St Louis Skyline (St. Louis, Charleston, California: bankrupt, construction, design)

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

I was in Orlando yesterday, mentally compared its skyline to the STL skyline.
Nothing wrong with the STL skyline. Orlando, on the other hand.......

The curse of another Orange County dominated by Disney. Both areas are just collections of Burbs.

Originally Posted by moorlander

How can a skyline look cheesy? And what do you mean by "most of the "grandeur" is Clayton"???

If you're comparing StL to NY, Chicago, Miami, Philly, or San Fran than yes our skyline doesn't compare.

St. Louis has similarly sized skylines to similarly sized Cities. For example our skyline is much bigger and prettier than Phoenix, Milwaukee, Baltimore, OKC, Indy, Nashville, Tampa, Charlotte, DC and on par or better than Cincy, Pittsburg, and KC, Denver, and San Diego. Similarly sized cities that have more impressive skylines are probably Minneapolis and Seattle.

We have two central business districts so unfortunately our skyline isn't as big as a result. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

Clayton has a better skyline than StL.

Baltimore's skyline is proportional and filed, like most of the other cities that you have mentioned.

Pittsburgh is much smaller than StL and has one of the more kick_arse skylines in the country.

[moorlander]

I guess we have different definitions of better and that's fine. I'm flattered you like the Clayton skyline as I have a beautiful view of the skyline from my top floor condo but it's no comparison to downtown StL. However, Clayton compares nicely the few "suburban skylines" in america:
Bellvue, WA
Buckhead, (technically Atlanta, GA)
Evanston, IL

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Clayton has a better skyline than StL.

You're kidding right?

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Both areas are just collections of Burbs.

Orlando has some lovely old inner ring neighborhoods, I'm sure you have never seen them.
And I know your opinion of STL and its neighborhoods, but we all know what opinions can be compared to, cant we?

[1greatcity]

Let's not forget that the St Louis skyline contains a great mixture of architectural styles, everything from the classic Wainwright Building to the modern Roberts Tower (and plenty more in-between).
And the arch, being the centerpiece of our skyline, is the icing on the cake. Remember, many cities don't even have a centerpiece to their skyline, so theirs is basically indistinguishable from those of other cities.
As another poster already said, St Louis has one of the most recognizable skylines, and that means something.
As far as a bunch of new skycrapers in STL, sure I'd like to see it. But in reality, it's unlikely to happen. The demand just isn't there. Two other more realistic goals are: 1) continue giving new life to empty buildings in DT and DT West, and 2) create more urban density by erecting low-rise and mid-rise buildings on empty lots, as the market need dictates.
My theory is, if you increase downtown's density to the point where there's a scarcity of available land, there's nowhere to go but up. Then you might have a need for new highrises.

[imperialmog]

Originally Posted by 1greatcity

Let's not forget that the St Louis skyline contains a great mixture of architectural styles, everything from the classic Wainwright Building to the modern Roberts Tower (and plenty more in-between).
And the arch, being the centerpiece of our skyline, is the icing on the cake. Remember, many cities don't even have a centerpiece to their skyline, so theirs is basically indistinguishable from those of other cities.
As another poster already said, St Louis has one of the most recognizable skylines, and that means something.
As far as a bunch of new skycrapers in STL, sure I'd like to see it. But in reality, it's unlikely to happen. The demand just isn't there. Two other more realistic goals are: 1) continue giving new life to empty buildings in DT and DT West, and 2) create more urban density by erecting low-rise and mid-rise buildings on empty lots, as the market need dictates.
My theory is, if you increase downtown's density to the point where there's a scarcity of available land, there's nowhere to go but up. Then you might have a need for new highrises.

Isn't it starting to get to the point that new buildings downtown are going to have to happen soon? I remember seeing some numbers where almost all of the larger buildings are either already or in the process of redeveloping. I am guessing that new development later in the decade will be at a faster pace than in the last several decades as new buildings have to be built due to not many more rehabs can be done.

Also how will city development go in the future after the redevelopment of empty buildings phase is wrapped up? I am guessing new buildings start to go up either in the current downtown or next to it. Or is one possibility is to start connecting the central corridor area with midrise buildings.

Actually I am thinking development might end up similar to what the trend in Atlanta will be since it also has a corridor of high rise areas though the legnth is shorter distance-wise. There the development is starting to grow towards each other which might be what happens in St. Louis over time.

[goat314]

I read somewhere that we are about 5-10 years away from rehabbing all of the remaining vacant buildings downtown/downtown west/midtown. If not for the recession I would say we were even closer. Like 1greatcity said, I'd imagine we will see consistent new high rises going up after all the rehabs are done. If downtown keeps its momentum I expect to see plenty of cranes in the sky by 2020.

[moorlander]

This info is a little dated (Aug 2009) but gives you a good rundown of the downtown StL development from 1999 to the start of 2010.

from the downtown st. louis partnership

Action Plan in 1999... Total downtown investment from 1999-2010
• Total Investment $4.4 billion: (spent or under construction) and $800+ million in development for 2009 and 2010.
• Recent development highlights: Lumière Place Casino & Hotels with a Four Seasons Hotel, Gateway Transportation Center, Federal Reserve Bank Expansion, Citygarden, Old Post Office Plaza.
• Residential Rebirth: $1.4 billion (spent or committed) and 64 new residential properties (4,400 units opened).
• Hotel Development: $750 million for new construction and renovation with a 50% growth (2,500 rooms) plus nine new hotels including Four Seasons, Westin, Renaissance, Sheraton, and Hilton.
• Retail Revival: 130+ new shops, restaurants and services (400,000 square feet) open since 2003.
• Office Expansion & Renovation: $500 million in new office construction and renovation with large contiguous spaces available. New construction Class A office tower(s) planned for Ballpark Village.
• New Streetscapes, Plazas, & Parks: Over $60 million in investment including the Washington Avenue Streetscape, Old Post Office Plaza, and Citygarden (Gateway Mall)


http://www.downtownstl.org/docs/St.%...0-%20Aug09.pdf (broken link)

[DinsdalePirahna]

why are high rises some important. Its like so many smaller market cities have an edifice complex. Saint Louis has the arch and building tall buildings will only detract the significance of the arch.

The Saint Louis Skyline is disjointed with way to many "holes" between buildings. St. Louis should look at how other small river cities build there water fronts. Charleston West Virginia is a beautiful city when you approach it from any direction, with the state capitol dominating many views.

[rxpwas]

The skyline of another city that looks closest to St. Louis is Cincinnati. In fact, Cincinnati looks a lot like St. Louis minus the arch.