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There's really no argument. Toronto's skyline is just much more massive. You can fit multiple Seattles into Toronto's skyline.
Easily Toronto for the wow factor, but Seattle's is great itself, but just doesn't measure up to Toronto's massiveness.
I agree about the wow factor but I personally don't find Toronto has a really aesthetically pleasing skyline actually.. the more dense and massive it becomes the harder it is to appreciate the beauty of any individual building - they kind of just get 'lost' - Seattle doesn't suffer from this nearly to the extent of Toronto so I can see what people are saying about Seattle being a prettier skyline..
Did I say that? No I didn't. Not comparing cities either. This is about the skylines. Obviously Toronto is a world reknowned city but that doesn't mean that it's skyline is recognizable. Just like some people my only know Seattle for Rain and Coffee and nothing else, Toronto has other characteristics which makes it stand out being the largest city in Canada. Berlin is a World Renowned city and I doubt the average american would know what it's skyline is. That said I never said Toronto wasn't know or a great city, nor did I say anything about Seattle having to worldwide notoriety as San Francisco. Some Skylines are just more recognizable then others even if that other city is World class. In terms of Building and Height Toronto is way more impressive but I just prefer more scenic natural settings like San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, Sydney, Rio, Etc. Thats my opinion not yours, unless I cant have an opinion on this forum anymore.
The CN tower is very recognizable...even when I was little kid, I knew it was Toronto from the CN tower. You underestimate people's knowledge of Toronto around the world.
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Originally Posted by fusion2
I agree about the wow factor but I personally don't find Toronto has a really aesthetically pleasing skyline actually.. the more dense and massive it becomes the harder it is to appreciate the beauty of any individual building - they kind of just get 'lost' - Seattle doesn't suffer from this nearly to the extent of Toronto so I can see what people are saying about Seattle being a prettier skyline..
I don't care about individual buildings. That's why Midtown Manhattan is the 2nd best skyline in the world for me after Hong Kong. The massiveness alone puts it ahead of other like Chicago.
This topic has come up in the Toronto vs Chicago thread. Chicago and Toronto both have really dense cores. I argued that Toronto could be as or almost as dense as Chicago's now with the incredible number of buildings going up but one thing that is indisputable for Chicago is that its buildings skew taller than Toronto and undeniably has better architecture and is more balanced. Given these factors Toronto needs to focus on building taller buildings instead of so many 400-550 ft one's.. The newest crop U/C and Proposed are indeed skewing taller and are on the level of Chicago like Aura, One Bloor, Ice Condo's, L Tower etc which are between 650 and 900 ft. I don't think Toronto is there yet but if it keeps up the pace and Chicago doesn't pick it up than yes things don't last forever that don't change
This topic has come up in the Toronto vs Chicago thread. Chicago and Toronto both have really dense cores. I argued that Toronto could be as or almost as dense as Chicago's now with the incredible number of buildings going up but one thing that is indisputable for Chicago is that its buildings skew taller than Toronto and undeniably has better architecture and is more balanced. Given these factors Toronto needs to focus on building taller building instead of so many 400-550 ft one's..
You place a lot of emphasis on them building more 700+ feet towers. You should be glad the core is filling up regardless. Some of the best cities in the world have not so great skylines like Tokyo and Paris.
You place a lot of emphasis on them building more 700+ feet towers. You should be glad the core is filling up regardless. Some of the best cities in the world have not so great skylines like Tokyo and Paris.
Actually I say this out of necessity really - Toronto as a city can't sprawl out anymore due to Provincial legislation (some of Canada's most arable farmland surrounds the Greater Toronto Area and can't be compromised) - so really the only solution imo for those that want to live in the DT Core is for developments to get much taller. That is happening now actually - all the latest proposals are skewing taller including 3-5 supertalls.
Ok Seattle isn't going to win the density contest here or keep pace with Toronto's Highrise development but I can understand the appreciation for a 'pretty' skyline/city so i'll grant you that... but whaaaat - Toronto seemed chaotic and something always seems backlogged.. what do you mean? Certainly Toronto has one of the highest Pedestrian Density levels in N.A... is this what you mean
Yes the density of things- congestion kept things backlogged. I remember being on the bus in the middle of summer last year (very muggy and hot) and I don't recall any air-conditioning. Then it breaks down (it was one of the buses that look like the ones in SF with the cables) and everybody has to get off and wait a long time for the next one. Mix that in with the crap weather..United Nations demographics and it CAN feel chaotic! There were a string of other similar incidents during these trips.
All I remember on all 3 trips is ALOT of time WAITING (a mix of congestion...a mix of bad timing...but also an interesting veneer of complacency (I deem a Canadian characteristic actually) from the overall people that enabled these backlogs)!
I'm a city slicker myself- ever only lived in LA, SF and briefly in Seattle...but Toronto is much more of a concrete jungle than all of them
Yes the density of things- congestion kept things backlogged. I remember being on the bus in the middle of summer last year (very muggy and hot) and I don't recall any air-conditioning. Then it breaks down (it was one of the buses that look like the ones in SF with the cables) and everybody has to get off and wait a long time for the next one. Mix that in with the crap weather..United Nations demographics and it CAN feel chaotic! There were a string of other similar incidents during these trips.
All I remember on all 3 trips is ALOT of time WAITING (a mix of congestion...a mix of bad timing...but also an interesting veneer of complacency (I deem a Canadian characteristic actually) from the overall people that enable these backlogs!
I'm a city slicker myself- ever only lived in LA, SF and briefly in Seattle...but Toronto is much more dense and packed than all of them
I think you are referring to our Streetcars not busses lol..
Yes Toronto is VERY diverse and dense (by North American standards).. and is becoming more chaotic by the year.. sure but I love it! We are becoming so much more exciting than our vanilla past. This past weekend I took part in two festivals - Carribana and a Chinese Market festival in Chinatown. The city was truly buzzing.
As for your bus/streetcar woes - well I don't take public transit lol but I don't think its as bad as what you say all the time - could've been the gods getting back at you for criticising our diversity and complacency - complacency is actually good for stress btw - ie.. don't sweat the small stuff.
I know the CN tower is a great attraction, I also know that Toronto gets alot of tourist. I was not arguing against those points. I was stating the the CN tower though popular in North America, but im not sure how "Iconic" it is overseas. I never really here anyone talking much about Toronto when I travel or Meet foreigners. It's an impressive skyline no doubt, But I think it's still missing the "WOW" factor which separates it from being a one of the top 10 skylines in the world. It's still high up there and a symbol of Canada but it doesn't completely blow Seattle out of the League. Just my Opinion didn't think it would cause such a strong reaction from people.
Well neither tower is really talked about as this big "iconic"..."wow" thing or whatever all over the world like the pyramids, empire state building and so on...but if one tower is talked about or known more in the world than the other, it's definitely: cn tower > space needle....probably just because of the cn tower's size alone and it's location.
going back to the topic of the skyline, i really like seattle's skyline which it think is best in the westcoast at the moment. it's overall better than l.a.'s and sf's (imo). it's nice to see seattle building some new skyscrapers as well, and also the developments in bellevue are also good.
toronto though is building much more and taller though. toronto is just on a whole different level.
Yes the density of things- congestion kept things backlogged. I remember being on the bus in the middle of summer last year (very muggy and hot) and I don't recall any air-conditioning. Then it breaks down (it was one of the buses that look like the ones in SF with the cables) and everybody has to get off and wait a long time for the next one. Mix that in with the crap weather..United Nations demographics and it CAN feel chaotic! There were a string of other similar incidents during these trips.
All I remember on all 3 trips is ALOT of time WAITING (a mix of congestion...a mix of bad timing...but also an interesting veneer of complacency (I deem a Canadian characteristic actually) from the overall people that enabled these backlogs)!
I'm a city slicker myself- ever only lived in LA, SF and briefly in Seattle...but Toronto is much more of a concrete jungle than all of them
wrong place at the wrong time?
buses (in this case, a streetcar for you) break down all the time in various cities in the world. you can't let something like that change your perception on things.
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but I don't think its as bad as what you say all the time - could've been the gods getting back at you for criticising our diversity and complacency - complacency is actually good for stress btw - ie.. don't sweat the small stuff.