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I'm not raggin on LA, but when posed with a question such as this, the obvious answer is the CHI. Excluding nyc and hong kong, not many other cities out there posess both the quality, architectual prominence, vibrancy, or notoriety that the chicago skyline is. I went on a roadtrip earlier this year and saw downtown LA, wilshire boulevard, century city, west hollywood. Even got lost in beverly hills, drove down pacific ave in venice/santa monica, and patronized the compton flea market when my phone car charger quit - hey it was cheap $6.50. Even if all of Los Angeles seperate skylines were placed together, they would still be able to fit inside downtown Chicago. (check googlemaps earth sat view and compare) I do love the mountains and seeing that ever so cool hollywood sign, but the smog truly is a problem out there, sad since i think LA is really a sight to behold when viewed in its totality of sprawl from a mountain or somewhere like griffith point especially at night. lol and those palm trees everywhere, and everything is tagged on even on the trees!
However, throw in Millenium/Grant/Lincoln Parks, Lake Michigan and the abundantly close lakefront beach access, the el servicing the Loop and greater dt chi area, Adler planeterium, the Field Museum, the lions in front of the Art Institute, free Lincoln Park Zoo, and the wonderful ecclectic variety of ethnic foods close to downtown like Chinatown, Pilsen, Greektown, tribune tower's truly gothic arches, the gargoyles on top of the washington library, river north nightlife, rush/division hotspots to drink/dine see and be seen, classic buildings like the Wrigley building or the Drake hotel, the riverwalk/chicago river bridges and wacker dr skyscraper canyon, or our financial center with the Lasalle st. canyon, soldier field, sears skydeck/hancock signature room not to mention all this AND much much more is within a mile (at most 2) of downtown. The last thing that seals the deal is the cleanliness of downtown chicago, as mentioned by my friends who have visited me from both europe and asia.
I could only imagine what LA would look like if it wasn't earthquake prone, and had the same time to build as we did...
compare dtLA - i was trying to find a dense shot....
to downtown CHI looking south from the near north, so dense no streets are visible lol...
the above should also answer the question of chicago being urban or not.
How dare you compare LA's skyline to the GREATEST skyline on earth!
I basically agree with all of your post. One thing that people don't seem aware of is that up until the late 1950's Los Angeles had an ordinance that required all buildings to be shorter than 150 ft. The idea at the time was to take advantage of the abundant sunshine and to pretty much NOT look like Manhattan or Chicago at the street level which, at the time were extremely dense and overcrowded. This is kinda what made LA look like it does today: a crowded, urban (yes urban) city but without thousands of towering skyscrapers. Obviously times have changed and from the street level DTLA is quite dense and quite crowded even in areas without tall buildings. But as for it's skyline, LA has been playing catchup for years. One could only imagine what LA would look like today if it were to build up with total impunity like NYC or Chicago had....But I think it isn't totally a bad thing, LA as a result is totally unique compared to NYC or Chicago (which, like it or not draw countless comparisons). Oh well.
Exactly. LA has a nice skyline (although it could be bigger given the size of the city), but it's just not on Chicago's level. LA's tier would be cities like Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Seattle, etc. Now those are debatable.
Agreed. Chicago has my favorite skyline in the US and probably the world, for the same reason as yours. As awe inspiring and massive as NYCs is, it is a little too cluttered for me. I find Chicago's to be more elegant if that makes sense.
Also agree LA's skyline is excellent and in my top 5. East to west is definitely the best view as the mid rise Historic Core provides a little foreground and infill to the skyline.
I agree. Chicago's is perfectly balanced and laid out.
NYC is just a mass. Too many copout buildings with spires to inflate the height, and not too many peaks.
In ten years la will have a larger skyline. In 20 years Chicago will be small in comparison to la.
LOL... doubt it. You think there will be more than 1,300 skyscrapers/highrises built in Los Angeles in 20 years?
At the rate LA is building currently you'll be lucky if you see 50 highrises/skyscrapers built in the next 20 years. Meanwhile Chicago currently has 10+ under construction this year alone.
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looking south from the near north, so dense no streets are visible lol...
