Great Canadian Skyline Thread II

[Martin Mtl]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/denis_labine/28411980435/in/photostream/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/denis_labine/27794851584/in/dateposted/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/97405577@N06/27624891524/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/simonmassicotte/28064656061/

[ue]

Originally Posted by giallo

I've thought about this too, and it could very well happen. Edmonton has some very well place tall buildings currently coming up from the ground. Very exciting to watch.

My hope is that we see something really cool proposed/approved this year or next in Vancouver. Something tall and beautiful enough to really give Vancouver's skyline a punch in the arm. One well-placed, non-spandrel, no-balcony skyscraper in the CBD would do wonders.

Whatever happens, I'm always happy to see Canada's city skylines expanding and evolving. I really don't understand the versus BS that keeps cropping up in these threads.

Yeah, Edmonton is really getting a boost.

I'd like to see that in Vancouver as well. Even though I find the way the skyline has turned out to date a bit cookie cutter and vanilla, I think photographs such as the one csbvan posted really shows what is great about Vancouver. The clean, lush, fairly dense city without freeways plopped in-between ocean and mountain is by far the city's perk, though also part of why it has become so popular and thus expensive.

Vancouver does have that old, distinctive core closer to Robson Square and Waterfront Station and Granville St, its just been so easily surrounded by glass boxes. When Shangri-la was going up, I kept expecting new renders to show something, anything more than what I was seeing for a new tallest, which was basically a slender and sleek glass box. A distinctive building or two would really change things around, though.

Toronto has this same problem, moreso from the lakefront, but because the Financial District towers were so tall it took longer for those buildings on Bay Street to become encapsulated.

Originally Posted by landpirate

Best skylines:
Toronto
Montreal-Calgary
Vancouver

Best cities overall (including culture, entertainment, quality of life, etc.):
Toronto
Montreal
Vancouver
Calgary

Best natural environment/weather:
Vancouver
Toronto
Montreal
Calgary

I think Quebec City definitely deserves mention on all 3 categories if you're mentioning Calgary. Though the French thing makes it less accessible to Anglophones, I guess. Halifax could also use mention, its got a decent skyline, spectacular natural environment and weather, and some of the best culture Canada has to offer. In the "overall" category, I find Ottawa and Edmonton fairly comparable to Calgary, though Calgary has the edge for environment, weather, and skyline by far.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Toronto 6 8 6 4 8 [32]
Vancouver 3 4 4 10 6 [27]
Montreal 5 4 7 5 5 [26]
Calgary 4 7 3 3 5 [22]
Edmonton 3 4 3 4 4 [18]
Quebec City 3 1 6 7 1 [18]
Halifax 3 2 5 6 2 [18]
Winnipeg 4 3 4 3 3 [17]
Hamilton 2 3 5 4 2 [16]
Mississauga 2 4 1 1 2 [10]

This is not far off from what my list would be. In particular I agree that Quebec City is underappreciated, has one of the most attractive skylines in the country, and signifies that there is more to this than just the size and number of highrise buildings.

One of the more obvious architectural changes of the 20th century was the disappearance of fine-grained architectural detailing. So there are small-scale scenes of towns full of buildings with rich ornamentation in the form of little spires, cupolas, etc. and then there are big cities that are nothing but utilitarian boxes with little aesthetic appeal. There are some great modern buildings but they are few and far between. My favourite city scenes are layered and combine detailed smaller or medium-sized buildings with architecturally interesting skyscrapers. London is one city that offers a lot of that. Montreal too.

I think Toronto's skyline has gotten better over the years but it's too bad that some of the impressive older buildings like the Royal York and bank towers are much less prominent now. Toronto has a lot of the best early to mid 20th century buildings in Canada but they are lost a bit in all the condo towers.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

It's so weird now walking around town and seeing these mysterious skyline mirages popping up after so many years thinking it was real, then finding out it was virtually non-existent.

One thing that is hard to get across in pictures, and that you might not even notice during a quick trip to Halifax, is that the harbour, basin, nearby islands, and general area afford unusually nice views of the downtown skyline and many other parts of town. The best views of the city, in my opinion, are from the south on the water or on, say, McNab's Island. You could even go all the way out to Devil's Island. York Redoubt has nice views too.

They are a bit outdated now and I don't have the greatest camera but here are some shots I took from York Redoubt. I always thought the container terminal cranes, bridges, and smokestacks around the city were an interesting part of the skyline.





The view from Eastern Passage:


Source

Another interesting aspect of that view is that you see the fortifications of George's Island, which were built in the 1700's and were aimed toward the water. The Prince of Wales tower and York Redoubt were as well. The Citadel was built to defend the city from a land-based attack (originally there were also walls extending down to the harbour). If you go really far south in the harbour you can see the Sambro Island Lighthouse, which has been operating since 1758. Not many places in North America have this mix of natural scenery, history, and modern architecture.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I couldn't disagree more. The skyline is one of my favourite aspects of the local landscape and a very prominent part of the urban form. We all have our aesthetic preferences, but saying it doesn't exist is completely ridiculous. I mean, I could have sworn that I've taken countless pictures and even a few videos of it over the years (like the one below from 3 years ago), but if it doesn't exist I guess I must have just dreamt it...

Best view is around 6:50
• Video Link

Thanks for sharing that video. Interesting to see it from that perspective. I'll admit I never took a boat tour so I wasn't able to get a far away look at it. I mostly just remembered the two buildings half on the water. Overall the DT in Halifax felt quite large from on the street. The fact it's kinda built on a hill though seems to dampen the effect of the skyline. Standouts for me were the bridge and the naval ship yard.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIdvpEqAI6C/?tagged=champlainbridge


https://www.instagram.com/p/BId4g_HjMfk/?taken-by=rox.trudeau


https://www.instagram.com/p/BIBdt2cAJy4/?tagged=montrealskyline


https://www.instagram.com/p/BIbh3qfBtVZ/?tagged=champlainbridge


https://www.instagram.com/p/BILHEBQB6C2/?taken-by=dhimbert


https://www.instagram.com/p/BHlX4h5hLnf/?taken-by=douglasairaerialphotography


https://www.instagram.com/p/BDZjqekymQT/?taken-by=douglasairaerialphotography


https://www.instagram.com/p/BH5jIy2gQTo/?tagged=montrealskyline


https://www.instagram.com/p/BGknvRnolGD/?tagged=champlainbridge

Best group of Montreal photos I've seen on here before. No Mount Royal shots.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Thanks for sharing that video. Interesting to see it from that perspective. I'll admit I never took a boat tour so I wasn't able to get a far away look at it. I mostly just remembered the two buildings half on the water. Overall the DT in Halifax felt quite large from on the street. The fact it's kinda built on a hill though seems to dampen the effect of the skyline. Standouts for me were the bridge and the naval ship yard.

There is a planning rule in Halifax called the ramparts bylaw that prevents the construction of new buildings that would be visible inside the courtyard of the Citadel. This means that the new buildings can only be a bit taller than the hill, which is 70 m, and also ensures that downtown buildings are never going to be visible from far away over land. The hills around the city go up to about 150 m in height; there are no Winnipeg-style photos where you can see the skyline from tens of kilometres away over land.

In the future I could see the most prominent buildings being outside of the downtown area. Already the tallest is in the South End. Fenwick is around 90 m but it is on a hill so it is more like 120 m in elevation. Purdy's Wharf is 88 m from sea level. There are a few more ~30+ storey buildings proposed in other parts of the city that are taller than anything downtown. The tallest building in the metro area might soon be a condo tower in Dartmouth.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by someone123

There is a planning rule in Halifax called the ramparts bylaw that prevents the construction of new buildings that would be visible inside the courtyard of the Citadel. This means that the new buildings can only be a bit taller than the hill, which is 70 m, and also ensures that downtown buildings are never going to be visible from far away over land. The hills around the city go up to about 150 m in height; there are no Winnipeg-style photos where you can see the skyline from tens of kilometres away over land.

In the future I could see the most prominent buildings being outside of the downtown area. Already the tallest is in the South End. Fenwick is around 90 m but it is on a hill so it is more like 120 m in elevation. Purdy's Wharf is 88 m from sea level. There are a few more ~30+ storey buildings proposed in other parts of the city that are taller than anything downtown. The tallest building in the metro area might soon be a condo tower in Dartmouth.

I think that explains my impression of there not being much of a skyline. I drove to Halifax from Quebec. Never took a boat tour either. This was also back in '05 so maybe there are more towers now too. Overall I absolutely loved Halifax and would absolutely list it as one of the most underrated cities in the country. I regret saying it has no skyline now. It just shocked me that of all the things Halifax is recognized for that someone would rank it above the big 3 for skyline.

[Monolith]

Vancouver at Dawn by Asher Isbrucker, on Flickr Taken on July 25, 2016

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by landpirate

Best skylines:
Toronto
Montreal-Calgary
Vancouver

Best cities overall (including culture, entertainment, quality of life, etc.):
Toronto
Montreal
Vancouver
Calgary

Best natural environment/weather:
Vancouver
Toronto
Montreal
Calgary

Very fair I'd say!

[Tosin007]

Originally Posted by BretttheRiderFan

What does Calgary have to do with my comment that you replied to?

I'm not sure :/ Perhaps I am commenting too much/ frequently to actually take time to think about some of what I've already written?

[Rico Rommheim]

The Molson brewery looks like a massive industrial fortress. I love that damn thing, I hope Molson doesn't scrap it or sell it to a developer.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

The Molson brewery looks like a massive industrial fortress. I love that damn thing, I hope Molson doesn't scrap it or sell it to a developer.

Agreed. It's beautiful..

[Tosin007]

Red Deer Alberta! 100k


JoshRickard @ Flickr


JoshRickard @ Flickr


by memories by Mark @ Flickr


by Matthew P Sharp 1984 @ Flickr

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

The Molson brewery looks like a massive industrial fortress. I love that damn thing, I hope Molson doesn't scrap it or sell it to a developer.

I'm keeping it in the family.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by ainvan

Calgary Skyline by LH495 ✈, on Flickr

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

Some Calgary shots from this weekend...


YYC Summer 16 1 by RemotelyBoris, on Flickr


YYC Summer 16 2 by RemotelyBoris, on Flickr


YYC East Closeup by RemotelyBoris, on Flickr

Really incredible shots! Especially the first two!

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by someone123

There is a planning rule in Halifax called the ramparts bylaw that prevents the construction of new buildings that would be visible inside the courtyard of the Citadel. This means that the new buildings can only be a bit taller than the hill, which is 70 m, and also ensures that downtown buildings are never going to be visible from far away over land. The hills around the city go up to about 150 m in height; there are no Winnipeg-style photos where you can see the skyline from tens of kilometres away over land.

In the future I could see the most prominent buildings being outside of the downtown area. Already the tallest is in the South End. Fenwick is around 90 m but it is on a hill so it is more like 120 m in elevation. Purdy's Wharf is 88 m from sea level. There are a few more ~30+ storey buildings proposed in other parts of the city that are taller than anything downtown. The tallest building in the metro area might soon be a condo tower in Dartmouth.

Halifax should consider building a new downtown near the McDonald Bridge and stretching towards the old Halifax Forum. In the distant future, the entire peninsula will likely become the core with residential bits in the south end and along the Northwest Arm. Maybe even the area near the MacKay bridge will one day be high rise and dense. It would be a spectacular skyline juxtaposed the bridge(s) and overlooking the Bedford Basin.

[Hali87]

Source

[O-tacular]

Sweet Halifax shot! Looks like a boat chase scene from Miami Vice! What is that building behind the boat? Certainly wasn't there when I visited in 2005.

Looks like an unintended good spinoff of my saying Hali had no skyline has been an awesome assortment of pics from angles I've never seen before.

[alps]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

What is that building behind the boat? Certainly wasn't there when I visited in 2005.

That's the new Nova Scotia Power headquarters. It used to be an old coal-fired power station but was dramatically renovated a few years back:



(image source)