The Toronto skyline has crossed a big threshold

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by JManc

What zoom did you take that Toronto pic with? 300mm? Ft. Niagara is not that close.

Same with Chicago, where was that taken from?

the chicago shot is from Indiana Dunes National Park, ~30 miles over the water from downtown chicago, similar to the distance across lake ontario from fort niagara to downtown toronto.

both shots no doubt required a fairly powerful zoom lens (and some clear dry air to boot) because the chicago skyline looks nowhere close to that large from the dunes with the naked eye.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

the chicago shot is from Indiana Dunes National Park, ~30 miles over the water from downtown chicago, similar to the distance across lake ontario from fort niagara to downtown toronto.

both shots no doubt required a fairly powerful zoom lens (and some clear dry air to boot) because the chicago skyline looks nowhere close to that large from the dunes with the naked eye.

I don't know why but photos like that fascinate me. Earth curvature, science stuff and all. Someone needs to send that Chicago pic to the Flat Earth Society stat.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by badrunner

It's not that deep. From wiki:

"McMansion is a pejorative term for a large "mass-produced" dwelling, constructed with low-quality materials and craftsmanship, using a mishmash of architectural symbols to invoke connotations of wealth or taste, executed via poorly imagined exterior and interior design"

Not that deep... and exactly what i already said. Connotations of wealth aka "large, showy, ostentatious"

In other words, a term for a specific type of mass produced home. Not a catch-all for any and every dwelling that's mass produced.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

To be fair, Toronto probably achieved a similar status 50 years ago. High-rises* are by far the most common housing typology in the city, accounting for nearly 45% of total housing units - most of which were built in the 60s-80s. The difference is now they're just getting taller.


*Or rather, buildings over 5 stories. But really, there aren't a whole lot of residential buildings here in that 5-10 storey sub-highrise range.

This is probably true, I keep forgetting about the oodles of highrises scattered across the GTA several decades ago.

My Chicago bias only looks at downtown and the lakefront!

[chicubs111]

Originally Posted by skysoar

I have been to Toronto and have always been impressed with their skyline. But I would say its not New York or Chicago impressive, and for some reason I don't feel it ever will be. Its something unique about the N.Y and Chicago skylines beyond their numbers, that is hard to describe but you know it when you see it.

I like to call it the "connective tissue" that makes walking in these cities an experience... like someone mentioned the mix of architecture styles and the smaller buildings and street fronts that give it an active and exciting feel... Toronto just doesn't have that on the same scale as Chicago or NYC. Dubai has a similar effect...lots of tall buildings but not the downtown vibe that active storefronts and street level activity.

[Steely Dan]

^ from my experiences, core toronto absolutely has an "active and exciting feel" that is every bit on par with chicago's. toronto easily has one of the best downtowns on the continent.

yes, NYC is another animal, but it's in a category entirely all its own in the US/canada when it comes to just about any urban measure.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by Nite

i find it hard to show the size of Toronto Skyline in pictures but video does it better justice

Flying into Toronto's Island Airport from a couple of months ago
• Video Link

Here's an idea that's probably been suggested a few times prior:

Decommission that airport and restore it to park space. It's a no-brainer.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

I don't know...Toronto's buildings all look alike for most part..the architecture is not good and looks cheap (Miami'ish)...just building a ton of residential buildings with mediocre architecture is nothing to aim for... Chicago at least has some highlights in architecture during its building boom cycles (not including its art deco collection which are unmatched in north american by any city outside of NYC)...not saying there all winners but there is usually a handful of excellent designs. Does anyone have the stats comparing Chicago's office market size to Toronto?

Most of Chicago's residential skyscrapers are very generic looking as well. The architecture of River North, Streeterville, and the South Loop doesn't really do any wonders for the skyline.

Any district with a sea of residential skyscrapers that arose organically is likely to be ugly, or at least not an architectural gold mine. Look at Manhattan's Upper East Side for an older reference. Quality of design/materials, lack of variety, and age are all contributing factors.

[softee]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

I like to call it the "connective tissue" that makes walking in these cities an experience... like someone mentioned the mix of architecture styles and the smaller buildings and street fronts that give it an active and exciting feel... Toronto just doesn't have that on the same scale as Chicago or NYC. Dubai has a similar effect...lots of tall buildings but not the downtown vibe that active storefronts and street level activity.

That "connective tissue" is probably Toronto's greatest strength as a walking city, so I don't know why you would find it to be lacking in that area. Mix of styles, smaller buildings and streetfronts, active and exciting feel -- Toronto has that in spades! Have you walked in Toronto?

[Nite]

Originally Posted by Quixote

Here's an idea that's probably been suggested a few times prior:

Decommission that airport and restore it to park space. It's a no-brainer.

No need for that, the Toronto islands are already one of the largest urban parks in the world. Expanding them to include the airport doesn't benefit anyone.

[Nite]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

I like to call it the "connective tissue" that makes walking in these cities an experience... like someone mentioned the mix of architecture styles and the smaller buildings and street fronts that give it an active and exciting feel... Toronto just doesn't have that on the same scale as Chicago or NYC. Dubai has a similar effect...lots of tall buildings but not the downtown vibe that active storefronts and street level activity.

You clearly have never been to Toronto if you think Chicago has a more exciting street life. Only NYC beats Toronto in street life in North America

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by Nite

No need for that, the Toronto islands are already one of the largest urban parks in the work. Expanding them to include the airport doesn't benefit anyone.

You're kidding. You would rather have the airport than more park space? The airport handles less than 3 million passengers a year... very inconsequential. Why not build an even larger secondary airport (if the concern is straining Pearson's capacity) to the northeast of Scarborough along the existing railroad ROW?

That the Toronto Islands already provide lots of park space is beside the point. This is an opportunity to make the city even better than it already is.

[Nite]

Originally Posted by Quixote

You're kidding. You would rather have the airport than more park space? The airport handles less than 3 million passengers a year... very inconsequential. Why not build an even larger secondary airport (if the concern is straining Pearson's capacity) to the northeast of Scarborough along the existing railroad ROW?

That the Toronto Islands already provide lots of park space is beside the point. This is an opportunity to make the city even better than it already is.

Toronto really doesn't need anymore park space and the islands are huge as is, so the airport provides more benefit

[edale]

^I've always thought Toronto lacked in the iconic park category. New York has Central Park, Montreal has Mount Royal, Chicago has Millennium Park, Vancouver has Stanley, LA Griffith, SF Golden Gate, London Paris, Madrid...all have at least one famous park. I don't have a park that comes to mind when I think of Toronto.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Nite

You clearly have never been to Toronto if you think Chicago has a more exciting street life. Only NYC beats Toronto in street life in North America

No. Chicago (and SF, Boston, Philly, DC and Montreal) have roughly similar or somewhat better streetlife. And by NA you mean U.S./Canada, or we gotta add three Mexican cities.

[Doady]

Originally Posted by edale

^I've always thought Toronto lacked in the iconic park category. New York has Central Park, Montreal has Mount Royal, Chicago has Millennium Park, Vancouver has Stanley, LA Griffith, SF Golden Gate, London Paris, Madrid...all have at least one famous park. I don't have a park that comes to mind when I think of Toronto.

Queen's Park is very well known, at least in Ontario.

[softee]

Originally Posted by edale

^I've always thought Toronto lacked in the iconic park category. New York has Central Park, Montreal has Mount Royal, Chicago has Millennium Park, Vancouver has Stanley, LA Griffith, SF Golden Gate, London Paris, Madrid...all have at least one famous park. I don't have a park that comes to mind when I think of Toronto.

High Park is Toronto's big urban park, but it's several kms West of downtown. Rouge Park in Northeast Scarborough is the city's biggest park, but it's more like natural undeveloped wilderness.

There's also lots of parkland on the Toronto Islands, which are pictured above.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Park

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouge_National_Urban_Park

[Nite]

Originally Posted by edale

^I've always thought Toronto lacked in the iconic park category. New York has Central Park, Montreal has Mount Royal, Chicago has Millennium Park, Vancouver has Stanley, LA Griffith, SF Golden Gate, London Paris, Madrid...all have at least one famous park. I don't have a park that comes to mind when I think of Toronto.

Downtown Toronto is surrounded on 3 sides by massive green spaces.
High Park to the West, the Don River Valley to the East and the Toronto Islands to the South
but I guess High Park would be the closest analog to those other parks you mentioned

Here is the size comparison

High Park:160 Ha
Don River Valley Park 200 Ha
Toronto islands: 332 Ha


Millennium Park, Chicago: 10 Ha
Mount Royal Park, Montreal: 280 Ha
Central Park, NYC: 340 Ha
Stanley Park, Vancouver: 405 Ha



High Park


Don Valley Ravine


Toronto Islands

[Doady]

I like that Chicago has a wall of skyscrapers one side of the street and pure parkland and open space on the other side. Toronto probably should have done something similar for Queens Quay. More skyscrapers is not always better.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Nite

Millennium Park, Chicago: 10 Ha

Chicago's Millennium Park is but just a small sub-section of the larger Grant Park.

All told, Grant Park is 140 Ha, and immediately adjacent to the heart of downtown.