Will Philly's skyline ever catch up to Chicago or NYC? (Philadelphia: theater, restaurants)

[gwillyfromphilly]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

I don't know what forces make / made chicago so big.....

I think the main reason was a lack of height restrictions on it's buildings that helped Chicago get to where it is today. We could only imagine how the Philly skyline would look like today if the "Gentleman's Agreement" never happen.

[Cnote11]

Miami is an ugly city, in my opinion. I think Philadelphia has a rather lovely skyline with actually nice buildings that aren't just all about height, taking up space in the skyline and not providing anything aesthetically pleasing.

[Velvet Jones]

Originally Posted by UDResident

Philadelphia has quite a few more skyscrapers than Pittsburgh. I've noticed that people seem to think the skyline is much smaller than it actually is because so much of the city is 100' tall or more, along with the fact that there's few skyscrapers between 500-900 ft and the ones that are around that height aren't very visible from Camden (the most used skyline vantage point).

True. I know that the downtown itself is much bigger. It's just from the normal views Philly's skyline doesn't look very big. It's definitely gotten better in the past 30 years, but still isn't as impressive as New York or Chicago. It reminds more of downtown L.A.

[pman]

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

I think the main reason was a lack of height restrictions on it's buildings that helped Chicago get to where it is today. We could only imagine how the Philly skyline would look like today if the "Gentleman's Agreement" never happen.

the city's main problem is lack of demand for office space followed by high construction costs.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Velvet Jones

I don't think Philly's skyline even matches Pittsburgh. I doubt it will ever match Chicago or NY, unless land use rules change dramatically and restrict growth elsewhere.

Re your first comment, .

Re your 2nd comment, I agree. (And I don't think that land use rule changes will ever cause Philadelphia's skyline to catch up with even Chicago).

[rotodome]

I didn't even realize this was a race!

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by rotodome

I didn't even realize this was a race!

Kind of reminds me of the Jamaican Bobsled team

[Ant$]

Originally Posted by rotodome

Paris, Rome & Kyoto are without question three of the world's most beautiful and memorable cities. Anyone care about their skylines?

one thing that struck me while staying at my cousin's place in Paris (Montmartre area) was the lack of tall buildings...while going up the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Couer and Champs Elysees, I noticed all the corporate skyscrapers (if memory serves, Toshiba and NEC were some of the names on the buildings) were way north of the city...looking at google maps, I'm guessing Saint Denis?

[Ant$]

if anything, I'd love the city to have more digital art (like the Comcast Experience in the Comcast Center) on skyscrapers. Watching Lost In Translation 10 years ago and seeing those digital dinosaurs walking on that building in the Shibuya intersection scene just amazed me.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by Ant$

one thing that struck me while staying at my cousin's place in Paris (Montmartre area) was the lack of tall buildings...while going up the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Couer and Champs Elysees, I noticed all the corporate skyscrapers (if memory serves, Toshiba and NEC were some of the names on the buildings) were way north of the city...looking at google maps, I'm guessing Saint Denis?

That's La Défense.