Best US & Canada City Skylines: Poll & Pics

[G01]

I saw a thread similar to this on another forum and thought it would be cool to see what the PF consensus is on the best City Skyline. I've limited the options to Cities in US and Canada. Maybe we can open a poll on world cities if so desired. Also, I have picked mostly bigger cities. Again, if desired, we can always start a poll on medium and smaller city skylines.

Here are some pics I chose off of Google Image of the skylines for the cities listed in the poll:

Boston:

http://www.knowledgerush.com/wiki_image/3/31/Boston_skyline_daytime.jpg

New York:

http://www.visitingdc.com/images/new-york-skyline-picture.jpg

Chicago:

http://www.aacn.org/chapters%5Cnwcac.nsf/5824F6B0BBE6011388256EEE007AB6C9/$FILE/Chicago+Skyline.jpg

Los Angeles:

http://www.geocities.com/los_angeles_coast/Los_Angeles_Skyline_In_Winter.jpgHouston:

http://www.damicoproperties.com/files/245851/houston_skyline_from_white_oak_bridge.jpg

Philadelphia:

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2474784-Skyline_from_the_river_2004-Philadelphia.jpg

Seattle:

Calgary(Sorry to anyone from here for spelling it wrong in the poll...):

http://www.cdicinspections.com/images/skyline4bordered.jpg
More to pictures to come.

 

[Cyrus]

http://www.givecars.com/images/DC_skyline.jpg

Home.

 

[G01]

Nice picture Cyrus.

 

[binzing]

I'll try and get some of my pictures of Seattle's skyline up. May have to wait till I can get access to highspeed though.

 

[lisab]

http://www.givecars.com/images/DC_skyline.jpg

Home.

Wow, that's a great shot. I've never seen DC from that angle.

 

[G01]

Vancouver:

http://www.mygreenelement.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/skyline.jpg

Toronto:

http://www.businessinnovationinsider.com/Toronto_Skyline_.jpg

 

[Cyrus]

Wow, that's a great shot. I've never seen DC from that angle.

They took that picture on the other side of the GW parkway (VA looking over the river to DC). I drive it so often I probably know exactly where they stood.

 

[moose]

The Boston skyline at night is amazing.

 

[wildman]

Seattle is a no brainer. It is surrounded by spectacular mountains and a beautiful bay. It is my favorite city but far (except for the traffic which is horrible).

 

[binzing]

Good man, Wildman, good man.

 

[d_leet]

I've only seen Chicago in person, of those listed, but I really like the skyline here so that's my vote.

 

[NeoDevin]

Vancouver has much nicer mountains than Seattle, but I went with Toronto, because the question was about skyline, not surrounding area...

 

[Astronuc]

I'd have to go with Seattle of the pictures shown so far.

To be fair though, the images should be taken at approximately the same distance and perhaps in the direction of the most favorable view/backdrop. Close up, the cities don't look particularly attractive - just grey, dirty and crowded.

or

Melbourne, Vic, Aus

 

[lisab]

San Francisco has a beautiful skyline, with the bridges and all. But I went with Seattle - I'm biased!

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I don't have a photo to post, but I am partial to Ong's Hat as you come upon it from the direction of Scrapetown. I go there once a month for supplies and I always get an electric buzz from the tall buildings there. Ma Hogue's house was built up to three stories a couple of years ago you know.

 

[Cyrus]

I'd have to go with Seattle of the pictures shown so far.

To be fair though, the images should be taken at approximately the same distance and perhaps in the direction of the most favorable view/backdrop. Close up, the cities don't look particularly attractive - just grey, dirty and crowded.

Melbourne, Vic, Aus

Melbourne looks lovely. Nice use of colors in the buildings.

 

[jtbell]

Here's another view of Calgary from my brief visit a few years ago.

Oops, I'd better attach this... my server is set up to block hotlinking.

But as a native Midwesterner, I'm partial to Chicago, so that's what I'm going to cast my vote for.

 

[glondor]

Toronto.

 

[Astronuc]

Cities look nice at dusk or night when the lights go on.

 

[G01]

Here's another view of Calgary from my brief visit a few years ago.

Oops, I'd better attach this... my server is set up to block hotlinking.

But as a native Midwesterner, I'm partial to Chicago, so that's what I'm going to cast my vote for.

What neighborhood did you take that Chicago picture from jtbell?

 

[turbo]

Of the cities in the poll, Chicago is my favorite. Boston looks OK at night, but I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about the horrible traffic and rude drivers in that town, so that might have put me off.

 

[gravenewworld]

I'd rather go old school

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/images/photos/photo_lg_istanbul.jpg

http://uebermorgentau.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/istanbul_bridge_wp1.jpg

 

[Cyrus]

Thats not a skyline grave, that's just one building.

 

[turbo]

There are actually a number of different mosques illustrated, but as a skyline, that city falls short. I'm impressed by the longevity of such slender minarets. How do they withstand earthquakes, storms, etc for centuries?!

 

[gravenewworld]

There are actually a number of different mosques illustrated, but as a skyline, that city falls short. I'm impressed by the longevity of such slender minarets. How do they withstand earthquakes, storms, etc for centuries?!

You mean millennia?

 

[turbo]

You mean millennia?

I was being conservative. I don't know the ages of those mosques, and some of them might be of more recent vintage.

 

[gravenewworld]

It's actually the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul which was both a Christian cathedral and then a mosque.

No matter what anyone says, Istanbul is by far the most beautiful city in the world. NYC, Boston, Chicago, Vancouver, etc. have nothing on it. Not even any city in Europe. It is one place that everyone must visit before they die. It is a living archaeological artifact being that it is over 3000 years old. I have been all over Europe, Russia, Asia, and America, nothing comes close to Istanbul.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Rumeli_hisari.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/IstanbulOscar2007.JPG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Levent_financial_district_as_seen_from_Sporcular_Park_on_October_30_2003.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Skyline_of_Maslak_in_Istanbul_on_June_23_2005.jpg

 

[Evo]

Kansas City has the most breath taking skyline.

 

[wolram]

All these places remind me of ant hills, may be we should call them people nests.

 

[vincentm]

I have to go with Seattle too, having lived there and experiencing that city, living and working in downtown.

 

[jtbell]

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:

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

You mean millennia?

Centuries.

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.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

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.

 

[lisab]

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.

 

[matthyaouw]

Valletta is pretty cool
http://www.rickriordan.com/valletta.jpg

 

[rocketboy]

Toronto.

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!

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

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.

 

[scarecrow]

I always liked the Dallas skyline.

 

[binzing]

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.

 

[B. Elliott]

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.

 

[Mororvia]

http://doblevych.com/images/portfol...detroit_skyline_illuminated_train_900x600.jpg

I'd like to enter my hometown Detroit for honorable mention.

That said, it always looks best when you're looking at it from Canada! ;)

 

[fourier jr]

I picked NYC but I kind of wish I'd voted for Vancouver:

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:

 

[Moonbear]

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. 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.

 

[quadraphonics]

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.

 

[Dr Transport]

I can't vote, I'm torn between Philadelphia and Seattle, lived in one and spent a lot of time working in the other.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

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. Maybe I'm biased though, Paris would beat all of those I think easily.

And like someone said earlier where's Frisco?

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

Too many skyscrapers spoil the view in my opinion.

 

[G01]

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!

 

[BobG]

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!

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

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

 

[Air]

Little UK has it's cute views too...

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/1348/ukjh5.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simon_vardy/2314506567/in/set-72157594390475534/

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

of the Gods[/url]

No one beats gods full stop.

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.