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Those are thin arguments. Most people don't associate L.A. with a skyline, to be sure, but that doesn't mean it isn't recognizable. Pictures of downtown are used as establishing shots in many of the movies shot in L.A. The Bank Tower is notorious for getting destroyed in many films and television shows.
Also it's true that Chicago is frequently ranked high on best skyline lists but that doesn't translate into being so recognizable. Seattle and Hong Kong are also ranked as two of the best, but few people outside of China and the U.S. respectively could identify those skylines.
I do agree that many people have heard of the Sears Tower only because it was at one point the tallest skyscraper in the world, but few I think could actually recognize it.
I would assert that the skyscraper being consistently recognized as being among the world's best would translate into it being recognizable. A LOT of Chicago tourism is based directly off of it's skyline and buildings like the Sears tower. It's one of the must-sees of any typical Chi trip.
Anyways, I think iL.A's is only recognizable in the context of its terrain, not the building themselves.
the same argument could be made for Chicago, but IMO, much less so. Among Americans, at least, I'd reckon that Chicago's most inconic skyscraper would trump L.A's in visual recognition.
I would assert that the skyscraper being consistently recognized as being among the world's best would translate into it being recognizable. A LOT of Chicago tourism is based directly off of it's skyline and buildings like the Sears tower. It's one of the must-sees of any typical Chi trip.
Anyways, I think iL.A's is only recognizable in the context of its terrain, not the building themselves.
the same argument could be made for Chicago, but IMO, much less so. Among Americans, at least, I'd reckon that Chicago's most inconic skyscraper would trump L.A's in visual recognition.
I would LOVE to test this, but I don't know how you could.
Everything I hear on here and similar forums seems to bemoan LA's skyline, saying it's poor for the city's size. I happen to like LA's skyline. The Library Tower is a true modern gem.
No way is it more recognizable than Chicago's however. Chicago is the home of the skyscraper.
I think people are giving wayyyyy too much credit to how much foreigners recognize about American cities that probably don't even come up in conversation but maybe once every few years if ever.
Think of how much we talk about the cities of the world except maybe the 1% that are London/Tokyo/Paris, etc. That's a tiny fraction.
I've always wondered about this in Europe, because I love the continent. I've been there dozens of times, and drunk at bars I've gotten in tons of conversations with the locals. I tell them I'm from Chicago and they go "ohh, bang bang! Michael Jordan! That one tall building!".
People would know from seeing a picture:
New York from movies, statue of liberty, empire state, etc.
Las Vegas because of the strip
Washington DC because of the monuments and capital
San Francisco because of the Golden Gate Bridge
People recognize LANDMARKS, not buildings. Chicago might get noticed because of the lake, the sheer amount of buildings, and the Sears/Hancock with their spires. That's a stretch though. It would probably only be mentioned because its known for skyscrapers and they're basically just guessing.
LA would be guessed because of the Hollywood sign - but other than that? No way. Houston? Dallas? Atlanta? Not a chance in hell. It's not a slam on those cities at all, but when I ask in Europe most people actually hadn't heard of those cities, or know nothing about them. They might recognize Atlanta because of the olympics, but would never pick it out or be able to tell you what region of the USA it's located.
Think how much we know all the smaller cities of Europe, the cities of South America, India, Japan, China, etc. etc.
How many Americans could pick out Melbourne or Toronto and not have just as much a chance thinking it's Dallas or Chicago.
People know cities from Landmarks, not buildings. Why do you know Paris? Eiffel Tower. London? St. Pauls. Rome? Ancient architecture, colossium. Tokyo? People don't know. The 100 cities in China over 1,000,000 people? Probably could pick out Shanghi if you were smart on the subject. Seoul? Mumbai? Beijing? Johannesburg? Buenos Aires? Those are some of the biggest cities in the world, capitals of huge countries. In the grand scheme of things as much as we love our cities, there's just too much for people of the world to NEED to know than to bother learning or studying our cities save for a small handfull.
When asked to list off US cities, I mostly heard: New York - Washington DC - San Francisco - Chicago - Miami - New Orleans (from Katrina)
I think people are giving wayyyyy too much credit to how much foreigners recognize about American cities that probably don't even come up in conversation but maybe once every few years if ever.
I agree but I also think people are giving too much credit too how much AMERICANS would even be able to recognize skylines here. I seriously doubt the average person, NOT average C-D user, could recognize 5 skylines if that. From my experiance, no one really ever talks about skylines or even gives a crap let alone would know how to identify which city it belongs too.
I think people are giving wayyyyy too much credit to how much foreigners recognize about American cities that probably don't even come up in conversation but maybe once every few years if ever.
Think of how much we talk about the cities of the world except maybe the 1% that are London/Tokyo/Paris, etc. That's a tiny fraction.
I've always wondered about this in Europe, because I love the continent. I've been there dozens of times, and drunk at bars I've gotten in tons of conversations with the locals. I tell them I'm from Chicago and they go "ohh, bang bang! Michael Jordan! That one tall building!".
People would know from seeing a picture:
New York from movies, statue of liberty, empire state, etc.
Las Vegas because of the strip
Washington DC because of the monuments and capital
San Francisco because of the Golden Gate Bridge
People recognize LANDMARKS, not buildings. Chicago might get noticed because of the lake, the sheer amount of buildings, and the Sears/Hancock with their spires. That's a stretch though. It would probably only be mentioned because its known for skyscrapers and they're basically just guessing.
LA would be guessed because of the Hollywood sign - but other than that? No way. Houston? Dallas? Atlanta? Not a chance in hell. It's not a slam on those cities at all, but when I ask in Europe most people actually hadn't heard of those cities, or know nothing about them. They might recognize Atlanta because of the olympics, but would never pick it out or be able to tell you what region of the USA it's located.
Think how much we know all the smaller cities of Europe, the cities of South America, India, Japan, China, etc. etc.
How many Americans could pick out Melbourne or Toronto and not have just as much a chance thinking it's Dallas or Chicago.
People know cities from Landmarks, not buildings. Why do you know Paris? Eiffel Tower. London? St. Pauls. Rome? Ancient architecture, colossium. Tokyo? People don't know. The 100 cities in China over 1,000,000 people? Probably could pick out Shanghi if you were smart on the subject. Seoul? Mumbai? Beijing? Johannesburg? Buenos Aires? Those are some of the biggest cities in the world, capitals of huge countries. In the grand scheme of things as much as we love our cities, there's just too much for people of the world to NEED to know than to bother learning or studying our cities save for a small handfull.
When asked to list off US cities, I mostly heard: New York - Washington DC - San Francisco - Chicago - Miami - New Orleans (from Katrina)
I agree but I also think people are giving too much credit too how much AMERICANS would even be able to recognize skylines here. I seriously doubt the average person, NOT average C-D user, could recognize 5 skylines if that. From my experiance, no one really ever talks about skylines or even gives a crap let alone would know how to identify which city it belongs too.
This is the correct argument.
Outside of 5 or 6 skylines max, people are deluding themselves if they think an average person would recognize thier cities automatically if at all. Outside of the US, no one talks about the Space Needle, Sears Tower, or the Gateway Arch, and possibly don't know what they even look like. As Americans, probably, but as a tourist living outside the US, no way.
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