Staunton - A Google SketchUp City

[Vellu]

Really great shots once again! The view from Terminal Square towards the Galcorp Building really is iconic. I would love to walk out of Union Station and see that view in real life!

The slightly curving streets lend themselves to some really interesting street views.

[BillM]

My favorites are One Ferry Plaza and Harmon Plaza. I also like Two Galcorp Plaza.

[Shmazzle]

Hey Patrick,
I just got an account on this site, but I have been following this thread for a few months. This city is just amazing. Keep up the awesome work.

[Skydragon42]

Are there any new updates for Staunton city soon?

[Patrick]

Thanks for the comments guys!

I've been really busy with school and haven't had enough time to really focus on Staunton!

Not much new to show just a couple new filler buildings here and there, I did manage to bust out a couple renders:

The downtown waterfront on a crisp early morning.



Kent Plaza, surrounded by some of downtown's most prestigious office space.



Looking south from Ganton with the STA Bus Terminal, Union Station, and the STA Transportation Center in the foreground. The land left of downtown will be home to a low-rise neighborhood.



The Staunton Bridge is back!



The sun sets on Staunton's former tallest building, The Gloucester Building.



The Jefferson Bridge is back also, here you can see the land where Fort Staunton park will be going, Staunton's finally going to get the big waterfront park it deserves, goodnight Staunton!

[Skydragon42]

I really like your bridge I'm going to have to make up my own bridges for my city.

[Jarrod]

This makes me so happy! Awesome work!

[gregSt]

A really perfect skyline from all angles, just beautiful!

[Vellu]

Beautiful bridges! The use of lattices as decorations works especially well. The city itself looks good from every direction. The combination of different shapes, heights and architectural styles is very well balanced, which makes this city very interesting to look at.

[Patrick]

Thank you guys for the comments they keep me motivated

I'm proud to re-introduce the start of the Staunton Civic Center!

Staunton's nickname remains "The City of Justice" so it deserves a huge gleaming civic center full of ivory colored buildings. There will be many city government buildings surrounding a large mall-type park that will lead to a very modern Preforming Arts Center. In previous versions of Staunton I was confined to a Lower Manhattan sized CBD, now with the more Sydney-like layout I have much more room.

(L- R) Staunton Police HQ (One Police Plaza), Staunton City Hall, and the Society Building. The Staunton Courthouse will be located on the left in front of One Police Plaza, and the Opera House (which will incorporate a 1930's skyscraper) will be located on the right in front of the Society Building. If your wondering what "SMEX" stands for on that building in the background, that is the Staunton Mercantile Exchange.



City Hall, the city's crown jewel as viewed from One Galcorp Plaza, at night it is heavily floodlit. The city's cathederal (St. John's) will go in the space in front of city hall.



Looking down Callahan Boulevard, I really need to name the pomo tower at the end of the street, I'm thinking Terminal Tower, thoughts, suggstions?



One Police Plaza, home to Staunton's dysfunctional police department overlooking Terminal Square.



I always pictured the Society Building as this very old civic building that complimented City Hall. You can see this building in older versions of Staunton, it certainly looks a lot better now that it did back then! The significant thing about this building is it's large wrap-around balcony, a popular place for fundraisers, weddings, and parties for the rich and famous. Here is that famous view:



The Harmon Tower, been with Staunton from the beginning, back then it was called 715 Jefferson I believe. Once a prominent feature in the skyline, it has since been surrounded by it's big boxy neighbors.



Skyline update, the Ameribank Center has also returned (pomo building with large dome) behind it are two large city/government buildings I have yet to name the smaller one but the larger one is the City Services Building.

[Pingyao]

Oh my! Wonderful views of Staunton, its really bulking out nicely! Love the 4th render, epic skyline. Where did the Harmon building spring from and the set backs really look effective.

Can't wait to see how you push the limits of the city wider and start on more low rise smaller scale architecture, will the map revert to more of a grid?

[Vellu]

Great update! The City Hall looks great and I can really imagine what kind of monument of power it felt like in the minds of Staunton's citizens when it was completed. The Society Building is a great pair for it.

Great shots altogether and I especially like the view from that balcony. I can really imagine how those rich and famous folks hold their parties there.

The Harmon Building is like the Fuller Building in NY: very nice shape and form and interesting building in itself, but hardly noticeable in the skyline.

[BillM]

I really like the Harmon building too; can't find it in any of the skyline shots. I wish it was more visible!

[Patrick]

Thanks guys!

I had to take a little break from Staunton to get inspired again. To motivate me I finally laid out (most) of the surrounding area:

As we look east towards the Atlantic Ocean, a new neighborhood Staunton Point appears just above downtown. I intend for Staunton Point to be a very old and well preserved neighborhood resting atop a hill. The green spaces will be home to a hilltop park with an obelisk, providing magnificent views of the area. North of downtown (left) will be a more blighted and neglected neighborhood. I have yet to find a grungy name for it, I'm thinking something like "North Park". This area will be home to many abandoned warehouses and paved parking. However it is in the process of being slowly gentrified so watch out for condominium projects rising here and there. South of downtown (right) is Fort Staunton Park. The historic fort will be located on the peninsula. Like Chicago's Grant Park, this park will be home to many of the city's museums and will be a popular hangout spot for Stauntonites.

Please note I've hidden the bridges since they haven't been fully integrated into the model yet, since I still need to build that damn expressway! The Aldrich expressway will wrap around downtown and tunnel into Fort Staunton Park.



Alright enough chit-chat, here are some skyline shots!









Here is a comparison shot of Staunton back in 2007. What I love most about Staunton now is the unintentional resemblance to the city's original skyline, before I went in the wrong direction and favored a more Manhattan-like layout.

[Skydragon42]

Your city is looking beautiful! I really do like it. So when are you going to make the cathedral? and can we have a preview of it?

[JHoward88]

It's a pretty city you've got there. It's been years in the making, and your patience truly shows. The town hall building is awesome.

I think a mid-height complex styled after Tacoma's County-City Building would fit quite well at the edge of your downtown core.

[BillM]

I could see those areas to the north, south and east becoming interesting neighborhoods. I think they will really enhance the city.

Curious to see how the expressway pans out. Personally, I hope it doesn't follow that mid 20th century model that plagues several mid sized American cities.

Looking forward to updates.

[Pingyao]

Great map, reminds me a little of Sydney with the park jutting into the water and buildings wedged up against it. I wonder - it would be really cool if you could create terrain for that park, give Staunton an extra dimension.

[Codster121]

What an amazingly realistic and beautiful city, you should try making some buildings from Minneapolis and putting them in staunton, Minneapolis has a nice skyline, the tallest building is the IDS Center which is 792ft built in 1973, and Capella tower, which is 776 ft built in 1992. I also posted some more pictures of my city.

[mity1021]

I love Staunton!