Since the last topic was locked up in the archives, let's continue the discussion here and feel free to post some photos as well.

I'll kick off this thread with our Houston, Texas skyline. We have the third tallest skyline in the Western Hemisphere (behind only Chicago, IL and New York City).

Here are some photos:








And here are links to some more photos:

Image:Houston Texas CBD.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Houston Skyline Info & Photographs

http://www.isa.org/isaexpo2006/leade...tonSkyline.jpg


I really think in my biased opinion that Houston has the world's greatest skyline.

Other good ones I've seen in person is Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Miami.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

It's time to play some DEFENSE!

I was impressed with Dallas' skyline. The Reunion Center ball looked pretty cool. It was either in that town or Houston that I've seen the really reflective glass that has shown up in Philly with the Comcast Center. I love my hometown Philadelphia skyline with Liberty One and it's relative tower. The Comcast Center in the last year has just surpassed it as the tallest building with its reflective glass. I feel Chicago's skyline is really solid with the Sears tower. I've been to Boston but it doesn't have the size. LA has what I think is the odd round top US Bank building. The fact that it's kind of out of the way of main crux of LA I don't really like that skyline. NYC is several times the spread of Philadelphia with buildings. I think the WTC looked rather bland but there is no doubt that a chunk of the NYC skyline is missing without them. The Pan Am name is long gone but that building, the Chrysler building , the GE building "The Rock", Empire State Building are all the big players of the NYC skyline to me. I've seen ATL's skyline or was it Turner Field in the distance I saw from the airport in ATL? San Antonio has size in numbers but has no real skyline in my opinion. It must be really spread out and suburbanized.

My impression of Charlotte and I guess Wes has part of it is that I have to see it.

__________________
Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

^ The thing about Houston is that they have no zoning laws, so you have very tall skyscrapers all over the city -- well outside its downtown in its outskirts. There are three skylines (Uptown, Midtown, and Downtown). In fact, the second or third tallest building in Houston is located in Uptown section, also called the Galleria.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

It's time to play some DEFENSE!

I'm going to join Jimmy in saying that Houston has one of the most amazing sky lines ever. I don't exactly consider myself a 'seasoned' traveler,f but I really enjoy the buildings that comprise the skyline, as well as the differing architecture of each. It's awesome to drive around downtown at night and look up at the sheer size of the buildings at nighttime.

I also really enjoy Austin's skyline. It's my second favorite My favorite buildings are The University of Texas Tower, the Frost Bank building and the Texas Capitol. Buildings propositions have been rejected because they obstructed the direct view of the Tower from the Capitol.

My third favorite is Honolulu's skyline. From the mountains, Honolulu looks like thousands of Christmas lights spread across the entire area and is Waikiki at night looks like a picture that is framed with a giant volcano and the oceanic horizon.

Houston


Austin

This shot doesn't do it justice nor does it show the UT Tower.

Honolulu

__________________
ThrillNetwork Editor (past tense: lectricShark)
Never forget justice is what love looks like in public. -- OXFAM

Uptown was where Minute Maid (Enron) Field is located? With the 610, checking out the Astroland barren site, I realized just how huge and spread out Houston is. I wouldn't be surprised to see what you described, different pockets of large buildings. I felt Dallas had more spirit to it, maybe all that reading about Dallas' bars and strip clubs got to my head. That third pic of the Houston skyscraper - that's the real beauty in town. I tried to get shots of that I believe.

I definitely take into account height. I've been through Austin, Pittsburgh, Cincinnatti, Wilmington, Del, Newark, NJ, Montreal, Hartford. Dam, the list goes on and on.

Paris is an actual real city people live in I feel. I had a different vibe there than the retreat to the suburb cities here in the US. Paris has all its notables. Anything really modern skyscraper like is at La Defense neighborhood of town. Seoul is split by the Han River but the majority of the buildings are on the North side. Lotte World and the Olympic complex is on the south side of it.

__________________
Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

I think Denver's got the best skyline in the West. New York probably has the best in the world, but Tokyo and Hong Kong also are impressive. And in 10 years, Dubai's skyline will be even more awesome than it is now.

Should we post pictures?


That's a picture I took when I lived in Denver.

__________________
ThrillNetwork editor emeritus
Voyage is the best roller coaster ever.
Raptor ride count - 1,146.

^^ Uptown is actually located in a different part of Houston, not near the Minute Maid at all. It's located west of the the central downtown part of Houston, and has the Williams Tower, which is the second tallest building which Jimmy described. Houston is huge. It's spread across so many miles of land, it's almost impossible to travel without a car. Uptown is a fun place to visit, and you don't always have to spend money.

When AstroWorld was built, it was built on a site that was 'undeveloped' and distant from the then-populated areas and was still cheap. But such rapid growth developed in and around the area AstroWorld was, it soon became surrounded by other investments.

Chip, is that a red light on top of Denver's Capitol building?

__________________
ThrillNetwork Editor (past tense: lectricShark)
Never forget justice is what love looks like in public. -- OXFAM

Yes. There's a red light there.

__________________
ThrillNetwork editor emeritus
Voyage is the best roller coaster ever.
Raptor ride count - 1,146.

Both Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) are beautiful.
Minneapolis

St. Paul


And even though it's a bit unimpressive, I do like Des Moines' skyline.

__________________

This is the NYC skyline, after the Freedom Tower (tall one at the bottom) is built. Not really a great picture since you can only see the buildings in lower Manhattan, but it suffices.

__________________

New York Yankees - 2009 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!

I love Chicago's skyline. It is the best by far and with the addition of the 2000ft tall Chicago Spire in 2010, it will secure the title.
I live in South Bend:
I have been through Indianapolis, Tampa, Dallas, Fort Worth, Cleveland, Louisville, Cincinnati, Knoxville, Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta, Madison, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C, New York City, and I think that is it.

Indianapolis

Chi-town

South Bend aka Worst city in the world

My non-bias favorite
Nashville

__________________

Of the big cities I've been to, I'd say I liked Baltimore the best. Chicago was pretty impressive too. The ugliest is definately Detroit.

__________________

Richmond, VA was not that pretty either.

The Houston Skyline looks amazing.

__________________

2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

Just as a heads-up, some of you are leeching images. Upload them to ImageShack® - Image Hosting and host them there.

__________________
ThrillNetwork editor emeritus
Voyage is the best roller coaster ever.
Raptor ride count - 1,146.

Charlotte Skyline.

[

__________________

2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

Yes CHICAGO!

89magnumxl200, based on some of the photos I've seen (not sure if they actually do justice on this), but it looks to me like Detroit has to rank up there with Dallas, Atlanta, and LA just as impressive.

By the way, I also want to note that if you're going to include spires or antennae in measuring height, then Chicago's Sears Tower is still the highest in the World; its antenna extends even higher the current labeled tallest building in the world Taipei Financial Center (Taipei 101).

__________________
ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

It's time to play some DEFENSE!

^ But the Burj Dubai is taller than both of those, and it's still being constructed. In fact, the Burj Dubai is the tallest structure that has ever been built.

I disagree about Detroit's skyline. It's only really got the Renaissance Center with the tallest being the Marriott building. But that's it.

Los Angeles' skyline is only OK. The Library Tower is tall, but there aren't many other tall buildings, and it's in a small area. It looks good with the mountains behind it, though.

I also have to mention Shanghai. That city has some great skyscrapers, including the Shanghai World Financial Center, which is nearing completion. It's 1,600 feet tall.

Here's Shanghai's skyline.



You can see the SWFC being built behind the Jin Mao Tower on the right. That structure with balls on it on the left is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. It's a telecommunications tower.

__________________
ThrillNetwork editor emeritus
Voyage is the best roller coaster ever.
Raptor ride count - 1,146.

Three new buildings under construction in Charlotte which should add nicely to our skyline.

The Vue Condo Tower

EpiCenter

?

__________________

2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

New York's skyline is so impressive that it dwarfs cities around it. Although I have no images, I'm more than familiar with Newark, Jersey City, and Philadelphia, and can say that their skylines are taller and wider than many other cities in this country.

Anyway, I love New York's skyline as much as I love it in Chicago. Here's a panorama I made from 5 images about 3 years ago:

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/9...skylinezi4.jpg

If you know where to look, you can even spot an amusement ride or two.

Amazing photo. Very hazy but awesome. I didn't see any rides but i also didn't know where to look.

__________________

2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

I forget to mention the closest of the next cities I drive through: Baltimore. I also went through Knoxville, Las Vegas, Toronto.

My sister has been in the Taipei 101 building.

__________________
Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

New York City and Chicago (in either order) are arguably the two untouchable cities, especially in terms by the sheer number of buildings each. I have yet to see New York City in person so I don't have an opinion as to which of the two is better.

In some arguments, you might put Houston slightly behind the two, at best, when you factor in every building in the city and the building designs. Going by just the central business district (downtowns), Houston is not really that close behind.

The second tier US cities are Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, and Miami (you could include Houston depending on the argument). The fact that Houston has no zoning laws makes it very debatable as to how it fits in with the rankings since they have multiple skylines. Their Uptown/Galleria skyline is taller than most the other US cities, especially with their 901-foot-tall Williams Tower as James R pointed out.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

It's time to play some DEFENSE!

I'd have to disagree with that one. Whenever I go to visit my girlfriend in Windsor we always like talking walks by the river and looking over at the Detroit skyline.
The Renaissance Center, along with the People Mover, the Ambassador Bridge, and some other buildings make a very unique, and decent looking, skyline. What's really unimpressive is when you're on the Detroit side looking over at Windsor.

As for me, I know it's biased, but I love the Toronto skyline. Especially now at night more than ever with the new LEDs in the CN Tower.
It's not my picture, and doesn't show the new lights, but it's still a good shot.


One of the coolest pics I've seen of Toronto was in the paper after the blackout. Just a silhouette of Toronto against a sunset.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Moderator
The user formerly known as WildeFyre
UOIT Mechanical Engineering Student

Heres my hometown's skyline, Pittsburgh.








And of course, a shot from PNC Park

__________________

Hong Kong has the most amazing one I've ever seen. Incredible buildings with an amazing mountain terrain. One of the coolest things I've seen.


A few others that come to mind...
- Charlotte
- Atlanta
- Orlando
- St Louis

__________________
"For each path you walk down, there are several others you have to bypass. Maybe walking those paths would have made you happy, maybe they wouldn't have. You'll never know. Choose your path, walk it, and make the best of it."

Amazing shot. The water front really makes the city look nice. Whats the one building on the right with the spikes? I like it.

__________________

2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

In these next two post, I'm going to take you up to the sky lobby observation levels of the two tallest skyscrapers in Texas (both of which are in Houston).

The first building is the JP Morgan Chase Tower, which when constructed in 1982, it was the 7th tallest building in the world and made Houston the world's third tallest skyline (after Chicago and New York City) until the completion of Los Angeles' US Bank Tower in 1989. Today, it is the nation's 11th tallest building and the second tallest building west of the Mississippi River (only after LA's US Bank) and the third tallest building outside New York and Illinois.


View from street level.


The building's entrance is at the corner of Travis St and Capitol Ave, which is shown see below.


Looking south from the building.


Looking north from the building seeing the I-10/I-45 multiplexed interchanges.


Looking west at that second building I'm about to show you, which is called Wells Fargo Tower


A closeup of the Wells Fargo Tower.


Looking farther west at the Williams Tower, which is the city's third tallest building and fourth tallest in the state. The Williams Tower is located in the Galleria district of the city, about five miles west of downtown Houston.

__________________
ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

It's time to play some DEFENSE!

The Wells Fargo Plaza Tower, which is just a couple of blocks from the Chase Tower, stands 992 feet above the ground, just ten feet shy of the Chase Tower. This building was completed in 1983 as was the Williams Tower (902 feet tall). At the time, they were the world's next three tallest buildings outside Chicago and New York City.


Looking from ground level


Looking south from the tower.


A level view of the JP Morgan Chase Tower which we were just in.


Looking Southeast at Toyota Center, home of my Houston Rockets team of the NBA.


Looking East towards Minute Maid Park (formerly Enron Field), where the Houston Astros play


Not a very clear picture but looking south towards the city's midtown skyline. You could barely notice (if you look closely) at the Astrodome and Reliant Stadium (home to my Houston Texans football team).

__________________
ThrillNetwork Lead Moderator (Originally known as Hurricane)

It's time to play some DEFENSE!

I like the Wells Fargo Tower. The Astros have a very nice stadium.

__________________

2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1