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The last match-up I could find between just Minneapolis and Pittsburgh for skylines was a closed thread from 2012. Since that time there have been a few threads comparing the cities in terms of things like quality-of-life or prominence, but I could not find any direct comparison between these two cities exclusively for skyline alone.
In 2012 that poll ended with Pittsburgh at ~60% and Minneapolis at ~40%. I live in Pittsburgh and think our skyline punches above its weight for a city of our stature. With that being said although I have never been to Minneapolis I have done a lot of Google Street View cyber-tours and Google Image searches and have digested dozens of images of various angles of its skyline and also find it to be very impressive---so impressive as a matter of fact that it is one of the things driving me to want to vacation there (obviously not in winter!)
I read the very lengthy "rules" thread regarding skyline competition posts, and, as such, I have elected to not "hot link" Google Image search photos of the skylines of both cities. If anyone would like to reply with images of either city and can ascertain that they are allowed to post the photos on this forum please feel more than welcome to do so!
As a Pittsburgh "homer" I am going to abstain from voting in this thread. Please vote based upon an "overall" critique of the skylines based upon aesthetics; natural setting; height/density; variety of architectural styles; balance; etc. In the case of Minneapolis DO NOT include the St. Paul skyline as an "extension" of the Minneapolis skyline. In the case of Pittsburgh DO NOT include the Oakland skyline as an "extension" of the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline.
Downtown Pittsburgh has one of the best skylines in general, in the US, I think.
The geographical layout of downtown lends itself to density and height, and I would love to see 2-3 more skyscrapers in the range of 500-700 feet, and that would just make it that much more impressive.
I do love the architecture of the 2-3 tallest skyscrapers in Pittsburgh.
As for Minneapolis, it has great density and some good height, but a bit less unique than Pittsburgh.
In the case of Minneapolis DO NOT include the St. Paul skyline as an "extension" of the Minneapolis skyline. In the case of Pittsburgh DO NOT include the Oakland skyline as an "extension" of the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline.
Thanks! I look forward to reading your responses!
For what it's worth, St. Paul isn't some neighborhood of Minneapolis. St. Paul has it's own distinct skyline 9 miles from downtown Minneapolis. Comparing the two doesn't make sense, as there is no such "extension" that exists. Just thought I'd shed light on that.
This is a tough one. Both have great towering skylines. It’s splitting hairs, but the only reason I chose Pittsburgh is because I love three rivers backdrop in its skyline. But both of these skylines are awesome.
I've always thought Pittsburgh has the best skyline in America. The hills, the yellow bridges, and the mix of modern and art decor skyscrapers along with the one that kinda looks like a castle densely packed together between two rivers.
Minneapolis has added some sizeable buildings the past few years to fill in spaces and in one case, expand the width of the skyline.. But as a MPLS homer, I'm quite torn. I agree with others, such a tough toss-up. Both are amazing. My best buddy went to Medical School @ Pitt and would send photos often. Kicking myself for never going to visit him (cash was tight).
I’ve only seen photos of Minneapolis’ skyline, and it is big and impressive. However, Pittsburgh’s setting in the valley where the Ohio river forks into the Monongahela and Allegheny is like a jewel perched on a perfectly crafted setting. While Minneapolis probably has the bigger, more impressive skyline, Pittsburgh’s presentation makes it more memorable to me.
Kind of like San Francisco. But different.
I’m not going to vote because I haven’t seen the Minneapolis skyline in person, from many angles. I will say that Pittsburgh’s skyline has always impressed me, even though it’s not particularly large in scope or with exceptionally tall towers.
Pittsburgh is in the same class as Mpls in the skyline department imo but the Capela tower, Wells Fargo, and the Campbell Mithun Tower are some of my favorite towers. Modern but still unique. I vote Mpls but I'm a bit bias.
For what it's worth, St. Paul isn't some neighborhood of Minneapolis. St. Paul has it's own distinct skyline 9 miles from downtown Minneapolis. Comparing the two doesn't make sense, as there is no such "extension" that exists. Just thought I'd shed light on that.
Thank you. Yes, I am well aware that St. Paul is a separate wonderful city in its own right. In fact, despite having a much smaller skyline than Pittsburgh it has a comparable population to Pittsburgh. I just see sometimes on here when one city starts to lose some people start to get "creative" in expanding definitions. I am just looking for comparisons and contrasts between Downtown Minneapolis and Downtown Pittsburgh.
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