Best US & Canada City Skylines: Poll & Pics

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The discussion centers around opinions on the best city skyline in the U.S. and Canada, with participants sharing images and personal preferences. Major cities highlighted include Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto. Seattle garners significant support for its scenic backdrop of mountains and water, while Chicago also receives praise for its skyline. Participants note that images should ideally be taken from similar distances and angles to provide a fair comparison. Some express disappointment over the exclusion of other notable cities like San Francisco, Dallas, and Pittsburgh from the initial poll options. The conversation evolves into a broader sharing of skyline images, with many contributors advocating for their hometowns and emphasizing the importance of lighting and perspective in skyline photography. Overall, the thread fosters a lively exchange of visual appreciation and personal experiences related to city skylines.

Which city has the best skyline?

  • Boston

    Votes: 2 5.6%

  • New York

    Votes: 7 19.4%

  • Chicago

    Votes: 11 30.6%

  • Los Angeles

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Houston

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Philadelphia

    Votes: 2 5.6%

  • Seattle

    Votes: 10 27.8%

  • Calgery

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Vancouver

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Toronto

    Votes: 4 11.1%
  • Total voters
    36
  • #31
G01 said:
What neighborhood did you take that Chicago picture from jtbell?

That's from the southwest part of Chicago. The intersection in the foreground is Archer and Western Avenues. I took that picture from an Orange Line 'L' train as it was about to cross over Archer:
 

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  • #32
gravenewworld said:
You mean millennia?
Centuries.
wiki said:
In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many of the mosaics were eventually plastered over. The Islamic features - such as the mihrab, the minbar, and the four minarets outside - were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia"

Islam hasn't been around for millenia.
 
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  • #33
Not exactly Ong's Hat, but nice anyway:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080315.html"

On my computer, I need to scroll left and right to see the whole image.
 
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  • #34
jimmysnyder said:
Not exactly Ong's Hat, but nice anyway:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080315.html"

On my computer, I need to scroll left and right to see the whole image.

Beautiful! Took me a minute to see the moon.
 
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  • #35
Valletta is pretty cool :smile:
http://www.rickriordan.com/valletta.jpg
 
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  • #36
glondor said:
Toronto.

Toronto20Skyline20Photo1.jpg

That's a great picture of the Toronto skyline! If only it was newer, they now light up the CN Tower at night, all up the sides and around the top... the best part is, it changes every night!
 
  • #37
Portsmouth is quite nice, from many angles, it has historical character as well.

http://rp.meteornet.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/spinnaker_tower_and_harbour.JPG

This shots good because you can see HMS Victory and HMS Warrior in it.

http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/portchester/portchester5m.jpg

This is from the North West, with Portsmouth in the distance.

I can't find a single panoramic view of Portsmouth from the top of Portsdown hill, but it's jaw dropping, sad really? There aren't even many good photos of it at all, none of them do it any justice. But a preview.

Anyway, I'll take that view over any of those. :smile:
 
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  • #38
I always liked the Dallas skyline.

Dallas_Skyline_0540.jpg
 
  • #39
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhoto&albumID=610028&imageID=20215283&MyToken=506c809b-8dcc-4c28-99e5-bece25245b7d
Here's a Seattle pic of mine. Finally got it uploaded, albeit for my myspace.
 
  • #40
I voted for Seattle, but I'm surprised Vancouver hasn't gotten any votes. I never knew it had such an amazing view. What does the rest of the scenery around it look like?... as in looking from the mountains towards the photographer.
 
  • #42
I picked NYC but I kind of wish I'd voted for Vancouver:

1570251279_a91841cfdb_o.jpg


http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/3069/vancouverfalsecreekskylwm0.jpg

I can't believe Calgary is an option, but Hong Kong or Shanghai isn't. What other city can match this:

953669278_03f62a0711_b.jpg
 
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  • #43
Of the choices given, I like the Toronto skyline best. I used to like the NYC skyline, but it's noticeably blander without the WTC. :frown: Of course, it does look better when you include more of midtown Manhattan with the Empire State Building lit up at night than that view of lower Manhattan. If you're going to include the skyline of lower Manhattan, the view from the other side of the island is a bit better in my opinion.
 
  • #44
How come San Diego, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Montreal and Las Vegas aren't included as poll options?

Also, some of the pictures on the first page exclude huge portions of the city skylines. The NY one only shows downtown, and so excludes both the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, as well as many other notable skyline elements, and about half of the Chicago skyline is not pictured, such as the Hancock building.
 
  • #45
I can't vote, I'm torn between Philadelphia and Seattle, lived in one and spent a lot of time working in the other.
 
  • #46
Shame there is no none of the above. I can't say they look better than most of the places around the world I've seen, so I'd be lying if I said I preferred one over the other. They're all nice though. Just not that nice or at least distinguishable from nice. :smile: Maybe I'm biased though, Paris would beat all of those I think easily.

And like someone said earlier where's Frisco? :smile:

http://travellingboard.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/dusk-before-dawn1-paris2-france-small3.jpg

Too many skyscrapers spoil the view in my opinion. :smile:
 
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  • #47
quadraphonics said:
How come San Diego, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Montreal and Las Vegas aren't included as poll options?

Also, some of the pictures on the first page exclude huge portions of the city skylines. The NY one only shows downtown, and so excludes both the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building, as well as many other notable skyline elements, and about half of the Chicago skyline is not pictured, such as the Hancock building.

I only had 10 choices and wanted to represent both the US and Canada. Having lived in Pittsburgh for a short while, I was very close to including it, but for some reason decided against it. I forget why and am somewhat regretting the decision. Anyway, I can include one now. I'm glad this thread turned away from being a poll and more into a "post a picture of your favorite" thread. It allows so many more cities to be given recognition. So, if you feel that a city should be represented and isn't, or that the picture of a given city is not the best, please feel free to post your own! I look forward to seeing them.

Anyway, here's Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington. Great city, great skyline:

http://www.lehighclubofpittsburgh.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/pittsburgh.163193256_std.275130427_std.jpg

http://blog.busbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pittsburgh4.jpg

Now, I just found these quickly. There are MUCH better pictures of Pittsburgh out there. Namely, on www.pittsburghskyline.com .

I would have posted some of those but the owner seems to take copyrights very seriously so I didn't want to make him angry. If your a fan of Pittsburgh, definitely check this website out!
 
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  • #48
fourier jr said:
I picked NYC but I kind of wish I'd voted for Vancouver:

I can't believe Calgary is an option, but Hong Kong or Shanghai isn't. What other city can match this:

Hong Kong is incredible! :bugeye:

Any skyline of Colorado Springs involving buildings is a little underimpressive. We have to rely on a good background.
TAU2040.jpg


On the other hand, if we're talking about skylines involving kissing camels then no other city can compete.
of the Gods[/url]
 
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  • #50
BobG said:
of the Gods[/url]

No one beats gods full stop. :smile:

snake%5Friver%5Fgrand%5Fteton%5Fnational%5Fmonument.jpg


Now this is a view I'd go to the US to see.

Eat your hearts out you mortal builders, you just don't have the time. :biggrin:
 
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  • #51
Wow :!)
 
  • #52
Schrodinger's Dog said:
Eat your hearts out you mortal builders, you just don't have the time. :biggrin:

well that's true too... :smile:
 
  • #53
lisab said:
Wow :!)

That's my desktop background.

Snake River: Grand Teton National Park.
 
  • #54
http://images.dpchallenge.com/images_challenge/845/thumb/667396.jpg

full size
 
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  • #55
morphism said:
http://images.dpchallenge.com/images_challenge/845/thumb/667396.jpg

full size

That's quite clever I like it. :)
 
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  • #56
^^ that reminds me of:

Supertramp_-_Breakfast_in_America.jpg
 
  • #57
Schrodinger's Dog said:
No one beats gods full stop. :smile:

snake%5Friver%5Fgrand%5Fteton%5Fnational%5Fmonument.jpg


Now this is a view I'd go to the US to see.

Eat your hearts out you mortal builders, you just don't have the time. :biggrin:

That has got to be one of the most over shot views. Good, but overshot. I have a photography book with it in twice, one by Ansel Adams and one by someone else.
 
  • #58
Nice picture of the Grand Teton! There was a mountain guide named Petzoid in that park that led paying customers to the top of that mountain until he was 89. Ha! you all who think you are too old... That is 6,000 feet or 2,000 meter gain and some tough rock and snow. Amazing.
 
  • #59
Not nearly as breathtaking as the previous photos, but here's my hometown. Chattanooga, TN

http://www.fcds.org/faculty/JimmySwansbrough/Jwebpage/Chattanooga.jpg

Here's panoramic a shot taken from Lookout Mountain... the mountain in the background in the first photo.
http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/lookout5.jpg
 
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  • #60
binzing said:
That has got to be one of the most over shot views. Good, but overshot. I have a photography book with it in twice, one by Ansel Adams and one by someone else.

What does overshot mean? Do you mean more people have taken a photo of it than most places? Or that it's photoshopped? Because either way who cares. :-p:biggrin:
 

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