# City Skylines **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914 "2006-07-02T04:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/21 "2006-07-03T04:12:04Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > Nope, [this one in the centre of the shot](http://www.americaontheroad.it/immagini/los_angeles_skyline1.jpg) > Apologies for forgetting the name. All I remember from an SDMB thread is that it has an official name, but the locals call it something else. That’s what we all call the Library Tower, which happens to be directly across 5th Street from the LA Public Library (a distinctive looking building itself). I believe it’s current official name is the US Bank Building – I don’t recall what it was prior to that. I haven’t gone to look up official stats just yet, although I may come back with them, but I _believe_ the Library Tower is the tallest office building west of the Mississippi (not to be confused with the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, which is the tallest _structure_ west of the Mississippi). I hope I’m remembering all that correctly. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/22 "2006-07-03T04:25:37Z")
Washsington, DC certainly has a recognizable skyline with the Washington monument et al, but my favorite skyline is Istanbul it couldn’t be anywhere else and it is just so cool. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/23 "2006-07-03T04:36:40Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > That’s what we all call the Library Tower, which happens to be directly across 5th Street from the LA Public Library (a distinctive looking building itself). I believe it’s current official name is the US Bank Building – I don’t recall what it was prior to that. > > I haven’t gone to look up official stats just yet, although I may come back with them, but I _believe_ the Library Tower is the tallest office building west of the Mississippi (not to be confused with the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, which is the tallest _structure_ west of the Mississippi). > > I hope I’m remembering all that correctly. From [this site](http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/325.php) : \* “Every city has a landmark that is the pinnacle of its architectural greatness and exemplifies its stature on a world scale. For Los Angeles, this is it. At 1,017 feet it is the tallest building between Chicago and Hong Kong, beating out the Chase Tower in Houston by just 15 feet, though it is two floors shorter.”\* ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/24 "2006-07-03T12:14:08Z")
Manhattan has that swayback look that easily distinguishes it as a whole regardless of any specific buildings being there or not. At least, when looking at it from across the river in Brooklyn Heights. Denver is easy to pick out. If viewed from a spot east of the city looking west, you have mountains in the background. If viewed from a few miles west looking east, the perspective is looking down towards the city, because you’re about a thousand feet higher up than downtown by the time you get to the intersection of I-70 and C-270. Dallas has that horrible lolipop looking building. It’s all lit up at night, lots of twilight photos of Dallas’ skyline with that building already lit. San Fran because of the TransAmerica. And because of the relatively small footprint. Include water or any bridge in the view, and it’s easily one of the most recognisable in the USA. Without any bridges, it’s reliant on the TA pyramid. Houston. Which skyline? Downtown? West? North? It’s a very spread out city, with groupings of tall buildings far outside the traditionall downtown area. If shot from the SW, across Loop-610, you can get the Astrodome, the Medical Center, and Downtown all in the same photo. I would wager that manny peoples, even those who’ve never beeen to Houston, could ID that pic. OKC. No, really. It’s small, sticks up tall out of the plains, and has some very distinctive looking buildings (both old and new). ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/25 "2006-07-03T15:12:58Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > I don’t think there are “recognizable skylines,” just individual recognizable buildings. Any recognizable skyline becomes unrecognizable if you remove that one building (or maybe a couple). . I was thinking about that when I was going to post about the Buffalo skyline. It’s one of the most distinctive for a smaller city, because of it’s absolutely massive [City Hall](http://www.bluemoon.net/~klkolb/images/buffalo%20city%20hall.jpg), and the location of the city’s tallest building, the HSBC Center, at the far end of the downtown core. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/26 "2006-07-03T15:25:38Z")
I take the bus into Manhattan all the time. I think the empty space at the end of the Manhattan skyline is more recognizable than it was pre-9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/27 "2006-07-03T18:47:52Z")
This may be of interest: The Skylines forum at [SkyscraperCity](http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8). ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/28 "2006-07-03T21:26:29Z")
Just FTR, here’s the typical San Francisco skyline from [Twin Peaks](http://www.flickr.com/photos/troymccluresf/53401252/) and from [Treasure Island](http://www.flickr.com/photos/troymccluresf/64220679/). ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/29 "2006-07-03T22:07:59Z")
I like my city’s [skyline](http://www.edmonton.ca/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_272_214_0_43/http%3B/CMSServer/NR/rdonlyres/AF5D92C9-19A5-467F-98A8-F20AD9C7832A/0/00447.jpeg) (Edmonton, AB) - particularly [in the evening](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Edm_panorama2.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/30 "2006-07-03T23:24:05Z")
[Houston at sunset](http://www.billpogue.com/stock_photography/texas_houston_skyline/hotel/D096753.html). [previous thread on favorite skylines](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=350681&highlight=houston) ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/31 "2006-07-04T05:10:53Z")
Of course, one of the more thought-provoking skylines is that of S.F. seen from just outside the excercise yard of Alcatraz. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/32 "2006-07-04T05:58:14Z")
I love [my Auckland’s skyline.](http://www.virtualoceania.net/newzealand/photos/cities/auckland/nz0002.shtml) Even when just coming back over from the North Shore across the harbour bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914/33 "2006-07-04T18:28:48Z")
I grew up in the Bay Area, so the San Francisco skyline is very “home” to me. But now when people ask me where I’m from, I say Chicago. And I love our skyline. The Sears Tower, okay, it’s kinda ugly. But it’s really big! Ha! And with Lake Michigan in the foreground, it’s just so pretty. _homesick_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-skylines/362914.md?page=1)