Atlanta's BOA Tower Tallest Between Manhattan and Chicago (Cleveland: zoning, flight path)

[atler8]

As a comparison, when the Empire State Building was built in New York & completed in the early 1930's, it basically stood all by itself with nothing else particularly tall right near it.
Funny thing is, if you look at current photos of midtown Manhattan, it still is pretty much that way.
There are tallish buuildings nearby & the towering Chrysler Building is a few blocks to the northeast of it but there is really nothing of major import in height right adjacent to the Empire State Building.
So, there is a history in other American cities of major towers standing by themselves and sticking out like a sore thumb, so to speak.

[JoeP]

AT&T is actually across North Avenue from BOA and slightly caddy cornered to it, but they are in the same block. As far as saying that BOA "sits by itself, it is among several buildings including One Georgia Center (30 floors, across W. Peachtree), Windsor Apartments (25 floors, across North Ave.), a 20 floor condo building across Peachtree St, and a Melia Hotel (25 floors, across W. Peachtree). On one side of BOA there is the historic Crawford Long Hospital Building that will probably always be there, and directly across Peachtree there is North Avenue Presbyterian that may also always be there.

I'm aware of that and up close, it looks ok, but if you have see a view from a distance it really does look like it's by itself, even with the sizable AT&T building nearby.

[UrbanConquistador]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

I agree that BOA is not situated as it should be, taking up an entire block with a large setback from Peachtree Street, but it is not sitting there by itself.

I can't remember where, but I do recall that eventually there will be a mid rise apartment development in front of BOA, facing Peachtree. I can't find a source, it may have just been hear-say. BOA is a lovely building but man does it create a dead zone for the area...

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Frankster87

I can't remember where, but I do recall that eventually there will be a mid rise apartment development in front of BOA, facing Peachtree. I can't find a source, it may have just been hear-say. BOA is a lovely building but man does it create a dead zone for the area...

I think that development was to go where the Emory proton center is rising. It was to be called Fox Plaza or something like that.

[emcee squared]

Originally Posted by atler8

As a comparison, when the Empire State Building was built in New York & completed in the early 1930's, it basically stood all by itself with nothing else particularly tall right near it.
Funny thing is, if you look at current photos of midtown Manhattan, it still is pretty much that way.
There are tallish buuildings nearby & the towering Chrysler Building is a few blocks to the northeast of it but there is really nothing of major import in height right adjacent to the Empire State Building.
So, there is a history in other American cities of major towers standing by themselves and sticking out like a sore thumb, so to speak.

There is some quasi-unspoken rule about not building something to compete with the ESB. I think it is silly. A similar thing is occurring with the new WTC. There was a proposal for a building, I can't remember the details in their entirety, that was to be taller than the ESB and only a few blocks away, but is was either thrown out or cut in height because it took away from the iconic nature of the building. EDIT: They may have settled the issue, I can't remember, and I am in no mood to fact-check myself.

Below is Minneapolis when they built their current tallest in 1972. There exists a unspoken rule to not surpass it in height, as well. Again, silly.



And check out Oklahoma City:

[atler8]

emcee
Those unwritten rules are a funny, hard-to-predict thing. Sometimes they seemingly last forever & other times they are tossed aside before they become fully honored timeless traditions & sometimes they may actually be codified into written law.
The Philadelphia City Hall for example was the tallest building in America for a short period but it held onto the tallest in Philadelphia title until a modern skyscraper boom dramatically eclipsed it's height in the late 1980's. Whether the rule not to surpass it's height was a gentleman's agreement or a city code, I do not know.
I was thinking of Minneapolis the other day so it is a coincidence that you included a photo of Minneapolis when it's IDS Tower was brand new & the only new big kid on the block. Now it has 2 other biggies for company that crowd the skyline & rival it.
The reason I was thinking of Minneapolis though is because when it's Foshay tower opened in 1929, it was sort of isolated in it's portion of downtown with the exception of the nearby Medical Arts Tower. Foshay is the pyramidal building on the right in your Minneapolis photo. When I rode the elevator to it's observation deck as a kid, the tower still stood out by itself & away from more of the central downtown cluster.
That brings up something about The BOA Tower which has always disappointed me from the time when it opened in 1991 as the C & S Tower: and that is the lack of an observation deck.

[emcee squared]

Originally Posted by atler8

emcee
Those unwritten rules are a funny, hard-to-predict thing. Sometimes they seemingly last forever & other times they are tossed aside before they become fully honored timeless traditions & sometimes they may actually be codified into written law.
The Philadelphia City Hall for example was the tallest building in America for a short period but it held onto the tallest in Philadelphia title until a modern skyscraper boom dramatically eclipsed it's height in the late 1980's. Whether the rule not to surpass it's height was a gentleman's agreement or a city code, I do not know.
I was thinking of Minneapolis the other day so it is a coincidence that you included a photo of Minneapolis when it's IDS Tower was brand new & the only new big kid on the block. Now it has 2 other biggies for company that crowd the skyline & rival it.
The reason I was thinking of Minneapolis though is because when it's Foshay tower opened in 1929, it was sort of isolated in it's portion of downtown with the exception of the nearby Medical Arts Tower. Foshay is the pyramidal building on the right in your Minneapolis photo. When I rode the elevator to it's observation deck as a kid, the tower still stood out by itself & away from more of the central downtown cluster.
That brings up something about The BOA Tower which has always disappointed me from the time when it opened in 1991 as the C & S Tower: and that is the lack of an observation deck.

I still have never been on the Foshay's observation deck. I certainly regret not being to the top after living there for so long. The IDS had a viewing platform for a little while, as well. That closed well before I was born.

The BoA tower is nice, but its street presence leaves much to be desired. The way Midtown has developed (very linearly) makes cohesive design difficult. Plopping building down willy-nilly is good for the skyline, but not for the ground.

[L.A.F.2.]

Originally Posted by testa50

Yeah, we'll get bested by someone else sooner or later, and we'll never get that title back most likely (rents aren't high enough here). But oh well, it was cool when it lasted and it speaks to Atlanta's culture of boldness and ambition to even get something like this done in the first place.

Our new wave of projects (like Ponce City Market and 12th & Midtown) don't do much for the "biggest, best" category, but will be way better in terms of their impact on the city. BoA tower is in a dead zone and is so pedestrian unfriendly that it arguably detracts from its neighborhood.

Wilshire in LA, Transbay in SF, and Bayfront in MIA are all in early construction stages and will pass it soon.

[JoeP]

I highly doubt that there is an unwritten rule in Minneapolis. If somebody wants to do it, the city and region would happily support a new tallest I'm sure.

Most "rules" are written in terms of zoning issues.

[atler8]

Yes, the Wilshire & the Transbay towers will be higher but that will not be the case for Miami's Bayfront.
As originally proposed it would have surpassed Atlanta's BOA Tower but it's been pared back partly due to height restrictions in Miami zoning laws.