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Rochester easily for me, it's the only upstate city that even has a true, distinct, aesthetic skyline. The new bridge over the river is icing on the cake.
Tough call. Rochester has a nicer developed skyline, Syracuse has a more natural, aesthetically pleasing skyline with the higher hills in the background. The view to Syracuse from Liverpool is pretty darn nice, across the lake. Overall, I had to give Syracuse the vote.
Albany, with those giant monoliths, is just hideous. It just screams faceless gov't bureaucracy!
Tough call. Rochester has a nicer developed skyline, Syracuse has a more natural, aesthetically pleasing skyline with the higher hills in the background. The view to Syracuse from Liverpool is pretty darn nice, across the lake. Overall, I had to give Syracuse the vote.
Albany, with those giant monoliths, is just hideous. It just screams faceless gov't bureaucracy!
yea, Albany is one of the worst skylines I've ever seen with the post modernist buildings. It's a shame because there are some beautiful buildings next to those monstrosities.
I like Syracuse's more than Buffalo. But it's still not Rochester's. With the new bridge, the well defined buildings, river, high falls I just don't know how they're tied with Syracuse. But to each their own.
I like Syracuse's more than Buffalo. But it's still not Rochester's. With the new bridge, the well defined buildings, river, high falls I just don't know how they're tied with Syracuse. But to each their own.
I think it is because the Syracuse skyline bridges Onondaga Lake with the hills and the valleys to the south of the city.
I suppose it depends on your vantage point. I was thinking of the view right at the city skirt, that's where Rochester is very nice. From a distance, Buffalo & Syracuse are nicer. I've always liked the view of Buffalo from the Boston hills to the south, quite a distance & you can see the whole skyline. There are probably several places with a good view from those ridges. I see it every time heading up to a Bills game. Locally, Buffalo's skyline is usually shown from Lake Erie at night, not too bad.
Of the pics you posted. I think Buffalo is obviously the biggest/most impressive. I agree about Albany, I don't like the mix. I like the Syracuse pic the most I guess. But my opinion changes based on pic.
The Binghamton skyline reminds me of a smaller version of Syracuse; especially the hills which are pretty similiar to the topography south of Syracuse. I also think its particuarly impressive that Binghamton is the only mid to major upstate city that still has a full service department store (Boscov's) located in the downtown area. Most cities four and five times the size of Binghamton don't have this amenity.
Haha, I guess I'll be the person to bring this thread back to life. Anyway, I looked at all the posted pics, and even used Bing Maps' Bird's Eye View to compare Buffalo and Rochester once I realized those were my two favorite cities, and honestly my vote has to narrowly go to Buffalo, with Rochester a very close 2nd. IMO, whoever chose the angle for the Buffalo pic could've chosen a slightly better angle, since I was more impressed with Buffalo's skyline in its downtown(and slightly outside of it, too) using Bing. Rochester could use a few more buildings in it, but at least it isn't as incomplete and has unfulfilled potential as some downtowns are(i.e. Niagara Falls).
That said, my honorable mentions would be Syracuse(wish it was less spread out, though), Niagara Falls(too bad it doesn't have more buildings), and Binghamton(good for the smaller city size it is). I agree that White Plains' downtown doesn't do much for me(prefer downtowns that have a mix between old and new buildings, and Evanston, IL is a good example of such a downtown if anyone's familiar with that one), and neither does Albany's skyline(not bad as is, except the 4 high rise buildings on the left of that pic kill myself liking Albany's skyline a lot more). I wouldn't mind seeing a better pic of Troy than that, since that one made me wonder what the smaller(and older maybe?) buildings that you can't see well look like, upon a closer glance.
I voted for Albany's skyline, but not because I actually like it or anything, but because it does have the best vantage point - John Boyd Thacher State Park. Hands down, the best view of any upstate city. It really gives you an idea of the vastness of the Hudson Valley (and Mohawk Valley convergence).
I do agree that the Albany skyline looks very manufactured, as it is not very plentiful and was essentially all built up at the same time to give it some character.
Really, the only things the Albany skyline has going for it is the fact that the Corning Tower is the tallest skyscraper in New York State outside of New York City, and the vantage points you're given thanks to the complex topography of the region. Other than that, though, "Smallbany" probably has one of the smallest skylines out of all the choices.
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