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And ENOUGH with this Alcatraz BS, people from other countries on this very thread are laughing at its continued inclusion - it's a local deal, not an international one. Every time I see a mention, I can't help myself from chuckling.
And ENOUGH with this Alcatraz BS, people from other countries on this very thread are laughing at its continued inclusion - it's a local deal, not an international one. Every time I see a mention, I can't help myself from chuckling.
Not to slight Chicago but... what are the big internationally-known landmarks in Chicago? The Willis/Sears Tower and the Bean are the closest I can think of. Its skyline is indeed famous but it often gets confused for New York. For that matter, what are the big locally-known landmarks in Chicago?
And ENOUGH with this Alcatraz BS, people from other countries on this very thread are laughing at its continued inclusion - it's a local deal, not an international one. Every time I see a mention, I can't help myself from chuckling.
Well keep on chuckling, because yeah, Alcatraz is very well known globally, which is obvious to anyone knowledgeable about pop culture and well known landmarks.
And what would be the internationally known landmark in Chicago? I think I'm hearing crickets...
I think if you removed the Golden Gate Bridge, SF would be hard to ID, specifically if youre talking solely about the skyline. Id give the slight edge to Chicago on this one, as the skyline is unique. This was a tough one!
But we're not. There are other ways for a city to be recognizable besides skyline.
As already mentioned upthread, SF's landmarks are more famous. And the streetscape of the Loop is not that different from NYC. The El gives the Loop some identity, but I don't think the average person living in Denmark could distinguish Chicago from Philadelphia if you showed them a picture with the El running over a downtown street.
I sent a link to a post on with photos of El's from Chicago, Philly and NYC to a poster from Paris. He was able to get all but one (maybe all) right. He's probably not average though.
I think a lot of people conflate NYC's skyline with Chicago's. I assumed Chicago's was just a smaller version of NYC's with the highest several buildings a bit taller. Both have water in the forerground. San Francisco feels more distinct.
Chicago is a BASIC American city and doesn't have really anything distinctive about it other than terrible weather. Even a Martian would recognize San Francisco.... so I say SF no contest (GGBridge, Victorian urban houses compacted on rolling hills, Alcatraz, Mountain backdrop, Bay bridge, coastline, Transamerica pyramid, Cable cars)
And as a city,,,,,SF blows Chicago out of the water in almost every important category.. SF is consistently ranked #1 for Americas best city and has more of everything per capita than chiacgo from bars to restraunts and activities and better weather, scenery, beauty and lifestyle. (IT JUST COST ALOT OF MONEY TO LIVE IT)
SF is comparable to NYC because outside of manhattan it wud be hard to recognize NYC but outside of dwntwn SF its still rolling hills and Victorian houses and cable cars and mountain backdrops
Well keep on chuckling, because yeah, Alcatraz is very well known globally, which is obvious to anyone knowledgeable about pop culture and well known landmarks.
And what would be the internationally known landmark in Chicago? I think I'm hearing crickets...
There is no "outside of GG" or "if you removed the Golden Gate Bridge." Once you have to start resorting to "if you removed..." statements, then you've already lost.
My point was I dont think San Fran is more recognizable outside of the bridge. Sure people recognize the bridge, but I thought this was in regards to the whole city (San Fran vs Chicago), not just one particular landmark? If youre talking which city is more recognizable outside of one particular landmark, then Chicago wins. Half the people in this country cant name our vice president, let alone ID a photo of a cityscape that excludes one important landmark.
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