Give your opinion of the top 10 skylines in the U.S. & top 10 in the world

[Nite]

regarding that Toronto has no iconic skyscrapers, I think Scotia Plaza is most Torontonians favourite skyscraper





Another iconic Tower is Royal Bank Plaza with it's real gold windows




now for newer buildings, One Bloor east would be among the top



And a personal favourite of mine, PJ Condos

[BillM]

Originally Posted by DZH22

If everybody judging the skylines here has seen every one of these skylines, IN PERSON, from all of their best angles, then yeah everything you said above is true.

Two cities that I love and know very well are Boston and Montreal.

I am aware that Boston has a few taller buildings than Montreal's tallest. But Boston's skyline does not strike me as being any taller or any more impressive than Montreal's. How do we figure that one out?

[Nite]

Originally Posted by DZH22

Respectively, outside of Toronto we shouldn't be hearing about ANY Canadian cities in a thread titled "Give your opinion of the top 10 skylines in the U.S. & top 10 in the world."

Clearly, the OP wanted it to be US centric, and not jamming Montreal/Vancouver etc in here. Toronto has a good argument for Top 10 in the World. I'd say it just misses that cut, but it has the argument so can and should be posted here for that purpose.

if you want a US only discussion you have a forum for that. As we have a Canadian forum in which we discuss Canadian dominated topics. this forum is for everyone however.

[DZH22]

Originally Posted by Nite

if you want a US only discussion you have a forum for that. As we have a Canadian forum in which we discuss Canadian dominated topics. this forum is for everyone however.

The forum is for everyone but the thread title is specific. It's why I'm not, say, posting about Boston in the Great Lakes Cities thread.

[DZH22]

Originally Posted by BillM

Two cities that I love and know very well are Boston and Montreal.

I am aware that Boston has a few taller buildings than Montreal's tallest. But Boston's skyline does not strike me as being any taller or any more impressive than Montreal's. How do we figure that one out?

Objectively they are close enough that the decision can be more subjective from there. Both of them are also in ongoing states of flux and have been for a while, so it really depends on when you have seen them last.

On the other hand, you're from Hartford, and objectively Hartford is too far behind either of these cities (in any and every single way you'd care to measure them) to rank ahead of them, even when subjectivity is added in. Hartford is still pretty well entrenched as New England's second skyline though.

[Nite]

Originally Posted by DZH22

The forum is for everyone but the thread title is specific. It's why I'm not, say, posting about Boston in the Great Lakes Cities thread.

Agian if you want to have a US only discussion then create a copy of this thread in the US forum as us Canadians do with the Canadian forums.

You don't see thread such as the top 10 Canadian skylines and the world in this forum for a reason.

[DZH22]

Originally Posted by Nite

Agian if you want to have a US only discussion then create a copy of this thread in the US forum as us Canadians do with the Canadian forums.

You don't see thread such as the top 10 Canadian skylines and the world in this forum for a reason.

I didn't make it up, but why don't YOU create a "Give your opinion of the top 10 skylines in Canada & top 10 in the world" thread, right here in the "City Discussions" category. Then other than NYC, Chicago, and maybe SF from those posters who are ignorant of the rest of the world, you wouldn't have the US skylines posted there, because THEY WOULDN'T BELONG THERE.

[suburbanite]

Make your own list ranking Corpus Christi at the top and realize no on cares and we can move on.

[DZH22]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Make your own list ranking Corpus Christi at the top and realize no on cares and we can move on.

It's not about the city, it's about the process and respecting a city's actual buildup when doing the rankings.

I don't know what it is with you Canadian posters, so let me put it in words you understand where you're not just blindly defending Canada.

Toronto is the best skyline in Canada. Objectively, Toronto annihilates every other skyline in the country BY ANY MEASURE, to the extent of literally lapping its competition, and then lapping it again. Subjectively, you can like another Canadian skyline over Toronto. But you can't really say with a straight face that it is a BETTER skyline than Toronto, because the scale isn't comparable.

On the other hand, Montreal vs Vancouver vs Calgary is fairly comparable and objectively they are close to each other, across all different measures, each having their own specific strengths relative to the others. So then after making each city's objective case, subjectivity becomes the deciding factor, depending on what you value in a skyline. But the subjectivity-as-the-decider only kicks in because they are comparable to begin with.

Now for something you'll understand better (yay Canada, boo mean guy from Boston!): While I don't subjectively find Toronto to be a beautiful skyline, and do subjectively prefer Boston's overall aesthetic, I could never in a million years put the Boston skyline over Toronto. Why not? Because it fails the objective comparison so miserably, that the subjectivity doesn't even really get involved. There is no objective measurement that can make Boston look better than, or even close to, Toronto. So the Boston skyline isn't better, period, because it's objectively too far behind for subjectivity to factor in.

Now for Boston vs Montreal vs Vancouver vs Calgary, they are objectively close skylines. One may value each city's strengths differently, and hence subjectivity becomes the deciding factor, and there is truly no wrong order to rank these 4 skylines. But putting any of them over Toronto from a purely skyline perspective is too objectively wrong that the subjectivity shouldn't matter.

[ue]

.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by DZH22

I understand "Top 10 Skylines" very well. I start with an objective list that essentially slots cities into tiers, and then subjectively rank them within those tiers.

If you leave out all objectiveness, then you end up with not only ridiculous results, but too many people willing to blindly accept those ridiculous results. For instance, here is a purely subjective ranking of best skylines in US/Canada:

1. Portland Maine. - It was close but their new (1st!) building over 200' put it over the top.
2. Legoland Skyline Upstate NY - WOW have you seen the detailing?! And multiple icons side by side?!
3. Providence RI - Almost up there with Portland if we ignore all of its taller buildings.
4. Corpus Christi - Best in Texas with those 2 buildings by the water.
5. Fresno - I love the building with the top, and California deserves to be recognized here!
6. Anchorage - That off-white building paired with the other one combine with the location for the clear 6th best skyline.
........
BIG GAP
........
7. Worcester MA - This skyline SUCKS but some might put it above Portland.
8. Peoria IL - Remember when this was the first level of the arcade game Rampage? Those twins are iconic.
9 . New York City NY - Some might say this is head and shoulders above the rest, but that's just statistics.
10. Halifax - The best in Canada!!!

Utica NY has a better skyline than NYC. Hands down.

"Woostuh" MA has that awesome train station. Way better than Copley Sq.

[twinpeaks]

https://flic.kr/p/XpeewQ

Flickr Peter Thoeny

[Klippenstein]

Originally Posted by twinpeaks

https://flic.kr/p/XpeewQ

Flickr Peter Thoeny

You need to find the url that ends with .jpg or another photo extension in order to post an image. On Flickr, you need to go to the download option and view all sizes to find it usually.

[Pavlov]

Originally Posted by DZH22

It's not about the city, it's about the process and respecting a city's actual buildup when doing the rankings.

I don't know what it is with you Canadian posters, so let me put it in words you understand where you're not just blindly defending Canada.

Toronto is the best skyline in Canada. Objectively, Toronto annihilates every other skyline in the country BY ANY MEASURE, to the extent of literally lapping its competition, and then lapping it again. Subjectively, you can like another Canadian skyline over Toronto. But you can't really say with a straight face that it is a BETTER skyline than Toronto, because the scale isn't comparable.

On the other hand, Montreal vs Vancouver vs Calgary is fairly comparable and objectively they are close to each other, across all different measures, each having their own specific strengths relative to the others. So then after making each city's objective case, subjectivity becomes the deciding factor, depending on what you value in a skyline. But the subjectivity-as-the-decider only kicks in because they are comparable to begin with.

Now for something you'll understand better (yay Canada, boo mean guy from Boston!): While I don't subjectively find Toronto to be a beautiful skyline, and do subjectively prefer Boston's overall aesthetic, I could never in a million years put the Boston skyline over Toronto. Why not? Because it fails the objective comparison so miserably, that the subjectivity doesn't even really get involved. There is no objective measurement that can make Boston look better than, or even close to, Toronto. So the Boston skyline isn't better, period, because it's objectively too far behind for subjectivity to factor in.

Now for Boston vs Montreal vs Vancouver vs Calgary, they are objectively close skylines. One may value each city's strengths differently, and hence subjectivity becomes the deciding factor, and there is truly no wrong order to rank these 4 skylines. But putting any of them over Toronto from a purely skyline perspective is too objectively wrong that the subjectivity shouldn't matter.

Chiming in as a Canadian poster: this seems like a very reasonable position. I agree,

[twinpeaks]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

You need to find the url that ends with .jpg or another photo extension in order to post an image. On Flickr, you need to go to the download option and view all sizes to find it usually.

Thanks

[Nouvellecosse]

We really just need to define terms like "Biggest, Tallest, Best, Top, and Most Impressive" because that's where the issues come in. Terms like biggest and tallest are categories of physical size and are therefore objectively measurable. There are different ways of measuring that will cause outcomes to vary but only to a point. But terms like "best", "top", and "most impressive" are not. They are based on the traits that people think make something the best and what people are most impressed by. And while there is often overlap, it still differs from person to person. So there's just no "objective" fact of the matter to be found since they are by definition, subjective categories.

But in this case, "top" sounds kind of ambiguous. It clearly isn't a physical quantity or dimension so it isn't objectively measurable, but its subjectivity isn't as clearly recognizable as some other terms so it causes confusion. It presents itself as if it were something measurable, but rather than offering such a thing it just leaves people to bicker about what the measurable dimension or quantity might be.

[Nouvellecosse]

It still must be pointed out, however, that bulverism is not a valid argument. You're scraping the barrel if you resort to arguments that lack cogency or substance and focus on opponents identity or perceived motives.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

Now that's a skyline Captain Planet can get behind.

Earth (quakes and hills)!
Fire (sunset)!
Wind (marine breeze)!
Water (the Bay)!
Heart (what people leave in San Francisco)!

Go planet!

With your powers combined I am Captain Planet!

Captain Planet, he's our hero,
Gonna take pollution down to zero!

[The North One]

I'd say Boston has the edge over Montreal. Mainly due to Boston getting some great new additions lately.

Vancouver's condo balcony highrise skyline isn't great. If it didn't have the mountain backdrop I'd consider it a below average.

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by Nite

if you want a US only discussion you have a forum for that. As we have a Canadian forum in which we discuss Canadian dominated topics. this forum is for everyone however.

I don't know about being strictly US centric but he's 100% right about his other point. Besides Toronto, no other canadian city comes even close to top ten in the world. I mean just suggesting that I find funny.