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I'm trying to think of famous landmarks from Indianapolis. Around here, the Soldiers & Sailors monument in the middle of downtown is the most well known feature of the city but if you showed it to someone who'd never been here before, I don't know that they'd be able to instantly recognize it as Indianapolis. So I think the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is probably our most famous landmark, especially the front stretch with the tall black tower and pagoda. I like to think that even non-race fans would recognize it. But it's certainly no Empire State Building, Gateway Arch, or Space Needle.
I honestly would not deem the Astrodome in Houston a North American landmark. To me a landmark is an iconic piece of infrastructure/architecture, signage or destination that is a associated with a specific geographic area. To me the Astrodome is just another nice large stadium.
And yes I agree, Phoenix has no identifiable landmark. Some people are just listing tourist destinations/attractions which are not always landmarks.
This thread turned out as expected....someone names a city without a famous landmark, and residents of said city take offense and name some "landmark" which is only famous locally, if that.
Houston, Phoenix, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Tampa, Jacksonville, Charlotte, all fit the criteria, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Truth is very few cities in North America have a truly identifiable landmark which would be recognized out of its regional area.
You will find the Astrodome listed in that article. At the time that it was built, is was an architectural breakthrough, an American cultural phenomenon, and it remains an icon of the pro-sports world. Anyone who says otherwise simply has no idea what they're talking about.
If you weren't alive in the 70s, then ask your parents about the Astrodome, children.
All right, I'll go back to the original point of the thread.
Some large cities that in my opinion don't have a landmark. I'm not going by biggest cities either, I'm just naming some cities.
Indianapolis - It doesn't really have a big one, yet the motor speedway is still a landmark.
Portland, OR
San Diego
Milwaukee
Columbus
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Tampa
Pittsburgh
Nashville
Denver
Etc.
There really are only a small number of cities that have identifiable landmarks. I am talking if you surveryed a 1,000 people, more than 90% would be able to pick the city.
Empire State Building/Statue of Libery - NYC
Gateway Arch - St. Louis
Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco
Space Needle - Seattle
White House/Jefferson Memorial - Washington, D.C.
Hollywood Sign - LA
Second Tier:
The Alamo - San Antonio
Liberty Bell - Philadelphia
Bourbon Street - New Orleans (I know it's a street, but the street scape is very recognizable)
Sears Tower (Willis Tower) - Chicago
Hoover Dam/Las Vegas Strip (same as Bourbon Street) - Las Vegas
Cinderella's Castle - Orlando
Fenway Park - Boston
South Beach Neon Lights - Miami (again, street scape)
I am willing to bet if you asked those same 1,000 people, most would have no idea where Mt. Rushmore is. Same goes for
The sad thing is, more people probably recognize the fake "MIAMI" sign from the movies than would actually recognize anything that actually exists in the city.
For Boston, what about the Paul Revere statue in Boston Common? The park itself, most people wouldn't recognize, but the statue is used for lots of TV shows, sporting events and movies as a location shot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amercity
That thing is Boston City Hall. You would think in a city filled with historic structures they would go for something with more class.
It's criminal for Boston to have a building that looks like that at all, let alone for it to be city hall. That thing looks like it belongs somewhere in the northern mountain states, maybe Alaska. Very ugly, they should be ashamed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amercity
Second, who thinks of the lighted bridges in jacksonville? Only C-D posters would but what about the average american? The average american wouldn't know jack about jacksonville. If you showed jacksonville's bridges to 100 people, maybe 2 people would know what city it belongs to. Jacksonville doesnt have any real well known landmarks at all. French quarter, Golden Gate Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument, Chicago's Sears tower, Hollywood, Liberty bell and The Alamo are REAL landmarks
Sometimes I forget I'm not a people... I have friends that live in Jacksonville, so I know more than I should about the city, but you're right, most people would have no clue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bslette
All right, I'll go back to the original point of the thread.
Some large cities that in my opinion don't have a landmark. I'm not going by biggest cities either, I'm just naming some cities.
Indianapolis - It doesn't really have a big one, yet the motor speedway is still a landmark.
Portland, OR
San Diego
Milwaukee
Columbus
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Tampa
Pittsburgh
Nashville
Denver
Etc.
Oh the city of etcetera? Lovely place, that one.
Cue BroadNippleGuy to tell us exactly why we don't care about Indianapolis.
You will find the Astrodome listed in that article. At the time that it was built, is was an architectural breakthrough, an American cultural phenomenon, and it remains an icon of the pro-sports world. Anyone who says otherwise simply has no idea what they're talking about.
If you weren't alive in the 70s, then ask your parents about the Astrodome, children.
"Reverend Billy Graham held an evangelical meeting under its steel, lamella-truss roof and called the Astrodome "the eighth wonder of the world," an epithet Houstonians continue to embrace with pride even if many subsequent stadiums have surpassed theirs in size and efficiency. "
Just because a reverend said so, doesn't mean it is.
"Reverend Billy Graham held an evangelical meeting under its steel, lamella-truss roof and called the Astrodome "the eighth wonder of the world," an epithet Houstonians continue to embrace with pride even if many subsequent stadiums have surpassed theirs in size and efficiency. "
Just because a reverend said so, doesn't mean it is.
It's not a landmark.
Likewise, just because you say it isn't doesn't make it so. Moving on...
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