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Well, the skylines of southern cities are not usually that differentiating. Miami may be an exception.
If a city's skyline can be easily mistaken for that of other cities, then it is not particularly unique.
no skyline is really anything but a bunch of buildings, honestly speaking theirs nothing that great or different about one block of concrete with or without a crown than any other big block of concrete with or without a spire and crown. The only reason in some people's minds that one is differentiating is because you've seen it on T.V so much, or because of once being the tallest building in the world or something like that. Back in the glory days when america had the longest bridges "golden gate" and tallest buildings, chrysler, empire state, WTC, then sears tower
So IMO if you look at my list there are 2 in the NE, 3 in the midwest, 3 in the westcoast, and 3 in the south, so really this question should actually say why are most cities' skylines unrecognizable its not just a south issue.
i agree pretty much w/ the fellows who are pretty realistic about people and the world in general. most of us live our lives pretty much in a bubble. our employment, skill set, hobbies, children, organizations, etc., are the things that we notice, recognize, and remember. we're basically egocentric in nature. what is relevant to us is important to us. i truly believe that the average american could recognize new york city even if it were blacked out on the map and showed the statue of liberty, empire state building, twin towers, and maybe one or two other major buildings. maybe the chrysler bluilding, maybe, or perhaps grand central station or maybe st. patrick's cathedral, but probably not.
san fransico would be recognized by most for the golden gate bridge...that's it, by most.
chicago might be recognized by showing the sears tower or the hancock bldg; however, a good many would probably recognize the building, several would remember their names, but a majority would likely fail to get the right name on the right building. i don't think many people outside of the west and the state of california would recognize and name the transamerica pyramid building, any more than they would recognize the pyramid in memphis or the excelsior hotel in las vegas. the same is true of
alcatraz. the older people and law enforcement, western/pacific, southwesterners, and soforth would probably recognize it. the big loss would be the uneducated and the young to mid-30's. most crooks and politicians (synonym? lol) would know the building.
as for miami, if the city is presented w/out the suburbs and other cities in the vicinity, it becomes so generic that it would likely be misidentified. the exception to this, depending on the photo presented, miami beach and the bay, if shown, might identify the city. as for distinct buildings, i just don't think it rises above a generic view of several Caribbean cities.
as for: houston, dallas, austin nashville, atlanta, charlotte, memphis, charleston, savannah, louisville, lexington, okc, tulsa, minniapolis, st. paul, portland, pittsburgh, boston, cleveland, columbus, dayton, cincinatti, denver, phoenix, Albuquerque, san antonio, san diego, sacramento, Milwaukee, and indianapolis, etc., were these cities presented as their city propers, blacked out city profiles, it is my belief that a majority of people would not recognize many of these cities.
i have been told that i am pretty intelligent, and i have always been a lover of geography; however, i don't think i would get a majority of these cities, w/out some second or third guesses, if at all. recognition is based on many things. a city, such as memphis, sits on the mississippi, the pyramid coliseum sits on the water front, and most people from the south recognize the I-40 hernando-desoto bridge. however, it is doubtful that memphis, if viewed by others outside the metro, would be recognized w/out its landmarks. its skyline really has never defined memphis, other than when the pyramid was added to the north riverfront. the peabody hotel, and the mlk memorial, mud island and harbortown, graceland, the heartbreak hotel, the zoo, the mississippi river, beal street, st. jude research center and hospital, and several others give memphis its identity. consequently, i would have to say that looking at memphis skyline profile would not identify memphis to the average joe. having a felt-backed board and placing one or two of the buildings or locations on the board, i believe, would tell most about what city one was identifying.
show me m.d. anderson hospital and i can tell you its in houston. show me the profile of downtown houston, midtown, uptown, and various districts, and i would probably not get the answer right. dallas i would get because of the green neon outlined building. it don't like it at all, but i know dallas in the dark. daytime would probably be a hit or miss. pretty sure i could identify it by the interstate cloverleafs and flyovers. austin i might recognize if i saw the capitol building. if not that, i would remember the multi-stacked reddish building downtown near the river. it is not pretty, imo, but it helps me to recall the city skyline. nashville is my state's capital city. i would guess about atlanta, if i didn't get to see its state capitol building. otherwise, just another city w/ some buildings. charlotte is forgettable because it really has no history. charleston and savannah, if presented w/ the cityscape, i would know. louisville, if i saw the bridge or the twin towers w/ the red roofs i would know it was louisville. lexington, tulsa, and okc would be a no.
minniapolis, no; st. paul, no; portland, no; pittsburgh, no; boston, i would not know it necessarily by looking at the city proper; however, if shown back bay, major landmarks, trinity church, downtown, etc., it would be easy. cleveland, maybe, because of the arrangement of its skyscrapers and the mixture of older-newer buildings, and i would recognize the rockers hall of fame. i have never visited this city, but i would enjoy seeing it. love the winters they have from the lake effect. columbus, dayton, no; cincinnati, yes, love this city, would know the cin conservatory of music, and most of downtown. have family who live there. denver, i would recognize the geography, but no particular part of the skyline sticks in my mind. i'm not a denver lover, anyway; phoenix, would know geography, a driving two fortnights to a grocery store, but nothing stands out but the heat; relatives who live there had to move to scottsdale and beyond because of water situation. albuqu- never spent any time, would not recognize its skyline; san antonio, would not recognize unless i saw the canal, but couldn't recognize skyline, san diego, would recognize the skyline, balboa park, nice place to visit, the rest i wouldn't recognize. sac, okay, would recognize by official buildings, but that is about it, milw, lived there several years ago. didn't care for it, indianap; lived there about 2 years, yawn, ugly place, would recognize downtown, but i have not been since they've done a good deal of urban renewal and downtown work.
chicago, born there, would know the downtown, the lakeshore area, ravenswood area, balmoral years ago, and then parents moved to north side of chicago outside of city. it was okay. grandparents continue to live there. again, this is one of the few cities that can be identified by skyline or a series of landmarks. my point in all of this is our view of the world can be very small and limited. i don't know that such a way of thinking is a bad thing. however, even those who live in these large cities, and they assume that because their name is recognized everyone on earth knows what goes on in the center of their universe. of course, i don't believe this. i would say nyc chicago and nola are really recognizable by most who are not brain dead. i also believe there are many cities in the south that have much more going on than some in the north or the west. i know that in memphis, most people don't really care how many are riding the light rail or mata. i know they like good food, good liquor, good manners, good tea w/ lemon and ice, antiques, golf or fishing, hunting, tennis, and other activities. if you don't know about cities of the south, you probably need to get out a little more.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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^Maybe you're not as smart as you think you are....or at least, not as "city saavy" as you think you are. That being said, the AVERAGE JOE represents most of what you said, but YOU should know better!
as for: houston, dallas, austinnashville, atlanta, charlotte, memphis, charleston, savannah, louisville, lexington, okc, tulsa, minniapolis, st. paul, portland, pittsburgh, boston, cleveland, columbus, dayton, cincinatti, denver, phoenix, Albuquerque, san antonio, san diego, sacramento, Milwaukee, and indianapolis, etc., were these cities presented as their city propers, blacked out city profiles, it is my belief that a majority of people would not recognize many of these cities.
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All those cities I put in bold are VERY recognizable, and all (with the exclusion of maybe 2 or 3 of the bolded) have been seen on moves or tv shows a few times. Look:
Houston
Dallas
Austin
Atlanta
Memphis
Boston
Pittsburgh
Phoenix
San Antonio
Denver
Minneapolis
and San Diego
^^^ ALL these cities have been featured in either movies and/or tv shows. Hell, Atlanta had the Summer Olympics, even. They all have at least ONE landmark that's been featured in those movies/tv shows where people say "yep, that's _____ ". Also, those cities all have at least ONE sports team from The Big Four. If you've seen an NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB game, I'm very sure that there was at least one flyover, viewing the skyline of what ever team was playing.
All those cities I put in bold are VERY recognizable, and all (with the exclusion of maybe 2 or 3 of the bolded) have been seen on moves or tv shows a few times. Look:
Houston
Dallas
Austin
Atlanta
Memphis
Boston
Pittsburgh
San Antonio
Denver
Minneapolis
and San Diego
^^^ ALL these cities have been featured in either movies and/or tv shows. Hell, Atlanta had the Summer Olympics, even. They all have at least ONE landmark that's been featured in those movies/tv shows where people say "yep, that's _____ ". Also, those cities all have at least ONE sports team from The Big Four. If you've seen an NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB game, I'm very sure that there was at least one flyover, viewing the skyline of what ever team was playing.
People who are not city-savy, many of my friends, could not name one of those skylines.
All those cities I put in bold are VERY recognizable, and all (with the exclusion of maybe 2 or 3 of the bolded) have been seen on moves or tv shows a few times. Look:
Houston
Dallas
Austin
Atlanta
Memphis
Boston
Pittsburgh
San Antonio
Denver
Minneapolis
and San Diego
^^^ ALL these cities have been featured in either movies and/or tv shows. Hell, Atlanta had the Summer Olympics, even. They all have at least ONE landmark that's been featured in those movies/tv shows where people say "yep, that's _____ ". Also, those cities all have at least ONE sports team from The Big Four. If you've seen an NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB game, I'm very sure that there was at least one flyover, viewing the skyline of what ever team was playing.
Honestly you give the average American more credit than they deserve. I could show philadelphians certain angle sof their own skyline and many would get it wrong. You along with mnay of us on here like cities/buildings/skylines we are the outliers and not the norm. And to many HoustonDT anf th Dallas DT are completely indistinguahable, as are many other cities; it isnt a slight just is what it is. Mnay who have a clue of the Dallas skyline could think SA is dallas with the a ball tower
Honestly you give the average American more credit than they deserve. I could show philadelphians certain angle sof their own skyline and many would get it wrong. You along with mnay of us on here like cities/buildings/skylines we are the outliers and not the norm. And to many HoustonDT anf th Dallas DT are completely indistinguahable, as are many other cities; it isnt a slight just is what it is. Mnay who have a clue of the Dallas skyline could think SA is dallas with the a ball tower
I know people who couldn't distinguish Houston from LA. Or Seattle and Detroit.
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