Austin, what if... - Page 5

the Genral · #81 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 2:53 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

Very cool webpage! Thanks.

I remember when they were building Pennybacker. I must have been 4 or 5 when my mother took me to see them putting it together. That is right near where I grew up. She took me up there and I remember her telling me how they shipped the parts of the bridge all the way from Japan.

If that sucker is getting to 30 that makes me feel really damn old. =(

Sorry for the off topic there General. Back to mutilating more sacred UT buildings! lol. I am really loving this thread. Great work mate.

Thanks BevoLJ. I know you and others have been contributers to this forum for a long time so you liking this thread is awesome

Btw, here there are no such things as off topics, no reality. Just join in and enjoy. The floor is yours

the Genral · #82 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 3:05 AM**

Well folks, in a few hours we'll mark one week of this thread. It has received about 1800 views for an avg of over 250 views a day!

THANK YOu ALL for visiting. The stats have given me the encouragement to keep this going for a while longer or until I run out of ideas.

KevinFromTexas · #83 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 3:27 AM**

Some more what ifs. How about some spires on some of our buildings? And I always wanted to steal away San Antonio's Tower of the Americas and put it in Butler Park.

the Genral · #84 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 3:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Some more what ifs. How about some spires on some of our buildings? And I always wanted to steal away San Antonio's Tower of the Americas and put it in Butler Park.

You read my mind Kevin. Look for the Tower of the Americas to show up in Austin soon. I'll also looked into adding some spires. Thanks for the suggestions!

the Genral · #85 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 4:06 AM**

photo from mopacs fromssforum mod by the genral

I would have gone taller if that tree wasn't in the way! I made the top of Frost taller to hopefully make it more proportional. This is a pretty mod pic. I think if someone never saw Austin before, they might be fooled by this one.

by request I took the above mod and gave some of the buildings more girth. Not surprising, it gave the buildings like Frost and Chase more proportion when taller. In fact, I could make the Chase tower one of the tallest. I'll try this on some others later.

jowens · #86 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 3:55 PM**

In the spirit of "what if"; how 'bout some added girth to some of these towers.

the Genral · #87 Posted **Jul 25, 2011, 9:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jowens

In the spirit of "what if"; how 'bout some added girth to some of these towers.

That's an interesting idea, thanks jowens! Consider it done, ck photo above.

the Genral · #88 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 2:44 AM**

Photo by Mopacs from ssforum modified by the genral

Another request mod pic, this time for the addition of the Towers of the Americas from San Antonio. I didn't quite get the location requested because camera angles have to match, but having an observation tower on the edge of dt isn't such a bad place either. And of course I had to do some roof raising. I'll probably play around with tower placement locations and maybe different towers later.

Photo by mopacs from ssf, modified by the genral

Had to look to the west and raise some roofs. These mods are as necessary as the new Blue Smurfs movie. But it is interesting to look at and ponder, what if...

Photo from LoneStarMike from SSF modified by the genral

from far, far away

photo from mopacs from ssf

Here's another Tower of the Americas location...Btw, is this Butler Park????

the Genral · #89 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 8:29 AM**

In case you're interested, this is the very first mod I did about 3 weeks ago. I think my technique improved a little since then.

hookem · #90 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 4:53 PM**

Very addictive, and unusual, thread!

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

P
Here's another Tower of the Americas location...Btw, is this Butler Park????

That's not Butler park; Butler park is the new park next to the Palmer Events center with the observation hill.

BTW, I've always imagined the "perfect" location for an observation tower in Austin. It would be on the triangular lot created by S. First, Barton Springs, and Riverside Dr (currently is a parking lot and Hooters) -- south of the river. My reasoning is that you'd get a perfect view of all downtown, plus you'd have an unobstructed view of the river. You could watch big races like the Cap 10K from up there, or rowing, concerts at Auditorium shores, fireworks, etc. Plus, it's adjacent to hotels and the Long Center/Auditorium shores, which connects it to Butler park and the Parmer events center (not to mention the trail). It would fit in well for tourists, just a block away from the bats too. Although I'd imagine an observation tower in Austin should have a much more modern look than the ToA.

Dunno if you can make that happen ?

wwmiv · #91 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 4:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hookem

Very addictive, and unusual, thread!

That's not Butler park; Butler park is the new park next to the Palmer Events center with the observation hill.

BTW, I've always imagined the "perfect" location for an observation tower in Austin. It would be on the triangular lot created by S. First, Barton Springs, and Riverside Dr (currently is a parking lot and Hooters) -- south of the river. My reasoning is that you'd get a perfect view of all downtown, plus you'd have an unobstructed view of the river. You could watch big races like the Cap 10K from up there, or rowing, concerts at Auditorium shores, fireworks, etc. Plus, it's adjacent to hotels and the Long Center/Auditorium shores, which connects it to Butler park and the Parmer events center (not to mention the trail). It would fit in well for tourists, just a block away from the bats too. Although I'd imagine an observation tower in Austin should have a much more modern look than the ToA.

Dunno if you can make that happen ?

I hate observation towers. I don't want one ruining our skyline.

llamaorama · #92 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 7:53 PM**

I think I agree with other on what the lesson of all this is...

If existing buildings had been built taller it wouldn't give the city a better a skyline. Better architecture and more infill to fill things out needs to do that.

wwmiv · #93 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 8:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by llamaorama

I think I agree with other on what the lesson of all this is...

If existing buildings had been built taller it wouldn't give the city a better a skyline. Better architecture and more infill to fill things out needs to do that.

Frost and the Monarch probably being the lone exceptions. Frost definitely looks better taller, while the Monarch looks fine either way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Genral

Quote:

Originally Posted by BevoLJ

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=159

This will probably be my only mod. I wanted it to be modest, as opposed to Genral's wildly ambitious mods.

wwmiv · #94 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 8:59 PM**

http://www.replicabuildings.com/prod...g-souvenir.jpg
Original by Replica Buildings

Frost definitely had the potential to be Austin's Chrysler Building...

I elongated the crown as well as the tower.

wwmiv · #95 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 9:42 PM**

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=144

Original Photos by D. v. Schramm on Flickr

wwmiv · #96 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 9:45 PM**

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=141

Original Photo by DAB

I think this mod would put it at around 825'.

the Genral · #97 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 10:03 PM**

photo by lonestarmike fromssf modified by the genral

I think the train bridge over the lake looks crappy so I did a what if they tore it down and built a new one. I searched the web all morning looking for a suitable replacement, and despite the ragged look of the one I put in the pic, it is a real bridge. This was the toughest mod to date. It had to be re-sized about 20 times before I got it right, then every nook and cranny and between the trellaces had to be filled in by hand because it had a completely different background. This one took me all day, so forgive the roughness, and check it out!!

wwmiv · #98 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 10:08 PM**

I prefer the industrial minimalism of the current bridge. Anything more intricate or arch-y would detract from and draw attention away from the skyline.

the Genral · #99 Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 10:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Frost and the Monarch probably being the lone exceptions. Frost definitely looks better taller, while the Monarch looks fine either way.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=159

This will probably be my only mod. I wanted it to be modest, as opposed to Genral's wildly ambitious mods.

I like it! There's got to be a balance of leave it alone, a little taller, and outragiously tall if you want to get a good idea of what if... Thanks for contributing!!

the Genral · #**100** Posted **Jul 26, 2011, 10:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wwmiv

I prefer the industrial minimalism of the current bridge. Anything more intricate or arch-y would detract from and draw attention away from the skyline.

You don't think this is far enough away from the skyline? I think the arch would break up the straight lines of the majority of the buildings dt. You probably won't like the mods I have planned for the other bridges