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I agree. Downtown Phoenix looks nothing like DT Los Angeles. DT Phoenix goes completely dead after 6 or 7 in the evening and the tiny skyline is a joke. Looking at pics of Phoenix, you couldn't even tell that it has over 1 million people- looks like a massive sprawling hick town, and it has very little to offer except golf and sun. Yawn! Los Angeles is very sprawling too and it's far from perfect, but at least it has fun things to see and do- Hollywood, Universal Studios, the beaches, et al. Phoenix has none of that. No comparison to Los Angeles at all except maybe the dirty air, crime, and bad traffic. At the very least, Phoenix is a little easier to drive around in and the air is a little cleaner but that doesn't say too much in the big picture.
This might sound funny to you but I think Phoenix is very similar to some parts of Los Angeles. I agree it doesn't have the beach and Hollywood etc. and there are big differences but many parts of Phoenix do resemble the SFV, inland OC, and the IE. Both are grid cities. Granted DTLA dwarfs DTPHX but having spent time in both DTLA does remind me of DTPHX on steroids. It might sound strange to you but many people in PHX who moved there from LA say Phoenix reminds them of LA in the 50's. Both had similar growth patterns and have drawn many of the same types of people i.e. those from colder climates looking for a fresh start. I know you may disagree but in a lot of ways Phoenix is LA's little cousin. Of course by your hick town characterization I'm sure you think Phoenix is more like Dallas or OKC but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a western city that has very much in common with LA, SD, LV, and maybe a little in common with Denver. It has virtually nothing in common with Dallas, Houston, OKC, and cities in the south central part of the country.
Los Angeleles is the third tallest being the us bank and soon wilshire grand will be tied in height with the empire state, so houston will look up to wilshire grand and downtown los angeles
also los angeles is the third largest, skyscraperpage says it all
You are totally wrong on that account.
Houston is known for its powerful skyscrapers & skyline, LA isn't.
Sure you don't see the Houston skyline on TV nearly as much as you do LA because of Hollywood, but in the world of architecture, Houston has the taller skyline/s.
Wilshire Grand is proposed, not even approved yet. Houston has had much taller proposals in the past.
Houston has more 400-1,000 foot buildings than LA making it the 3rd tallest.
LA's tallest outside of downtown are twin 500 footers, Houston has at least 5-6 outside of its downtown that I can think of in the 500-900 foot range.
Houston is known for its powerful skyscrapers & skyline, LA isn't.
Sure you don't see the Houston skyline on TV nearly as much as you do LA because of Hollywood, but in the world of architecture, Houston has the taller skyline/s.
Wilshire Grand is proposed, not even approved yet. Houston has had much taller proposals in the past.
Houston has more 400-1,000 foot buildings than LA making it the 3rd tallest.
Maybe on CD, not sure in the overall public realm honestly. And while your zest of Houston is great, think using words like powerful are tad overstated (Powerful is NYC or Chicago, not Houston on the skyline regards)
Also would suspect more people could name the LA skyline realtive to Houston or most other cities FTM
On this topic honestly to me Philadelphia has some similarities to LA, very similar setup in the street layout, Comes to a modern apex of newer towers and sorrounded by dense older moderate height buildings. LA is little rougher around the edges but in some ways these two do have some similarities. For DTs FWIW to me they feel more similar than the others being thrown around. Atlanta is kind of similar but not as vibrant or dense overall.
Houston is known for its powerful skyscrapers & skyline, LA isn't.
Sure you don't see the Houston skyline on TV nearly as much as you do LA because of Hollywood, but in the world of architecture, Houston has the taller skyline/s.
Wilshire Grand is proposed, not even approved yet. Houston has had much taller proposals in the past.
Houston has more 400-1,000 foot buildings than LA making it the 3rd tallest.
You sure about that? They are closing / demolishing the current Wilshire Grand hotel in a few weeks.
Either way the skyscrapers (and especially their height) are not what makes downtown LA superior to Houston's. I could care less about a vertical office park. What is important is the activity at street level, the amount of diverse activities in all areas of the downtown and the ease of PT that is what matters in making a great downtown.
On this topic honestly to me Philadelphia has some similarities to LA, very similar setup in the street layout, Comes to a modern apex of newer towers and sorrounded by dense older moderate height buildings. LA is little rougher around the edges but in some ways these two do have some similarities. For DTs FWIW to me they feel more similar than the others being thrown around. Atlanta is kind of similar but not as vibrant or dense overall.
As someone with experience in both cities, I think your opinion is probably pretty close (I've only been downtown in Philly once). Not exactly the same but closer than the ridiculous comparisons to Phoenix .
According to the article the tallest tower will be completed in 2017 when the Regional Connector has been (hopefully) completed and the Expo line will be connected to Santa Monica. By then there is a solid chance the football stadium will have been built as well.
As someone with experience in both cities, I think your opinion is probably pretty close (I've only been downtown in Philly once). Not exactly the same but closer than the ridiculous comparisons to Phoenix .
In their setup and size they to me feel more similar. The biggest difference to me is that Philly has much more in the concentrated area (it is the core of the of the whole region) and while LA has a lot it doesnt quite have as much and especially at night seems less vibrant. It seems LA's DT gets better all the time as has Philly's DT so personally am happy to see both improving.
As someone with experience in both cities, I think your opinion is probably pretty close (I've only been downtown in Philly once). Not exactly the same but closer than the ridiculous comparisons to Phoenix .
I think you might be looking at the Phoenix comparisons wrong. Nobody is comparing the sheer size and scale of the two downtowns. That is completely absurd. LA is light years ahead and it should be due to it's size and being an older city. I think you can make the case that in some ways Phoenix is a more scaled down version. Same type of layout albeit with much less density, street traffic, activity, etc. I know LA has made great strides with Staples, LA Live and many other projects but I have been in DTLA on many occasions after dark and it had that same deserted feeling Phoenix has after dark. Like I said LA has definitely changed that perception and Phoenix is working on it to a much smaller degree. I do think DTLA pics from the '50s resemble DTPHX today.
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Los Angeles is very sprawling too and it's far from perfect, but at least it has fun things to see and do- Hollywood, Universal Studios, the beaches, et al. Phoenix has none of that. No comparison to Los Angeles at all except maybe the dirty air, crime, and bad traffic. At the very least, Phoenix is a little easier to drive around in and the air is a little cleaner but that doesn't say too much in the big picture.
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