One skyline or as it is?

[curbur]

Originally Posted by Spade

I said this several months ago on here. Maybe even a year that I wish Houston downtown was on Galveston Bay. Or even put it on the mainland on West Bay just across from Galveston. Galveston would've been the Miami Beach to Houston if that happened. That's my biggest wish of Houston. Not to mention, the weather is cooler and more tolerable then where it is now by the water.

As far as skylines. I personally like the one major skyline but have no problem with multiple either. However, if Houston did build them all in that one area, it would easily be third IMO.

That does sound awesome, but I pose the question again, if we utilized our coastlines for high density urban development and a resort style beach location in Galveston, then would Houston be as large as it is today? Houston's economy has always been largely fueled by the oil and gas industry. If you take away all the refining and shipping and put it on the coastline of another gulf state, then wouldn't some coastal town there then take Houston's place in prominence? I guess my point is that I love your idea, and in terms of some sim-city like fantasy for Houston's land that would be ideal development, but I don't think the factors that made Houston what it is today would have occurred to the same degree if Houston's coasts weren't littered with refineries. If we tried to compete with other beaches across the US, Galveston would have a hard time competing due to the nature of the water, although perhaps we would have come up with some interesting solutions to resolve those issues.

Originally Posted by rbutler222

Unfortunately, Houston has to have multiple skylines, because of its inability to build any building much taller than the Chase Tower--all thanks to Hobby and it's runway landing patterns and proximity to Downtown's tall building.

But most skylines are, particularly at dusk (in October) where the lights are still on and the sun is starting to hit the horizon, then NYC's, Chicago's and Houston's downtowns do stand out. But, the only single, true skyscraper missing from DT is the William's (née) Transco Tower and adding it would not make much of a difference. And, by the time 2016 rolls around, if only half of the buildings are shelved or simply delayed, e.g., Chevron III, our skyline will look much different.

Just think what DT could and would have looked like had HMA had been built just 5 miles farther out I-45, any height building could have been built. How lucky NYC is yo have three large airports and two of them built in such away that take-off and landing patterns make no difference.

All in all, taking into account the differences in having 1, 2', or 3 skylines adds uniqueness of the city. But, over the years, before building dried up in the 1980s, it most often came in first, second or third in most polls by most magazines. Dubai may have a very big, tall skyline surrounded by acres and acres of dry, ugly sand, 120° heat and a beach bordered by most sand. In the world, I'll take Shanghai's skyline any day.

What I don't understand is that O'Hare in Chicago really isn't any further away from their downtown which has Williams tower than our downtown is to Hobby, but I suppose the landing patterns are different for each of them.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Houston isn't alone in this. New York City, Miami, Paris, even Los Angeles has this. Look at downtown Manhattan in contrast with Midtown Manhattan.

[bigboyz06]

I have another question: do any of you see any of Houston's other skylines besides Uptown/Downtown growing together or at least much closer, for example Downtown/TMC?

[curbur]

Originally Posted by bigboyz06

I have another question: do any of you see any of Houston's other skylines besides Uptown/Downtown growing together or at least much closer, for example Downtown/TMC?

I could easily see more midrise and high-rise density going north along Main in Museum Park and southeast Midtown heading towards downtown. Most of the development is going to be between Uptown and Downtown though. I wonder if one day in the not so far future if we'll really distinguish Greenway Plaza as being it's own cluster of buildings when it looks like just another one in the skyline.

[bigboyz06]

I'll definitely be interested in how these areas look within the next 5-10 years. Will be a real sight to see!