this skyline. This skyline is just as brash and over-the-top (in a good way) as the city its in.

*Dallas-Most Sleek. Fountain Place, JP Morgan Chase....enough said.

*New Orleans-Most Powerful. Big, burly towers clustered together.

*Birmingham/Nashville/Raleigh/Orlando(ties)-Friendliest. Not intimidating, pretty, very likeable skylines.

*Tampa/Jax(tie)-Best Waterfront Skyline. Nice towers that blend well together reflecting off the water.

*Charlotte-Most Refined. Classy buildings that will never look dated.

*Asheville-Prettiest Setting.

*Savannah/St. Augustine(tie)-Most Historic.

*Baltimore/Memphis(tie)-Most Old School Density.

There's my list. They are all my faves in their own unique ways.

[Lakelander]

*Baltimore/Memphis(tie)-Most Old School Density.

Don't forget about Richmond.

[TexasBoi]

Southeast
1. Miami
2. Atlanta
3. Charlotte
4. Memphis
5. Nashville/Baltimore

South.
1. Houston
2. Miami
3. New Orleans
4. Dallas
5. Atlanta

[Rural King]

1. New Orleans- Great density, lots of older structures in and around the CBD, and a great skyline composed of old and new towers. Just an awesome skyline.

2. Memphis- Same as above, but on a smaller scale and with way fewer new and/or taller towers. Great old retro skyline. Just fun to look at and think about the city's history.

3. Nashville- Great modern skyline, although I dislike the whole plaza concept all the towers used, which makes the city look and feel undense. You look at the skyline though and think growth and modernity, which I like.

4. Birmingham- Like Memphis and New Orleans it has the whole old but new look going. Great skyline with a good balance. Just impressive, esp. since it lacks as many tall towers as New Orleans or Nashville.

5. Charlotte- Great new skyline that shouts modernity, ony draw back is the lack of urban landscape around the CBD.

Notables for me (these tend to be smaller cities):

Savannah- Great old city skyline. No new tall towers, but who needs them with the old dense urban lowrise skyline like it has.

Knoxville- Pretty darn impressive skyline in person, although most skyline pics don't due it justice IMO.

Chattanooga- Just a neat semi-modern lowrise skyline. Nice density.

Coumbia, SC- The most impressive lower rise skyline out there IMO.

My unfavorite list:

1. Atlanta- Just don't like its skyline. Its modern and tall, but very undense, and by my fav list you can tell I lean towards older dense skylines.

2. Louisville- I guess I really don't like my current home state's big skyline. It just seems mixed up. It doesn't have the old urbanity I like, but on the other hand it doesn't have the skyline yet to make in impressive to me. Its just so......"so so" in my book.
Its more impressive to drive through and be in then to look at IMO.

3. Miami- I guess its just to different for me. I can sometime look at the skyline and like it, other times I feel for such a large city it doesn't seem to live up to the image and look I feel such a large and diverse city should have ( I guess I want it to be more New Yorkish or Chicago-ish). I think the CBD's coastal develepment is why I find its skyline akward, and why I dislike it compared to other southern skylines.

[jcathens]

I think everybody has chosen well, and made excellent points on their opions.

Here are mine.

As far as the South goes as a whole.

1. Houston Texas- Lots of tall buildings in a dense area. I like to call it the 2nd Los Angeles.
2. Atlanta- The size of Atlanta's several skylines are incredible, just imagine them all as one. Eventually in the coming years they might be!
3. Miami-Although I haven't been to Miami recently, I'm hearing enough about it. I'm not a huge fan of Coastal/Tropical architecture, but Miami has good things happening.
4. Nashville-spent alot of time there recently, and I must say that city is heading in the right direction. I love the batman building.
5. Charlotte's few buildings that it has, are very impressive. I like the density.

1. Houston Texas- Lots of tall buildings in a dense area. I like to call it the 2nd Los Angeles.

Excellent comparison. Two giant cities that get little hype because they don't have the same look as nyc or chicago.

2. Atlanta- The size of Atlanta's several skylines are incredible, just imagine them all as one. Eventually in the coming years they might be!

That would be something. It's going to take a lot of continued growth to make it happen though. From the sounds of it, there are some big projects going up, although the need for additional office space seems kinda low. Atlanta has to watch out not to overbuild like so many cities did in the 80s.

3. Miami-Although I haven't been to Miami recently, I'm hearing enough about it. I'm not a huge fan of Coastal/Tropical architecture, but Miami has good things happening.

I agree about the architecture. Miami has density and height, but the architecture kills me. Everyone keeps saying how much construction is under way there right now. It should be interesting to see Miami in a decade or so...Heck, maybe even within 5 years, if all of these developments are true.

5. Charlotte's few buildings that it has, are very impressive. I like the density.

Few buildings? Can't agree there. Charlotte has ~15,000,000 square feet of office space in its CBD, not to mention some sizeable hotels and residential structures. Charlotte is smaller than your other cities though, except for Nashville, so I can kinda see what you're saying. I also agree that it is very densely arranged (building layout in its cbd) for a young southern city.

[Llyod Banks]

Southeast:

1.Atlanta
2.Miami
3.Charlotte
4.Nashville
5.Tampa

South as a whole:
1.Houston(not because i'm a Texan)
2.Atlanta
3.Dallas
4.Miami
5.Charlotte

[IHateBirds]

Miami: Nothing else in the SE can touch Miami's presentation. It is quite a sight.

Atlanta: Unique layout, many nice examples of great architecture. Towers line the freeways, very entertaining from the passenger's seat.

Richmond: Looks impressive and thick from the freeway... tastefully done, Richmond looks like a city 3 times its size.

Charlotte: Majestic architecture, great height, classic "finger" layout->says it all, right there!

Tampa: Skylines on water are beautiful. Presentation from the harbor is pleasing.

[pkp]

New Orleans - Density! The view west-bound on the I-10 high-rise is amazing. It looks like NYC

Mobile - Only becuase it is my town. If you see it from the right angles (like the Cochrane Bridge) it would actually be a decent skyline by most standards

Atlanta - As a whole, I don't like it that much as it is too spread out, but the individual buildings are amazing

Baltimore

Memphis

[LouisianaRush]

I wonder how the rankings would change if the name of the thread was "best downtowns" not "Skylines" I am sure the older skylines cities would dominate.

[ruffles794]

There is no doubt about it.... Atlanta has the best skyline in the south, and probably one of the top five in the nation in my opinion.
Here is my southern list.........

Atlanta- Nothing like a nighttime drive on I-85 through downtown Atlanta and Up GA 400 through Buckhead and Sandy Springs. This gives you all three views of Atlanta's many skylines from downtown's SunTrust and Bank of America Towers to Buckhead's Tower Place to the majestic Concourse towers (known to us metro Atlantans as the King and Queen buildings).

Jacksonville- There is something about driving I-95 over the St Johns River with the city in the background. Breathtaking views!!! A must see!!

Charlotte- Young and progressive city. Reminds me of Atlanta in its early days. Classy buildings.

Houston- Mixed use of sleek glass towers makes this one of my favorites.

Nashville- Music City has to rank somewhere in the top five skylines when you talk about the south.

[pkp]

Originally Posted by HoustonRush

I wonder how the rankings would change if the name of the thread was "best downtowns" not "Skylines" I am sure the older skylines cities would dominate.

New Orleans
Memphis
Charleston
Mobile
Savannah

[metroboi]

Depends upon your definition of Best.

[rolltide35401]

Southeast:

1.Birmingham
2.Charlotte
3.Columbia
4.Asheville
5.Knoxville

South as a whole:
1.Birmingham
2.New Orleans
3.Houston
4.Charlotte
5.Little Rock

[Cbautz]

atl and mia are the only ones worth mentioning(not including texas)-- imo. the rest are ok

Southeast::

1. ATLANTA- great individual buildings. The skyline makes the city look bigger than it actually is. Very spreadout(kind of a downside)but still great.
2. MIAMI- Dense and spreadout. Great color and Architecture. Very different from the rest of the southeast. Great Climate and surroundings(tropical, ocean, yada yada yada)
3. CHARLOTTE- Awesome skyline. Very tightly woven, at times dense skyline, with great, new, modern, tall, classy buildings. Downtown is alive and very clean. Great residential projects going on.
4. NASHVILLE/BIRMINGHAM/WINSTON-SALEM - all are kind of dense, and have an old school feel to them. Birmingham and Winston Salem's are very impressive for their size, and both skylines make the cities look bigger than what they really are. All three downtowns are set in "foot of the mountains" settings.
5. RICHMOND/ASHEVILLE, richmond first- large, old skyline. The downsides are the lack of newness, and the similar repetitive square-shaped buildings(similar to nashville.) asheville- by far the best set skyline in the south. Awesome, old architecuture, and a large skyline for its size.

Honorable mentions:

JACKSONVILLE, NEW ORLEANS, COLUMBIA, RALIEGH, AND TAMPA