San Antonio's Downtown Skyline: Nice or Ugly? (Houston, Dallas: manufactured, rich)

[boywithstick]

I personally don't like our Downtown skyline that much.
Why can't we have one metallic skyscraper?
Why must they all be rustic?

[gy2020]

Because we are an historical city that takes pride in its past. Builders blend. Other cities are plastic, we are rich in history and it is reflected in our architecture.

[boywithstick]

While I respect our rich history, why can't we blend that with a more modern skyline?

[Chaka]

I like the SA Skyline. It's unique to SA. Doesn't look like Houston or Dallas or even Chicago (which I like). It looks like SA, and that's not a bad thing. I'm not opposed to modern buildings, I just don't think the typical skyscrapers are required.

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by boywithstick

I personally don't like our Downtown skyline that much.
Why can't we have one metallic skyscraper?
Why must they all be rustic?

I agree completely... the buildings I noticed weren't 'rustic.' They had a very 1970s or 80s beige and off white theme going. The age isn't so bad, but combined with the overly conservative architecture it doesn't exactly impress.

And there'll probably be 20 people after me that think my and the original poster's opinions are stupid and then another 20 that like it. It's all a matter of opinion.

[tgannaway89]

IMO it is one of the ugliest skylines in the world. It looks so outdated and boring. I have seen a few nightime pics that look nice though (from Inspiration Point). The city is great, amazing even, but the skyline is very dissapointing. At least most other Texas cities have nice skylines.

Older more conservative people tend to like it... younger more liberal people tend to dislike it.

[tgannaway89]

Originally Posted by Chaka

I like the SA Skyline. It's unique to SA. Doesn't look like Houston or Dallas or even Chicago (which I like). It looks like SA, and that's not a bad thing. I'm not opposed to modern buildings, I just don't think the typical skyscrapers are required.

Every skyline is unique (Houston, Chicago, etc.). It gives outsiders an impression of the city. That could be the reason a lot of people have a bad impression of San Antonio.

[dvlpr]

Originally Posted by boywithstick

While I respect our rich history, why can't we blend that with a more modern skyline?

boywithstick:

The sort of buildings you want are, in fact, quite destructive to good urbanism. They look good on a postcard, or from 15 miles away, but are terrible for the fabric of great urban places.

What you want would produce buildings that (a) fail to connect with their surrounding civic fabric, (b) are incompatible with human scales, and (c) are made from manufactured materials that don't age paticularly well (as opposed to brick, stone, etc.).

We have some of the finest architecture in Texas (most built before WWII), and that's a big part of the reason for the strength of the tourism industry in SA. Of course, the next time you feel lonesome for "metallic" buildings, we also have plenty of the nasty, "modern" steel & glass skyscrapers that you want (Riverview Towers, Weston Center, Frost Bank Building, AT&T building on Broadway/Hildebrand).

[tgannaway89]

Originally Posted by dvlpr

boywithstick:

The sort of buildings you want are, in fact, quite destructive to good urbanism. They look good on a postcard, or from 15 miles away, but are terrible for the fabric of great urban places.

What you want would produce buildings that (a) fail to connect with their surrounding civic fabric, (b) are incompatible with human scales, and (c) are made from manufactured materials that don't age paticularly well (as opposed to brick, stone, etc.).

We have some of the finest architecture in Texas (most built before WWII), and that's a big part of the reason for the strength of the tourism industry in SA. Of course, the next time you feel lonesome for "metallic" buildings, we also have plenty of the nasty, "modern" steel & glass skyscrapers that you want (Riverview Towers, Weston Center, Frost Bank Building, AT&T building on Broadway/Hildebrand).

You have no clue what you are talking about. Are you aware of the term green skyscraper? If anything the skyscrapers built today are 100 times better for the enviroment than those built 20 years ago. Not to mention that skyscrapers are much better for the enviroment than urban sprawl.

[GWhopper]

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

IMO it is one of the ugliest skylines in the world. It looks so outdated and boring. I have seen a few nightime pics that look nice though (from Inspiration Point). The city is great, amazing even, but the skyline is very dissapointing. At least most other Texas cities have nice skylines.

Older more conservative people tend to like it... younger more liberal people tend to dislike it.

At 38 and a self-professed Independant , I guess I fall in the middle of those groups. So it only seems right that I am torn on this subject. I think our skyline is alright, but I too would like to see a more modern and contemporary skyline. I travel a lot, so I get to spend a lot of time in other downtown areas, and I love the feel of being in a downtown New York, LA or even DC. But I also love history and feel that San Antonio doesn't do enough to protect some of the great old buildings that we have in downtown or other areas. There is one building being renovated (essentially torn down then built over) next to the downtown Holiday Inn and Riverwalk. I remember seeing and old Iron Cage elevator car sitting among the debris from the renovation and I wondered "what is the history of this place?" Whatever they are building the could have tried to preserve a little of the original location's history.

I think the best model for San Antonio is San Francisco. They do great job of mixing some of the most modern and sophistiaced buildings with historically preserved buildings downtown serving multiple functions. Just take a walk down Powell street all the way to Market street and you will see what I mean.