TORONTO VS CHICAGO - Who has the better skyline!

[WZ1]

Im from the NY of the north and am wondering what you experts think of my home Skyline! Does T-Dot beat CHI-Town?



http://members.rogers.com/ebaydeals4u/skyline/tor.jpg

http://members.rogers.com/ebaydeals4u/skyline/toronto5.jpg

http://members.rogers.com/ebaydeals4u/skyline/tor2.jpg

http://members.rogers.com/ebaydeals4u/skyline/CN.jpg

Okay Here is Chicago


http://members.rogers.com/ebaydeals4u/skyline/chicago.jpg


Lets hear those replies!

[Kris]

No.

[SUPREMO]

The birthplace of the skyscraper of course! Even with the CN Tower, Toronto lacks the quantity of the supertall office towers that Chicago has.
Even Manila, Seoul and Singapore were ranked better. No offense dude! Toronto has a beautiful skyline but if I'm going to compare it with Chicago! I vote for Chi-town!

How about comparing Toronto with Sydney! Now that's worth comparing! North vs South!

[WZ1]

Yeah i neglected to think about Sydney, i guess Metro Toronto (GTA) and Metro Chicago are about the same size so i figured they would be a fair comparison. A lot of people have no idea just how big Toronto has become, nearly 8.5 million people in the GTA now, from Ajax to Hamilton, heck if we were part of the US we would probably include Buffalo and Detroit, (Detroit is pushing it all things considered, NYC includeds New Haven and Philadelphia) as Buffalo is about 1 hour and Detroit is about 2. Frome Ajax to Windsor there is around 10.5 million people, if you were to add Detroit and Buffalo your looking at probly another 7.5 beetween the 2 your getting close to 20 million (18 to be exact) the Golden Horseshoe is becoming very similar to the East Coast Metropolis we see from Boston to Washington.


On another note watch for Ottawa-Hull and Montreal, PQ to grow closer and closer together, It will take a good 10 years but when they do, it will be another big metropolis, (Ottawa-Hull 1.1 Million, Montreal, PQ 3.8 Million) there are plans to add a high speed rail line beetween the two in the next few years that will make the 1 hour drive (city limit to city limit) take only 35 minutes on the train. Just some interesting things to watch for in the future!

[ZippyTheChimp]

Toronto is a fine city, but no skyline match for Chicago.

That's a great shot of Big John

[Just Rich]

I'm from Toronto and we're not even close to having what Chicago has.

[Stern]

Slyine-wise: No. Although the greater Toronto skyline is massive.

City-wise: Without question, Toronto is the better city.

[TLOZ Link5]

Chicago's skyline is gigantic. It's not the City of Big Shoulders for nothin'...even its skyline is broad and muscular. There's no comparison. However, I'd say that Toronto is a better city when it comes to quality-of-life.

[Freedom Tower]

And Chicago may be getting that New Trump Tower. If it does, then Toronto will have to work much harder to even come close. Although I've been to Toronto and up in the CN Tower and I must say it's a great city. However, Chicago has a much bigger skyline and especially if this new Trump Tower gets built there. Can you all tell I'm excited about the Trump Tower? :)

[WZ1]

Did you guys hear that there is also a Trump tower Planned for Toronto?

http://www.skyscrapers.com/re/en/wm/bu/101437/

and a pic of the building

http://www.skyscrapers.com/re/en/im/df/154096/


As you can guess im also excited about what the great trump has in the works for both Chicago and Toronto

[DominicanoNYC]

Chicago wins this one. Toronto's proposed Trump building doesn't look to bad. Very nice.

[Chicagoan]

Chicago's skyline is much more impressive.

Toronto skyline is much more beautiful and ordered.

Torontos downtown skyline starts right at the waters edge, our does not.

Ours also has alot of gaps that are not really apparent in photos.

And also, Toronto must have more occupied taller buildings than chicago since it is many times more dense that Chicago.

So I think there are many points of comparision.

[krulltime]

I vote for Chicago!

Toronto has a beutiful skyline though. I wish I had lived there. Although soon I will be living in NY city (YES!!!). Chicago is a bigger metropolis though. Chicago is sort of overlook because of NY city. But it is a growing city and one day it will catch up to what NY is today. Ofcourse, NY city will be bigger when that happens.

[krulltime]

I vote for Chicago!

Toronto has a beutiful skyline though. I wish I had lived there. Although soon I will be living in NY city (YES!!!). Chicago is a bigger metropolis though. Chicago is sort of overlook because of NY city. But it is a growing city and one day it will catch up to what NY is today. Ofcourse, NY city will be bigger when that happens.

[LF22]

sadly enough, I have to vote for chicago for a better skyline (even though I'm from Toronto)
Citywise however I think toronto is the best city in the world. Especially when we can claim the title of most ethnically diverse city in the world. I think WZ got too ambitious, lol

[Stern]

Yes. The interaction between the races is something to behold, NYC has just as many races but nothing in relations. But then again Toronto is the New York of the North, and thank goodness for Canada.

[Homer of the North]

I was reading your comments and just wanted to make an observation.
Some people have been commenting about the great number of
buildings in Chicago vs. Toronto. I have never been to Chicago but
if it is like other American cities there are a number of buildings downtown
but the rest of the city is flat (ie. no high rises). Toronto has highrise buildings
scattered throughout the city with concentrations in downtowns of
suburban cities. I guess my point is if you conentrated all those suburban
highrises into downtown Toronto, it would easily compare to Chicago.

[TLOZ Link5]

Chicago's skyscrapers definitely extend beyond the CBD, though they're primarily along the city's lakefront. At the same time, yes, an overwhelming majority of skyscrapers in the Chicago metropolitan area are in Chicago itself. However, it needs to be taken into consideration that Chicago's skyline is significantly taller than Toronto's: Chicago has 85 completed skyscrapers over 500 feet while Toronto has just ten, not counting the CN Tower.

[reader frm us & BC]

I'm not sure of Homer of the North's point, especially if he's not been to Chicago ... regardless, has anyone in this forum lived in both Chicago AND Toronto?

I'm curious about how they compare as far as a city's "buzz factor"; i.e., is Toronto exciting? Chicago is exciting, in my opinion cities like Dallas aren't. Chicago has a vibrant history, arts scene, sophistication, and there's something for everyone whether you love food, sports, architecture, art, music, sailing, neighborhoods, shopping ...

Unfortuantely Chicago isn't nearly as well known as a great place to visit as it could be because places like NY, LA, Florida, Vegas overshadow it when people think of places to travel in the U.S.

[ryan]

I've visited both cities a number of times (but never lived in either). Chicago wins on skyline, but Toronto wins on culture - you can't be the Canadian-ness. Both lose the title of world's greatest city b/c of climate though- until global warming ruins the ocean coasts...

[TLOZ Link5]

I've visited both cities a number of times (but never lived in either). Chicago wins on skyline, but Toronto wins on culture - you can't be the Canadian-ness. Both lose the title of world's greatest city b/c of climate though- until global warming ruins the ocean coasts...

Don't worry about global warming. I'm certain that nuclear winter will cancel it out. :D

[Urbanophile]

Yeah i neglected to think about Sydney, i guess Metro Toronto (GTA) and Metro Chicago are about the same size so i figured they would be a fair comparison. A lot of people have no idea just how big Toronto has become, nearly 8.5 million people in the GTA now, from Ajax to Hamilton, heck if we were part of the US we would probably include Buffalo and Detroit, (Detroit is pushing it all things considered, NYC includeds New Haven and Philadelphia) as Buffalo is about 1 hour and Detroit is about 2. Frome Ajax to Windsor there is around 10.5 million people, if you were to add Detroit and Buffalo your looking at probly another 7.5 beetween the 2 your getting close to 20 million (18 to be exact) the Golden Horseshoe is becoming very similar to the East Coast Metropolis we see from Boston to Washington.

NYC doesn't include Philadelphia.

As for Toronto vs. Chicago on population size, I don't think there really is a comparison. Based on urbanized area, metro Chicago has 8.3m whereas Toronto has 4.4m.

http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf

It may be that if you include Hamilton and other areas, Toronto would be around 8.3 but if you did that then you'd have to include Milwaukee and other areas into "Chicago" and that would bump Chicago up to around 10m if not over. A closer analogue to Toronto in the U.S. (strictly population-wise) would probably be Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (4.9 million), Boston (4.0 million), or Dallas-Ft. Worth (4.1 million) (see above site).

In any event, I'd say Chicago has the better skyline.

As for Toronto vs. Sydney, I'd vote for Toronto. Sydney's skyline isn't all that impressive and most of the buildings are square boxes and relatively low.

[zmon_02]

Metropolitan Chicago is larger than Toronto's metro area at present. However, it is important to note that the methods used to calculate urban areas in the U.S. are different. If you look at the densities of the cities from the link (http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf) you'll see that Chicago has a density of 2,123 while Toronto's is 6,800. This leads me to believe that metro Chicago is much more abandoned than metro Toronto, or that the method used to calculate the statistic includes cities that are not actually attached to the urban area. I think the most legitimate way to calculate metro areas should be to include areas of continuous urban area. Using this you would include Toronto, Oshawa, and Hamilton giving the population of the continuous urban area of Toronto about 6.4 million. (http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo05a.htm) Considering that Toronto and the urban areas around Toronto are growing much quicker than Chicago's, it wouldn't be hard to believe that at present rates Toronto's continuous urban area will surpass Chicago's within the next 20 years. By that time, it will probably have connected to Kitchener, and St. Catherines (check out in stats can link) and since Niagara Falls is connected to both Buffalo and St. Catherines you could say that Buffalo would be part of the urban area, this can happen, Detroit includes Windsor in its metro area. So, in 20 years these cities may have lost their individual names and will instead be called Toronto-Buffalo, kinda like Dallas-Fort Worth. As for Toronto connecting with Detroit, I don't really see that happening for a while, neither do I want to, that would mean vast amounts of good farmland being gobbled by crappy suburbs.
Also, I don't think the Golden Horseshoe is comparable to the East Coast metropolis from Boston to Washington, which would encompass a much larger area and population than the Golden Horseshoe. Right now, Toronto and its surrounding urban area is probably more comparable to San Francisco. In 20-30years, if it keeps growing at present rates its population will probably more closely resemble what L.A.'s is now, and it wouldn't be surprising if it was the 3rd largest urban area in Canada and the U.S., after New York and L.A.

As for skylines, Chicago's is better than Toronto's, there is more high buildings, and better designs

Interestingly, it seems that Dubai is gonna leave us all in the dust in the future in regards to massively high buildings. Check the link. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bu/sk/li/?id=100485&bt=2&ht=2&sro=21

[eric]

O.K first of all, I don't know where you get your information, but the G.T.A does not include Ajax or Hamilton.
Secondly, Chicago is a much larger area. In fact, it's almost three times the size of the city of Toronto.
Toronto's total metro area including Scarbourough,North York,East York & Etobiko is about 5 million, not 8 or 9.
Please don't try to compare Toronto to New York by calling it "the New York of the north" it will never be N.Y!!!

[eric]

Also I don't know where you really live but you aren't from Toronto. If you were you would know Buffalo is more than an hour outside Toronto, not to mention in a different country, there's no way it could ever be a part of T.O.
As for Detroit, I have no doubt you have never taken the trip down the 401 southbound from Toronto. I can tell you from driving from Toronto to Windsor about 50 times that it's more like 4 and a half hours, not 2.
2 hours, yeah, maybe in a plane.

[eric]

Oh yeah, and as far as skylines... Chicago kicks Toronto's ass.
Even the C.N tower is outdone by the sears tower.
Chicago just has too many skyscrapers for Toronto. Sorry buddy but you are dreaming. You can't compare T.O's skyline to the Chicagos or the New Yorks. Hell, Seattle & San Francisco look better too. Toronto doesn't even have Canada's best skyline, Vancouver does!

[Jake]

While I don't disagree Chicago has the better skyline I wouldn't count Toronto out, just because CN makes the other buildings look smaller by comparison doesn't mean they are.

Vancouver's tallest barely breaks 500 feet, something that most of the downtown Toronto buildings do with ease.

And Sears is a horrible building, John Hancock is easily Chicago's best building.

[eric]

To me, John Hancock looks almost exactly like the Sears tower. It's hard for me to understand how one building can look "terrible" and a shorter, less impressive version of it is easily the city's best. Personaly, my favorite Chicago skyscraper is the Aon Center tower. It looks better (in my opinion) and is also taller ( minus the spires)
In terms of height, Toronto is easily better than Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco. But to me, a city's skyline is more than just the height of the structures. Vancouver has a higher consentration of buildings in the downtown core, and the scenery with mountains and ocean on the west coast have Toronto beat.
Have you ever seen aerial photographs of downtown Vancouver, or been to the top of the Harbour Centre Tower? Vancouver is amazing!

[Thethinkingman]

To me, John Hancock looks almost exactly like the Sears tower. It's hard for me to understand how one building can look "terrible" and a shorter, less impressive version of it is easily the city's best. Personaly, my favorite Chicago skyscraper is the Aon Center tower. It looks better (in my opinion) and is also taller ( minus the spires)
The only thing that makes the Hancock similar to the Sears is the color. The Hancock Center is trapazoidal and has the exposed cross beams, which is a nice element, while the Sears is more like a few boxes stacked up. I'm not nocking on the Sears, but I'm just pointing that out.

[Bright Lights, Big City]

Chicago has the better skyline, and is generally a much more attractive city.

Toronto only has a few skyscrapers, and only a couple of them are attractive in my opinion. In fact, the city of Toronto is slowly being reuined by new developments built on the cheap that are ugly as sin and detract from the beauty of the old city.

Toronto has very few of its old buildings left (except for some of the old victorian homes and some mixed use low-rises along main streets like King and Queen), and every tall building that has been built in the last ten years is a glass condomnium - ugly, ugly, ugly.

The first time I went to Chicago I was amazed at how many of their old buildings had been preserved and how much charm they lend the city's skyline. Toronto can't say the same thing, and if the developers continue to have their way Toronto will soon be one of the ugliest cities in North America, even if it is one of the biggest.

peace

BL BC

[eric]

I have to admit, I'm somewhat of a transient, And chicago is one of my favorite cities, I wouldn't say Toronto is one of north america's ugliest cities,
Compared to the Washington, D.C, Baltimore area, T.O is heaven.
Toronto is also much more attractive than Philidelphia, Detroit, Boston, Houston, New Orleans (although it rocks during mardi gras) Cleveland or Buffalo, and I'm just nameing a few American cities that don't have Toronto's charm or appeal.
I lived @ Bathurst & St. Clair for 5 years and Have been traveling North America Extensively for the past 7, I can honestly say that the people of Toronto can be proud of their great city. Didn't mean to bash T.O.
But having lived in midtown Manhattan for the past 8 months, it just makes me laugh when people compare the two cities, there realy is no comparing the two. I guess Toronto is just the closest thing to N.Y.C that there is in Canada, But New York is in a league of it's own. And in my opinion, New york has the world's best skyline. Although I've only seen Hong Kong's on the internet, I still think Manhattan is #1.

[eric]

Hancock looks like Sears because of the color and the spires, But I see your point. I'm originaly from Toronto but have done a lot of traveling over the past 7 years and am currently residing in midtown Manhattan,I just have to laugh when people try to compare T.O to N.Y, there is absolutly no comparison between the two cities. However I didn't mean to sound like I was bashing Toronto, I love that city and it also has a great skyline, not the best in North America but definatly not the ugliest either! Toronto has more than just a few skyscrapers (C.N Tower, First Canadian Place, Scotia Plaza, Canada Trust Tower, Commerce Court West, Toronto dominion Bank Tower, the Bay Wellington building) just to name a few. Each one of those buildings is over 650 feet tall, most in the financial district ( King/Bay area)
Toronto also does a very good job of maintaining their older buildings, just go to Detroit, Philidelphia, Baltimore/Washington, Houston or New orleans to know what I'm talking about.
Torontonians can be proud of their city, Bathurst & St. Clair representing!

[Bright Lights, Big City]

I live in the St. Clair and Bathurst area too.
Represent, represent!

But really, I think my negative attitude towards Toronto comes from too many years of living here. Personally, I find the city to be cold, too suburban, too expensive, too spread out, without sufficient PT, full of cold people who would prefer to be in their car or home than out in the streets. The developers run this city and continue to build ugly-ass condos that detract from the beauty of the old city, and people continue to buy them rather than standing up and demanding something better. Everyone says how multicultural Toronto is, and that's true, but unfortunately Toronto's multiculturalism means that the city has little culture of its own except for the mish-mash of other cultures that inhabit it. There is very little that can be called uniquely Torontonian except the Maple Leafs and.... the Star?

Also, because Toronto is Canada's biggest city, people here seem to have a chip on their shoulders and really do believe that Toronto is the greatest city in the world. Now there's nothing wrong with a little civic pride, but this attitude prevents people from seeing all the problems this city has and making an effort to improve the city. The mentality seems to be: if it ain't broke don't fix it. But Toronto has major problems related to pollution, congestion, public transit, poverty and homelessness, affordable housing, etc. and these issues need to be addressed.

But my biggest beef with Toronto is that most people who live here don't care about the city and spend very little time in its streets. This city is too dead too often, even on a beautiful spring or summer afternoon when only the main downtown arteries are crowded, mostly with suburbanites. Since people here don't spend much time in the city, they don't see the city as their home - their house is their home and they only care about things that affect their immediate neighborhood. Quality of life issues are the only ones they care about, and only if it affects THEM. This is why developers are able to tear down old buildings and replace them with glass condos without anyone saying anything - because people here don't care unless they live under the shadow of the new condo. People here just want to be able to enjoy their own house, drive to work each day, and come home in the evening without sitting in traffic for too long. In Toronto there is little or no civic pride other than an intolerable arrogance that is completely unfounded and unproductive. People have to open their eyes to the many problems this city has so they can stand up and demand that they be fixed. We need civic activism and involvement in the city - we need people to come out into the streets and parks and enjoy the city rather than staying cooped up in their houses and apartments all day long. Toronto's citizens are among the most apathetic anywhere. People just want to go to work, come home, and spend time with their families, and nothing else concerns them. People here don't get involved and they don't seem to think their city is worth fighting for. Because of this, developers rule the city and have been turning it into one big suburb for the last 20 years without anyone standing up to protest.

These are a few of the reasons why I think Toronto will never compare to New York, Paris, London, and other world class cities. Sure, we have a lot to teach other cities about multiculturalism and tolerance, but other than that I don't know if Toronto has any advantage over world-class cities. Ultimately, I don't believe Toronto is a world-class city, but I do think it could be one with a little effort from its citizens. Toronto is an okay city, but it's not great and won't be until its citizens start getting involved. This won't happen until they learn to love their city, but I don't see this happening anytime soon.

peace

BL BC

[eric]

Great points, and I agree. You should consider running for mayor, you got my vote... Peace

[eric]

The only thing that makes the Hancock similar to the Sears is the color. The Hancock Center is trapazoidal and has the exposed cross beams, which is a nice element, while the Sears is more like a few boxes stacked up. I'm not nocking on the Sears, but I'm just pointing that out.
If you wanna see boxes stacked on top of each other, just look at 80 South street in Manhattan. That's the wierdest looking thing I've ever seen!

[Bright Lights, Big City]

Thanks for your vote of confidence Eric....
Maybe I would consider running for mayor if I didn't have such a checkered past. Maybe I could get the city's attention but as soon as my opponents did a little digging, my mayoral bid would be clouded by all the dumb shit I've done in my life.

Nowadays, to have a shot at politics you either have to be squeeky clean or (like George W.) have enough money and power to obscure your troubled past with spin, bribed officials, and a major American news station acting as your personal advertising agency. Unfortunately I don't have any of that so if I ran for mayor the press would cook me like a half-gram of heroin in a blackened old spoon.

peace

BL, BC

[Jake]

I just read that Toronto approved a waterfront overhaul and it looks quite nice

here's a small rendering
http://www.thestar.com/static/Specials/design/060517_waterfront_gal3.jpg

and the PDF file of the proposal (with a much better idea of what it will look like)
http://www.towaterfront.ca/dbdocs/446a4425175d8.pdf


Now this isn't a skyline element but just imagine every future Toronto skyline pic with these new beautiful piers and islands in the foreground, it will surely better the overall appearance

[pianoman11686]

Those maple leaves look like Toronto's version of Dubai's palm-shaped manmade island communities.

[Bright Lights, Big City]

I don't know how much I dig the maple leaf island.

Even the committee that voted for this design said it was "kitschy".

Now let's just see if this design is actually implemented. I've heard far too many (unfulfilled) promises about the waterfront revitalization to get my hopes up just yet. Toronto probably has one of the most unutilized harborfronts in North America, so it would be really nice to see them fix up the area, because it's quite a mess as it is. Make that, a total f*cking mess!

peace

BL BC

[Jake]

Well there's something like $800 million in waterfront projects underway, certainly something to be excited about.

[eric]

You gotta remember bright lights, you need to have some dirt on you in order for anyone to trust you! I hear Trump is building a 1,000 ft skyscraper on King/Adelaide in Toronto. Picture that building between scotia plaza and first canadian place. How far along is the construction?

[eric]

I think the waterfront proposal looks great. Can $800 million Canadian still get a lot done? I know Niagara Falls just built a new casino for $1.1 Billion. ( and it looks like shit) I'll be excited when I hear the Ontario government is revitalizing the waterfront in Toronto. Not spending $700,000 on golf tournaments and banquets in Niagara on the lake.

[eric]

Did you know: Downtown Vancouver has recently eclipsed Manhattan as North America's highest density residential area. "Vancouverism" has now become a term in the literature of city planning, a cousin to that older descriptor of the hyper-dense city "Manhattanism." It is the continent's youngest major city with it's highest residential density.

[EtherealMist]

To me, John Hancock looks almost exactly like the Sears tower. It's hard for me to understand how one building can look "terrible" and a shorter, less impressive version of it is easily the city's best. Personaly, my favorite Chicago skyscraper is the Aon Center tower. It looks better (in my opinion) and is also taller ( minus the spires)
In terms of height, Toronto is easily better than Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco. But to me, a city's skyline is more than just the height of the structures. Vancouver has a higher consentration of buildings in the downtown core, and the scenery with mountains and ocean on the west coast have Toronto beat.
Have you ever seen aerial photographs of downtown Vancouver, or been to the top of the Harbour Centre Tower? Vancouver is amazing!

How can you prefer the Aon over the JHC and the Sears? And how can you think the JHC is exactly like the Sears? Aon is just a boring box from the 70s. I think the JHC is one of the best looking skyscrapers in the world.

And Vancouver is just a bunch of high rise residential towers, although they come together nicely. The city has few buildings are 500 ft.

[Maples]

I used to live in Mississauga, for those of you who do not know, Mississauga is right outside Toronto. Anyway, this thread is more on the skylines between Chicago and Toronto. So first, I would say Chicago just has better architecture. I've been to both cities many times. Now here is my question. After living in Mississauga, I moved to Ohio. Don't ask why. Anyway, the time is coming to move, and now I can't decide on whether to move back to Toronto, or now since Ive been to Chicago so many times, to move to Chicago. Now I have duel citizenship, and I don't really care for Nationalism, so my question is, which city do you like better? In general? In my opinion, I just think Chicago has more to do. Let me hear those responses!

[antinimby]

...I moved to Ohio. Don't ask why. Anyway, the time is coming to move,Hehe, I know how it is. Done some moving around myself.

As for Toronto or Chicago, if it is a toss-up (after considering cost of living, career, friends, family, climate, lifestyle, etc.), then go with your heart.

[Maples]

My heart is totally torn between the two, I mean, I'm "from" Toronto, and a lot of my family is there, but on the other hand, I'm also totally ready to move on to some place I've never 'lived' before. Damnit.

[Jake]

well which city do you think has a better future?

Chicago has always done well but Toronto has reported the strongest economic indicators of the last 30 years.

[antinimby]

Errr...Jake, I think this is more of a personable sort of decision. Someone's life shouldn't necessarily come down to an analysis of the economic indicators of one city versus the other.

[antinimby]

My heart is totally torn between the two, I mean, I'm "from" Toronto, and a lot of my family is there, but on the other hand, I'm also totally ready to move on to some place I've never 'lived' before. Damnit.So then it sounds like your heart is really saying "Chicago."

[krulltime]

My heart is totally torn between the two, I mean, I'm "from" Toronto, and a lot of my family is there, but on the other hand, I'm also totally ready to move on to some place I've never 'lived' before. Damnit.

I will move to Chicago... and just give it a try. If you don't like it in a year or so... then move back to Toronto. Your family will always be waiting for you to go back. :)

[Jake]

Errr...Jake, I think this is more of a personable sort of decision. Someone's life shouldn't necessarily come down to an analysis of the economic indicators of one city versus the other.

true but it tells you if high paying jobs are available, it's one of many things but a beautiful city with no prospects isn't worth going to either.

[OmegaNYC]

When it comes to who has a better skyline. I would pick Chicago. Heck it's one of the Big Three when it comes to skylines. ^_^

[eric]

How can you prefer the Aon over the JHC and the Sears? And how can you think the JHC is exactly like the Sears? Aon is just a boring box from the 70s. I think the JHC is one of the best looking skyscrapers in the world.

And Vancouver is just a bunch of high rise residential towers, although they come together nicely. The city has few buildings are 500 ft.
I prefer it for the reasons I gave, I just think it looks nicer. Those big, ugly spires on the Hancock tower don't help it in my opinion. Okay, it's not "exactly" like the sears, but come on, another big, black skyscraper with big f***in' spires jetting out the top to create the illusion of a taller building.
Does anyone really give a shit if a skyline is made up of residential towers, office towers, bank towers, whatever, it doesnt make any difference.
I'm aware that Vancouver does not have any 1,000 foot buildings, but it still looks better than Toronto in my opinion. T.O is flat and boring, Vancouver has a beautiful Pacific rim look to it, as does Seattle. As far as the JHC being one of the best looking skyscrapers in the world, that's a matter of opinion & youre entitled to that, but I could think of at least a half dozen buildings in my neighbourhood alone that I think are more attractive. Midtown baby!

[DX2K]

Toronto is by far the better city (clean, friendly, great nightlife), but it doesn't compare to Chicago's skyline. Both, however, have a special place in my heart. :)

[BVictor1]

Here are several images that I took of the Chicago Skyline about a month ago.

View to the northeast from the Adler Planetarium
8:56pm
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3C%3A4%3B%3B%3B%7Ffp344%3Enu%3D3238%3E868%3E49 2%3EWSNRCG%3D3233823%3B5544%3Anu0mrj

9:03pm
http://images1.snapfish.com/346%3C%3A4%3B%3B%3B%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D3238%3E868%3E49 2%3EWSNRCG%3D3233823%3B5544%3Bnu0mrj

[Bright Lights, Big City]

Toronto's a safer city. At least, in my experiences. :) ;)

BL BC

[antinimby]

Hey Bright Lights, glad to see you made it out alive. :D

[ryeler]

My vote is for Toronto, but I have nothing against Chicago. Toronto is getting a lot of new projects and I can't wait to see them, but Toronto isn't the city I'd want to live in, my city living destination is either Vancouver or Melbourne.

-ryeler

[OmegaNYC]

BTW, have anyone ever been to Toronto? I would love to visit. Heard it is a great city.

[ryeler]

I live about an hour away and have been their plently of times. Deffiniatly worth a vist

[The Beam Doc]

I don't know why chicago's skyline is such a big deal. I think it's ugly. Toronto ftw (forthewin) hands down.

[Bright Lights, Big City]

BTW, have anyone ever been to Toronto? I would love to visit. Heard it is a great city.


You should visit some time. It only takes an hour to fly or eight hours to drive.

If you ever decide to head this way, let me know and I'll be happy to steer you in the right direction. With a city like Toronto, it's best to mostly avoid the main attractions and venture off the beaten path - this is where the city's true gems and unique character can be found; well away from the CN Tower, the Skydome...er, um Rogers Centre, and the downtown.

I'm happy to meet with anyone who comes here and show them all the best parts of Toronto, or simply advise them on where to go and how to get there based on their preferences.

peace

TOkidd

[eric]

Chicago's skyline is much more impressive.

Toronto skyline is much more beautiful and ordered.

Torontos downtown skyline starts right at the waters edge, our does not.

Ours also has alot of gaps that are not really apparent in photos.

And also, Toronto must have more occupied taller buildings than chicago since it is many times more dense that Chicago.

So I think there are many points of comparision.
Many times more dense, NO. Chicago is a much more densly populated city!

[Twista]

Chicago is the greatest city in the world am been I was born and raised I been to Hong Kong, Shang Hia, NYC, L.A., Toronto, Vancouver and alot of other cities. No skyline compares to Chicago's.


New buildings going up in Chicago

Chicago Spire: 160 stories

Trump Tower Chicago: 96 stories

Water View Tower: 90 stories

Aqua Center: 82 stories

Park Michigan: 80 stories

Legacy Millenuim Tower: 71 stories

InterContenital Hotel: 71 stories

Mandarian Orential: 92 stories

City Front Plaza III: 65 stories

680 North Rush: 64 stories

340 Tower: 64 stories

One Museum Park: 62 stories

300 North LaSalle: 60 stories

Elysian: 60 stories

1201 South Michigan: 60 stories

500 North Lake Shore Drive: 58 stories

560 North FairBanks: 58 stories

One Museum Park West: 54 stories

There is like 10 more 50 story towers that are going up but am running out of room.

All of this will go up before or by 2010.

[Bright Lights, Big City]

I don't know if I agree with the above poster. Even within the US there are better skylines...or, at least one better skyline - NYC. Also, SF is comparable in my opinion. Maybe not as big, but certainly more beautiful.

When you factor in cities like Hong Kong, Rio, Shanghai, and a few others, I don't think Chi has the best skyline in the world, regardless of the new towers going up.

BL, BC

[kliq6]

NYC has the best skyline since we have the worlds best skyscraper, ESB. Chicago will always be the "second city" even though its really the third city now and soon to be fourth city!

[Twista]

I don't know if I agree with the above poster. Even within the US there are better skylines...or, at least one better skyline - NYC. Also, SF is comparable in my opinion. Maybe not as big, but certainly more beautiful.

When you factor in cities like Hong Kong, Rio, Shanghai, and a few others, I don't think Chi has the best skyline in the world, regardless of the new towers going up.

BL, BC

What you said right there is half true. Hong Kong might be in the lead but Chicago is doing pretty good to there coming back from the trama of the 911 attacks.

For NYC there doing horrible unfortunetly because the 911 has alot out of it. Which as Chicago has had the ability to bounce back from alot of major stuff like (Whole city burning to the ground) and (Rivers becoming so polluted).

NYC had said to the world that it won't make any skyscrappers any more after 911. 5 years later barely any building has gone up over 40 stories. NYC is has just started talking about a few towers that might go up that are actually pretty big.

[Twista]

NYC is not as clean as Chicago. Chicago has the best artechure in America. NYC skyline is plain. Unlike Chicago's which has more color and better buildings. NYC's people arn't as skyscrapper freindly so its alot harder to make skyscrappers there.

Most of the competetion has moved to Chicago.

The only thing that NYC does this days is make better advertisment on there old buildings.

And if you really think NYC is actually improving even the tiniest bit your indenial.

[kliq6]

NYC is not as clean as Chicago. Chicago has the best artechure in America. NYC skyline is plain. Unlike Chicago's which has more color and better buildings. NYC's people arn't as skyscrapper freindly so its alot harder to make skyscrappers there.

Most of the competetion has moved to Chicago.

The only thing that NYC does this days is make better advertisment on there old buildings.

And if you really think NYC is actually improving even the tiniest bit your indenial.

When two 1200 plus towers come falling down in front of your face ( as what happened to me) you can get a little afriad and thats what has happened in NYC. Chicago didnt have to bounce back after 911, nothing happened there so they were not effected in terms of worrying about there buildings. If )god forbid) the Sears or Hancock came down Chicago would be building nothing as well

[rincony]

NYC is not as clean as Chicago. Chicago has the best artechure in America. NYC skyline is plain. Unlike Chicago's which has more color and better buildings. NYC's people arn't as skyscrapper freindly so its alot harder to make skyscrappers there.

Most of the competetion has moved to Chicago.

The only thing that NYC does this days is make better advertisment on there old buildings.

And if you really think NYC is actually improving even the tiniest bit your indenial.

You think? NYC has so much beauty then Chicago. Go see neighborhood photos in the phtos page here and find me so many nicer neighborhoods like that in chicago. chicago only has tall buildings but not too many nice neighborhood. just few. New york has that and tall buildings and I think more new ones soon. :rolleyes: Chicago will want to be like nyc. :D Chicago downtown living just started there. nyc uptown and downtown living started long time ago. :cool:

[Twista]

When two 1200 plus towers come falling down in front of your face ( as what happened to me) you can get a little afriad and thats what has happened in NYC. Chicago didnt have to bounce back after 911, nothing happened there so they were not effected in terms of worrying about there buildings. If )god forbid) the Sears or Hancock came down Chicago would be building nothing as well

Am not stupid i lived in NYC i read the news paper were it said "No More Big Ones"

And I keep track of what NYC yes there are coming back from 911 you can't say that nothing happened it did happen if you were not narrow minded you would know that Chicago is creating a 2000 feet tall building 160 stories its called the Chicago Spire.

We should be fighting I see why you would like NYC your from there and am from Chicago but most importantly were all American and NYC and Chicago are like cousins.

So what ever good I want for Chicago I want the same for NYC and its people.

[TREPYE]

NYC is not as clean as Chicago. Chicago has the best artechure in America. NYC skyline is plain. Unlike Chicago's which has more color and better buildings. NYC's people arn't as skyscrapper freindly so its alot harder to make skyscrappers there.

Most of the competetion has moved to Chicago.

The only thing that NYC does this days is make better advertisment on there old buildings.

And if you really think NYC is actually improving even the tiniest bit your indenial.


Dude, what ever get you through your miserable windy day :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:. Fact of the matter is NYC may not be as tall and try as hard t prove itself as chi-town but inspite of some sporadic atrocious greedy developer driven buildings overall I'll put NYC's classics and variety over Chicago's architecture any day. I for one I'm glad that some black stack of boxes known as the Sears does not dominate my skyline.

[sfenn1117]

I'm sorry, but if you were born AND raised in Chicago, I think you would speak much better english.

Also, this is a TORONTO vs. Chicago thread. You were the first to mention New York, which is not what this thread is about. So please, go troll on skyscrapercity. We don't deal with it here.

[pianoman11686]

NYC is not as clean as Chicago.

Inaccurate.

Chicago has the best artechure in America.

Subjective and untenable in essence. And ultimately wrong.

NYC skyline is plain. Unlike Chicago's which has more color and better buildings.

You need to look at some more pics of the two cities. Because in New York, there are several skylines that offer a variety of shapes, heights, and colors. Chicago has but maybe two.

NYC's people arn't as skyscrapper freindly so its alot harder to make skyscrappers there.

Hey, you actually made a somewhat intelligent statement there. Yes, NIMBY's in NY are a bigger issue, it seems. Then again, so are higher constructions costs, less developable land, and security concerns.

Most of the competetion has moved to Chicago.

The only thing that NYC does this days is make better advertisment on there old buildings.

And if you really think NYC is actually improving even the tiniest bit your indenial.

Competition? For what? In case you haven't noticed, there's an entire subforum dedicated to New York skyscraper developments. Why don't you look at any number of 40+ story buildings going up right now: Bank of America, NY Times, WTC, Ratner's Beekman, Goldman Sachs, etc., in addition to all the ones that are either in planning or have been built in the past few years.

If you're going to put up uninformed and unintelligent posts on this forum, I'd heed sfenn's advice and move on somewhere else.

[BVictor1]

Stupidity and ignorance has certainly taken ovwe this thread

[Ed007Toronto]

^ Sure has.

Is there a dedicated Toronto thread here already or should I start one. I get sick everytime I see a Toronto versus XXX thread.

Here's the Toronto skyline in 2010 assuming everything proposed is built. Maldive at SSP added a whole bunch of towers now underconstruction or in sales.

[ZippyTheChimp]

If you'd like, you can start a Toronto thread.

I don't much like these versus threads, and this one seems to have run its course.