Which city has the most beautiful and breathtaking skyline? (title, residential)

[irwin]

As pure skyline, New York hands down. Love the view of the city from the turnpike as your are coming from the south. So impressive to see the island of buildings.

Best mix of nature and buildings, Seattle with San Francisco a close second. Love those pictures with the trees, the water and Rainer in the background.

Worst skyline for a major city - Phoenix.

I would like to throw in my old home Washington DC. It is more of a European-style skyline (no high rises) but driving into the city and seeing those monuments, makes my heart skip a beat. Miss it so much.

[jessemh431]

i am from L.A. and realize that our downtown is not much. but people must understand that Los Angeles is EXTREMELY spread out. it takes at least two and a half hours to get there from where i live on the coast. because of that, we have more than one "downtown" so to say. here are some examples:

IRVINE:


EL SEGUDNO (only 16,000 people live there)



GLENDALE:


ALL ALONG WILSHIRE BLVD.



EVEN THE SMALL CITY OF OXNARD HAS SOMETHING:


NEWPORT BEACH:


CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD:


I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW BAKERSFIELD HAD ANY TALL-ISH BUILDINGS:



SANTA MONICA:




CENTURY CITY (best besides downtown)




SURPRISINGLY...LONG BEACH:




BUT OF COURSE...BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN:

[Steve-o]

Yawn.

Cali's "skylines" are boring if you ask me. I understand the whole earthquake deal and all, but only SF has a decent skyline of all cities in CA.

[Rawlings]

I think Denver doesn't get enough credit for its beauty. I vote for Denver.

[Frank the Tank]

(1) Chicago (well-defined skyline, mix of modern and historic architecture, lakefront)
(2) New York City (too many iconic buildings to ignore)
(3) San Francisco (more because of its natural setting as opposed to the architecture itself)
(4) Seattle (see comment for San Francisco)

Other cities might have nice skylines (i.e. Pittsburgh), but those are the 4 that truly stand out in the U.S.

[lammius]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

i am from L.A. and realize that our downtown is not much. but people must understand that Los Angeles is EXTREMELY spread out. it takes at least two and a half hours to get there from where i live on the coast. because of that, we have more than one "downtown" so to say. here are some examples:

That's the unfortunate reality of our spreading metropoli. Most metro regions are polycentric. Job and activity centers are spread out in clusters all over the metropolitan regions. The result is lots of little "mini-skylines" and tons of automobile traffic going in all directions during commuting hours. The idea of a "reverse commute" is nearly becoming a thing of the past. Unfortunately it's not just unique to L.A. (Note, I say unfortunate, but some people see this as a good thing).

[ScranBarre]

After decades of decline associated with a major flood in 1972 and resulting urban sprawl, Wilkes-Barre is once again poised for a wonderful revival!

[jessemh431]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Yawn.

Cali's "skylines" are boring if you ask me. I understand the whole earthquake deal and all, but only SF has a decent skyline of all cities in CA.

i agree about the SF thing, but to me, NYC and Chicago shouldn't be in this poll because everyone knows they already have the largest skylines. it's a given that NYC is gonna win pretty much any north american poll

[dunkhouse]

New York City is obviously in a class by itself due to the sheer, overpowering size of the skyline. But as was stated earlier, when you are driving north on I-79 and come out of the Fort Pitt tunnel....the Pittsburgh skyline just stuns you.....ps-I have never been to Ankorage, but that picture was beautiful.

[Lakewooder]

This is only the southern view (does not include rising Victory and Uptown skyline - 22 cranes up now):
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/...Skyline_01.jpg