Skylines: Paris vs. Houston - Page 5

SouthmoreAve · #81 Posted **Sep 13, 2009, 7:23 PM**

here it is a picture from the "Incredible Photos of Houston" thread, here on SSP.

Metro Matt · #82 Posted **Sep 16, 2009, 3:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMancuso

the eiffel tower has a rotating beacon like the williams tower.

Eiffel Tower's searchlights weren't added until just 9 years ago.

Williams Tower has had its rotating beacon ever since it was built back in the early 80's & was rumored to at one point be synchronized with a similar beacon on the old Palmolive Building in Chicago which was known as the Lindbergh Beacon.

I think the City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles had/has one as well.

The ones in Chicago & LA are now only lit for special events & some holidays.

SLO · #83 Posted **Sep 16, 2009, 7:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthmoreAve

If all of Houston's skylines were formed together, it would give Chicago a run for its money. They weren't talking about density, or amount of buildings, both of which Chicago would win, but just the length of the skyline. Put Houston's 3 "major" skylines(Downtown, Uptown, Texas Medical Center) next to each other or combine them and it will easily be the nation's 3rd best skyline.
Does anybody have a good picture of most of Houston's skyline from the ship channel bridge to prove my point??

And this really doesn't apply to other cities, because Houston has many minor "skylines" that can be added as well. Such as Greenspoint, Greenway Plaza, Upper Kirby/River Oaks, the Museum District's high-rises, Westchase, Energy Corridor, Memorial City, Allen Parkway's high-rises, and i suppose Midtown's buildings.
And most of these are at the least semi-dense clusters, and none of these are those airport low-rise districts, where there are many more of these in those forms scattered throughout the city.

Probably the only other cities might be LA or ATL, but im sure HOU has more "minor skylines/dense clusters" than they do. And ATL is really the only other city with 3 "major skylines". Correct me, if i exaggerated/am wrong.

Dont take this the wrong way, but this has become nothing more than a boost Houston thread. 15 & 20 story buildings along the freeway dont constitute a "minor skylines", every major city in the US has those, big deal. DFW has DT Dallas, DT FW, Galleria, Uptown, Las Colinas as well as many multiples of so called minor skylines. LA, Atlanta and Miami would rival Houston easily, dont even mention Chicago, cause it aint close. San Francisco is easily more dense (not as tall) and impressive in person than DT Houston. Uptown has a very suburban feel to it, and the med ctr isnt very tall. I do love Williams Tower though.

I will say this; in sheer height, DT Houston is top 5 US, and does compare well to La defense.....

Metro Matt · #84 Posted **Sep 16, 2009, 9:11 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLO

I will say this; in sheer height, DT Houston is top 5 US, and does compare well to La defense.....

Houston's skyline in the top 5? Ummm...no.

The only US skylines that beat Houston in sheer height & total number of skyscrapers are NYC & Chicago. For awhile it was looking like Miami might overtake Houston's title, but not after the real estate bubble burst. Those that are completed along Miami Beach are sitting empty while Houston's recently completed residential high rises are all full.

SouthmoreAve · #85 Posted **Sep 16, 2009, 11:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLO

Dont take this the wrong way, but this has become nothing more than a boost Houston thread. 15 & 20 story buildings along the freeway dont constitute a "minor skylines", every major city in the US has those, big deal. DFW has DT Dallas, DT FW, Galleria, Uptown, Las Colinas as well as many multiples of so called minor skylines. LA, Atlanta and Miami would rival Houston easily, dont even mention Chicago, cause it aint close. San Francisco is easily more dense (not as tall) and impressive in person than DT Houston. Uptown has a very suburban feel to it, and the med ctr isnt very tall. I do love Williams Tower though.

I will say this; in sheer height, DT Houston is top 5 US, and does compare well to La defense.....

don't worry, i accept that i sounded like a Houston Booster. But i'd like to point out that all of those minor skylines have their tallest building has significantly more stories than 15 or 20. Except for 1 i think.

If i had listed all the areas that have 5 or more 15-20 story buildings that list would be twice as full. Which is my point.

I mentioned ATL or LA, so you didn't need to repeat it, and Miami already has a long and extended skyline, so i didn't mention it.

Saying that SF has a better skyline is biased, and so were my posts, so i can't really take you that serious. Uptown may feel suburban to you ,but having the largest mall in Texas,the most photographed spot in Houston, the allegedly tallest building outside a city's CBD, and having the most hotels in Houston must not promote that much urbanity for you. And what the Texas Medical Center lacks in Height makes it up in density. And that part of Houston is only booming and growing, as we type.

LouisianaRush · #86 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 12:12 AM**

Sorry but I have lived in both Miami and Houston. Houston may be taller, but Miami's skyline is much larger and more impressive.

LouisianaRush · #87 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 12:20 AM**

Check out geomorph's Miami thread:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=173034

SLO · #88 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 2:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LouisianaRush

Sorry but I have lived in both Miami and Houston. Houston may be taller, but Miami's skyline is much larger and more impressive.

I agree, todays Miami like San Francisco is much more impressive in person than Houston (Miami more so). That takes nothing away from Houston either, its very impressive, its mega tall, has lots of scattered high rises. Once you get past NYC & Chicago....its a crap shoot anyway.

Metro Matt · #89 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 3:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LouisianaRush

Sorry but I have lived in both Miami and Houston. Houston may be taller, but Miami's skyline is much larger and more impressive.

Miami's skyline only looks larger because its more linear versus Houston's randomly placed business districts & skyscrapers.

Metro Matt · #90 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 3:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLO

I agree, todays Miami like San Francisco is much more impressive in person than Houston (Miami more so). That takes nothing away from Houston either, its very impressive, its mega tall, has lots of scattered high rises. Once you get past NYC & Chicago....its a crap shoot anyway.

How is SF progressive, a skyline thats looked the same for decades.

Dan Denson · #91 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 4:01 AM**

This was bad enough as a Paris vs Houston thread (ultimate in stupidity). Now it's evolving into more city vs city that has nothing to do with the original topic.

SLO · #92 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 4:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

How is SF progressive, a skyline thats looked the same for decades.

I think you are right about Miami's skyline being very linear, but it really is spread out and impressive in person, there are just so many towers that you see in many directions.

SF looked the same for decades? You are only looking at height. I didnt say SF was progressive?, there has been quite a bit of infill though, thats why its sooo dense, and there has been quite a bit of growth through the last boom, two 60 story towers (in the last 2 yrs) and a myriad of smaller ones.

Dan you are right.....Im just saying that its silly to say Houston is clearly #3, when there are other cities that could easily lay claim.....its very subjective, because its not all about height....

JManc · #93 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 6:00 AM**

it does look like miami surpassed houston as the third largest skyline or cluster of buildngs or whatever due to that massive construction boom this past decade. for some reason, residential towers have not taken off here as they have in other areas. hell, even austin is building them like mad. can you imgaine houston's downtown with about a dozen new residential towers?

Metro Matt · #94 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 6:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMancuso

it does look like miami surpassed houston as the third largest skyline

I'd personally like to see proof to support these kinds of statements (Wiki isn't a reliable source).

Miami might have as many buildings, but no where near the height as Houston...no way.

SLO · #95 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 7:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

I'd personally like to see proof to support these kinds of statements (Wiki isn't a reliable source).

Miami might have as many buildings, but no where near the height as Houston...no way.

We already conceeded height, for now, heres a reminder from ssp'er newatlantismiami. And again, Miami is what it is and it in no way does that diminishes Houston. The boom there was nothing short of incredible, the quickest transformation of a city that Ive seen in my lifetime (in the US)....now can we get back to Houston vs Paris.....

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=167032&page=6

This is just the beach cities, not even all of Miami Beach
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3282/...d5a4049e_b.jpg
This is Aventura, so when you talk of secondary skylines, this is one...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/...5fc08908_b.jpg
This is a shot from the beach cities looking toward DT Miami
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2474/...f1014218_b.jpg
Coming in to DT Miami from the south
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2669/...4a9e4d99_b.jpg

SLO · #96 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 7:43 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMancuso

it does look like miami surpassed houston as the third largest skyline or cluster of buildngs or whatever due to that massive construction boom this past decade. for some reason, residential towers have not taken off here as they have in other areas. hell, even austin is building them like mad. can you imgaine houston's downtown with about a dozen new residential towers?

Austin is going nuts, and primarily condo towers. The two 60 story towers in SF, both condo towers, that was just how the boom was. Highrise living took off, particularly in a place like Miami. Miami is unique in that it has a huge tourist draw & vacation home market from many different places domestically and internationally.
I think Houston has been somewhat of a pioneer here in the US of residential highrise living in the sunbelt, but it didnt seem to capture the boom quite as much as Atlanta and of course Miami. Same can be said of LA....
And you're right imagine Houston or LA adding 10-12 600 ft condo towers, it would alter the landscape drastically.

Metro Matt · #97 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 8:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLO

Austin is going nuts, and primarily condo towers. The two 60 story towers in SF, both condo towers, that was just how the boom was. Highrise living took off, particularly in a place like Miami. Miami is unique in that it has a huge tourist draw & vacation home market from many different places domestically and internationally.
I think Houston has been somewhat of a pioneer here in the US of residential highrise living in the sunbelt, but it didnt seem to capture the boom quite as much as Atlanta and of course Miami. Same can be said of LA....
And you're right imagine Houston or LA adding 10-12 600 ft condo towers, it would alter the landscape drastically.

Not a condo tower, but it will still rise to an impressive 630 ft. in the heart of downtown Houston drastically changing the skyline towards the north end where it needs it the most. Chase Tower was getting kinda lonely.

http://www.mainplacehouston.com/Building_Features.html

SLO · #98 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 8:42 PM**

Thats great, good looking tower. I like it.

Any thoughts on the Miami pics?

Minato Ku · #99 Posted **Sep 17, 2009, 9:21 PM**

Pictures by Alemsk

Metro Matt · #**100** Posted **Sep 18, 2009, 12:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLO

Any thoughts on the Miami pics?

Nice collection of empty or near empty residential buildings. Very linear skyline as previously mentioned. It reminds me a lot of how Austin's & Atlanta's skylines are laid out.