Cities with most impressive entrances (compare, live, largest, place)
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Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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I-25 through south metro Denver is pretty cool. It's a nice urbam suburban ride with the modern office buildings of the Denver Tech Center, the city light rail, and the Front Range of the Rockies all parrallel to the freeway. It's a nice ride with plenty to look at.
Atlanta's skyline is no where near as tall or as large as Houston's...
They've got one building with a cheating spire that's taller if you take that into account.
Houston's skyline denotes boldness & power, something ATL lacks. Its much more elegant than Houston's however, but a skyline filled with tall spires mounted on relatively short buildings really doesn't impress me much. Anyone can throw a simple spire on top & say their building is tall.
Only Chicago and NYC should have those descriptions, seriously
there is nothing Bold about the Houston skyline, seriously, for all the tall buildings it really does lack in interest, too many bland boxes, and for my own personal preferances way too spread out
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Metro Matt
Atlanta's skyline is no where near as tall or as large as Houston's...
They've got one building with a cheating spire that's taller if you take that into account.
Houston's skyline denotes boldness & power, something ATL lacks. Its much more elegant than Houston's however, but a skyline filled with tall spires mounted on relatively short buildings really doesn't impress me much. Anyone can throw a simple spire on top & say their building is tall.
I beg to to differ. Atlanta has 3 skylines, downtown, midtown, and Buckhead thus also denoting reckoning as an economic force. I think Atlanta's buildings are more architecturally impressive. Atlanta's multiple dimensions, crowns, and spires on its skyscrapers are a more dynamic specticle. Atlanta's midtown is much more impressive than Houston's Uptown. Atlanta has a very impressive panorama that streches for miles, and I-75/I-85 through downtown Atlanta like Houston also has an insane amount of lanes on its freeway. Yes the Katy freeway might have a few more lanes, but Atlanta has a better approach and a more pleasing skyline.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 02-19-2011 at 02:39 PM..
Here are a few that I have driven into at one point or another....
Memphis
Most exciting entrance via Mississippi river bridge coming from West Memphis AR. This is a particularly good angle, the entire skyline stretched before you as well as the beautiful riverfront homes, the Pyramid, iconic landmarks like the Peabody, and Shelby County jail . Every other entrance is okay, but this is the most inspiring IMO.
Baton Rouge
Same as above, best angle is the approach leaving Port Allen crossing the Mississippi. The skyline looks decent this way, but every other approach is pretty lackluster.
New Orleans
My favorite New Orleans approach is again crossing the Mississippi leaving the westbank. The view is awesome from here, many of the highrises that are obstructed while approaching from every other direction can be observed from here, so to me it is the best. From the east provides the best full skyline view as you cross the raised bridge over the shipyards. All approaches into New Orleans are pretty good IMO.
San Diego
From LA, the drive into San Diego is really pretty. Seemingly endless monster hills and palms adorn the streetscape while driving in with the skyline totally obstructed. Eventually downtown pops out at you to the right against the water. It's nice, some of the largest hills I've ever seen actually. I can't really say it was that inspiring because of the downtown height restrictions, but the scenery made up for it.
Los Angeles
Driving in from Vegas is really nice. Lots of cactus, and stucco homes along the way. In LA's case, you actually reach built up municipalities way before you actually reach LA, so it's a little different than say- Memphis. Finally after driving what seems like forever, the skyline is ahead of you, but it was smoggy so I couldn't see as much of the picturesque mountainous backdrop as I would've liked. Up close and personal, LA's skyline is tall and imposing, but not really overwhelming. It's nice, but I don't remember seeing Century City at all. Overall, I would say that LA has a nice approach, but it totally depends on the angle.
Philadelphia
Philly's best approach is via Walt Whitman Bridge without question. Philly's skyline is very dense, and this particular approach puts it all on display with little to no obstruction. Approaching Philly from I-76N is really nice. As you're driving, you see a park/water and the skyline to the right- it's really great. Going back the other direction is okay, but not as good IMO. You can take the "Central Phila" exit to really get into the nitty-gritty if need be . Philly has one of the best skylines IMO, but I just wish it didn't come/go as quickly as it does. Because of the extreme density, Philly's skyline is probably best appreciated on foot because it's over in a couple of minutes via automobile. Now coming into Philly from Jersey on the Walt Whitman is absolutely staggering. That is by-far and away the best view one could ever expect to get while coming into that city.
Miami
Driving southbound, the visible high-rises to the left begin as far north as Palm Beach FWIR. A seemingly endless wall of condos line the beach-front for miles and miles. Finally you're approaching downtown, and it's truly amazing. My favorite angle is crossing the MacArthur Causeway as it raises, you can look 180 degrees and see highrises in every direction. That is what I mean by inspiring, every city doesn't provide this type of feel. Miami lived up to much more than was expected, so Kudos! Lots of highrises up close, with many more to come. That inspires me!
Atlanta
ATL's most popular approach seems to be 400 southbound merging onto the connector then toward midtown/downtown. While it is easily the most dynamic approach, I prefer BH for dessert instead of the appetizer. With that said, I like the northbound 75 approach more because the skyline "peeks" at you several times before you're actually there. The freeway winds and twists with the crowns/spires peeking at you from time to time, then boom Turner Field is to your right, and downtown is directly ahead. It's looks nice, but nothing to really loose sleep over since most of it is obstructed from this angle. It isn't until you round that corner beyond Grady Hospital then POW, everything jumps out at you. Once you've driven beyond MT/Atlantic Station, a newcomer would likely assume "that's it". This is when you look to the left, and see what appears to be another large city (BH). Approaching from I20 westbound is crappy because of obstruction, but I20 eastbound is absolutely awesome on a clear day.
Dallas
Driving northbound from Houston is a really nice approach. It's mostly flat and prairie-like with little to no obstruction, so the skyline is visible from pretty far out. Sorry but that's about all I remember from driving in...the last few times that I've been were via plane, so hey.
There are a few more that I've driven into like Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Houston, DC etc...but I'm tired for now.
Only Chicago and NYC should have those descriptions, seriously
there is nothing Bold about the Houston skyline, seriously, for all the tall buildings it really does lack in interest, too many bland boxes, and for my own personal preferances way too spread out
Sorry we can't be as dense as Philly, NYC, or Chicago...that's what makes Houston different from every other major city in America. Houston & cities in Asia take the same approach when it comes to plopping up randomly placed skyscrapers. They're built the same way.
No zoning is both a blessing & a curse.
You won't find any US city with as tall of buildings located so far outside of the CBD as you will in Houston.
Houston has the largest, densest, & tallest medical skyline in the world. Not even NYC or Chicago can touch it.
The Texas Medical Center alone rivals most mid sized cities downtowns in size.
Certain angles around town you can capture the illusion of Houston as a mini Chicago or NYC with the skyline stretching across the horizon as far as the eye can see.
fellajr on Flickr
Last edited by Metro Matt; 02-19-2011 at 02:30 PM..
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Infamous Past
Thats what you think, Atlanta has the worst skyline I seen in the country IMO. Atlanta having a pleasing skyline LMAO
Beauty in the eye of the beholder. I love Atlanta's modern and contemporary skyline. It's gorgeous.
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. Every other entrance is okay, but this is the most inspiring IMO.
. Philly has one of the best skylines IMO, but I just wish it didn't come/go as quickly as it does. Because of the extreme density, Philly's skyline is probably best appreciated on foot because it's over in a couple of minutes via automobile. Now coming into Philly from Jersey on the Walt Whitman is absolutely staggering. That is by-far and away the best view one could ever expect to get while coming into that city. 
