Cities whose skylines make you cry

[Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

If the Devon Tower were half the height and divided into two towers then OKC would have a great skyline for a city of its size.

I disagree. Isn't it somewhat hypocritical to like other cities with a super-tall but then discount OKC. I think it is nice OKC has a tower that is much taller than the rest; akin to a supertall.

OKC would look better if the downtown area were geographically higher - not in a former river bed, that's the real problem with its skyline.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by Hot Rod

I disagree. Isn't it somewhat hypocritical to like other cities with a super-tall but then discount OKC. I think it is nice OKC has a tower that is much taller than the rest; akin to a supertall.

OKC would look better if the downtown area were geographically higher - not in a former river bed, that's the real problem with its skyline.

I don't mind cities with a height cap [think Phila. before the latest boom]. Super talls are engineering marvels, but overall, I'm not a huge fan of them because they diminish the existing, surrounding area. -- That was a major criticism to the WTC in lower Manhattan.

This is all subjective, so you might prefer one thing and I might prefer something else and that's fine. I like the Devon Tower in OKC. I think OKC would look outstanding if it were two towers instead of one.

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by Hot Rod

IDK, I think OKC looks nice for a 1.5M metro. Would be even better/taller if it were not in a river bed and/or if there were scenic natural features some other cities are blessed with. ...

Dude, there's one tower in OKC. One. And that one tower looks beyond ridiculous and out of place in its skyline from an architecture, height and placement perspective.

IMO, OKC's skyline would actually look better without Devon. But, even then, it would still look disappointing.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by JAYNYC

Dude, there's one tower in OKC. One. And that one tower looks beyond ridiculous and out of place in its skyline from an architecture, height and placement perspective.

IMO, OKC's skyline would actually look better without Devon. But, even then, it would still look disappointing.

In all seriousness, you think that?

Without Devon, OKC's skyline would be almost impossible to pinpoint by anyone but the most skyline obsessed person and residents of Oklahoma. It is OKC's signature tower, and they are LUCKY to have it. Sure, it looks kind of funny right now, but so did Sears Tower when it was first built.

[RCDC]

Cities whose skylines make you cry

That went well.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

In all seriousness, you think that?

Without Devon, OKC's skyline would be almost impossible to pinpoint by anyone but the most skyline obsessed person and residents of Oklahoma. It is OKC's signature tower, and they are LUCKY to have it. Sure, it looks kind of funny right now, but so did Sears Tower when it was first built.

I think John Hancock tower was already there before Sears though, wasn’t it? (I thought JH was built in the 60s). And the Standard Oil tower was built right around the same time as Sears, I think.

Just mentioning this because I don’t think Chicago was quite as tiny in comparison at the time. I like Devon, but it seems really out of place to me, for now at least. But I don’t think OKC will is building anything on its relative scale anytime soon, are they?

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I think John Hancock tower was already there before Sears though, wasn’t it? (I thought JH was built in the 60s). And the Standard Oil tower was built right around the same time as Sears, I think.

Just mentioning this because I don’t think Chicago was quite as tiny in comparison at the time. I like Devon, but it seems really out of place to me, for now at least. But I don’t think OKC will is building anything on its relative scale anytime soon, are they?

Absolutely, way different example, to be sure, but where Sears is located...it didn't have many buildings anywhere close to its height. Hell, even today it towers over the entire area surrounding it. Of course Chicago has its other 1000ft+ towers but they aren't near the Sears.

[bobdreamz]

The Devon tower in OKC looks out of place in the skyline but it does make the skyline.
Devon just needs more buildings around it.

[mja]

Originally Posted by bilbao58

Never having been to Philadelphia (I should go, I'm sure i would love it), I'm going to guess that it's MUCH more like Brooklyn than it is like Dallas or Houston.

Hollywood is apparently in on the conspiracy as well, because they keep shooting movies in Philly that are set in NYC to save money. But then, I'm sure that Houston or Dallas are also frequently tapped to stand in for Manhattan on film.

[Jawnadelphia]

^Haha, so true, old NYPD cars on Center City Philly streets was comical recently.



This was prior to CTC being built, or FMC Tower on the left being finished, or the W Hotel which added nicely to the skyline -- but from a rooftop bar in South Philly, the density!... rows and rows. Philly is 142 sq miles with ~1.6 mil in the city proper. It's totally different than any TX or Midwest/South city.

[Jawnadelphia]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzVPGFODvml/


https://www.instagram.com/p/B0vqkPjAKA6/

[pj3000]

^ yeah, those are more the Philadelphia skyline viewpoints from the south that I talked about earlier. You get to see the length, stretching from river to river, but also get a better sense of the depth, with the older center city building stock in front of the post Wm Penn towers (which you can't appreciate from most other angles). Haven't yet come across a good recent daytime shot from S Philly that includes all the new stuff.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Absolutely, way different example, to be sure, but where Sears is located...it didn't have many buildings anywhere close to its height. Hell, even today it towers over the entire area surrounding it. Of course Chicago has its other 1000ft+ towers but they aren't near the Sears.

Got it. I never really thought about that. Going to have to waste some time checking out old Sears tower pics now

[mja]

Originally Posted by Jawnadelphia

^Haha, so true, old NYPD cars on Center City Philly streets was comical recently.

Yeah, those cars snarled my morning commute for a month or two during filming of the upcoming film 21 Bridges. Funnily enough, the film is entirely set in Manhattan, with the premise being that a manhunt leads to the shutting down of all bridges & tunnels in and out of the city.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by mja

Yeah, those cars snarled my morning commute for a month or two during filming of the upcoming film 21 Bridges. Funnily enough, the film is entirely set in Manhattan, with the premise being that a manhunt leads to the shutting down of all bridges & tunnels in and out of the city.

To be fair, though, the fact that a city stands as a film or show fill-in for another city doesn't really mean it resembles the other city. Seinfeld and Mad Men were mostly LA. Toronto, Vancouver and Detroit have also been used as NYC fill-ins. It speaks more to viewers general ignorance and targeted close-ups.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by Crawford

To be fair, though, the fact that a city stands as a film or show fill-in for another city doesn't really mean it resembles the other city. Seinfeld and Mad Men were mostly LA. Toronto, Vancouver and Detroit have also been used as NYC fill-ins. It speaks more to viewers general ignorance and targeted close-ups.

Most viewers see a city with any semblance of density with a northern climate and assume New York. The last Batman was filmed in Pittsburgh.

[skysoar]

Originally Posted by JManc

New York's skyline is huge. No disputing that but it lacks a certain elegance and cohesion that Chicago's has. Particularly during the day and when viewed from that planetarium. More so as NY gets more and more of those shitty skinny abominations in midtown. New York is still king at night.

I agree but when you take LSD[Lake Shore Drive south from Montrose Harbor at night to McCormick Place convention center it rivals any street level scene I have ever seen in N.Y.C. On another note Pittsburghs skyline is very impressive and reminds me of a smaller version of Chicago but with hills. The most underwhelming skyline to me was Memphis.

[photoLith]

Originally Posted by mja

Hollywood is apparently in on the conspiracy as well, because they keep shooting movies in Philly that are set in NYC to save money. But then, I'm sure that Houston or Dallas are also frequently tapped to stand in for Manhattan on film.

Tons of movies are filmed in Cleveland and Pittsburgh that are supposed to take place in NYC. The Avengers movie filmed in downtown Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The Dark Knight Rises was filmed in Pittsburgh, supposed to be Gotham. The Mr. Rogers movie coming out soon had parts of downtown Pittsburgh turned into Manhattan, even replacing street signs with NYC street signage. Cant think of anywhere in Dallas or Houston that could really be construed as being Manhattan.

• Video Link

I love watching stuff like this.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Handro

Most viewers see a city with any semblance of density with a northern climate and assume New York. The last Batman was filmed in Pittsburgh.

Batman is set in Gotham City, not New York.

One of the worst of the Batman movies was when they shifted filming from Chicago to New York. I visibly groaned when I saw blatantly obvious scenes of Manhattan that they were trying to pass off as Gotham City.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by skysoar

I agree but when you take LSD[Lake Shore Drive south from Montrose Harbor at night to McCormick Place convention center it rivals any street level scene I have ever seen in N.Y.C. On another note Pittsburghs skyline is very impressive and reminds me of a smaller version of Chicago but with hills. The most underwhelming skyline to me was Memphis.

LSD is one of America's great scenic drives, that's for sure.