# Has a large US city ever just disappeared? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787 "2009-11-24T16:36:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/81 "2009-12-02T18:55:48Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > W/r/t the San Jose hijack, how big is the downtown in SJ? I live in Palm Bay which is adjacent to the similarly sized Melbourne, FL, and I always think of it as a suburb of Melbourne because Melbourne was there first, and more importantly, has a real downtown (albeit not any bigger than that of many large villages/small cities in upstate NY.) > > So if the part of SJ that is considered ‘downtown’ is a lot smaller than Sf’s downtown, then that might be a reason it is considered part of SF. San Jose doesn’t have much of a skyline. The airport was built such that the flight-path for planes takes it directly over downtown, which puts strict height restrictions on buildings. So it has numerous squat and mostly unremarkable 20 story-or-so buildings. So it’ll never have an iconic Google/Adobescraper to make it recognizable like San Francisco’s. To be fair, Oakland’s downtown isn’t all that remarkable either and I don’t think the airport’s to blame for that. 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 2, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/82 "2009-12-02T19:12:17Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Really? So what happens to the 40,000 or so cars that cross it every day? They go to the viewpoint and immediately turn around. Or, they go to Santa Rosa- the first sign of civilization. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/83 "2009-12-02T20:40:02Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > They go to the viewpoint and immediately turn around. Or, they go to Santa Rosa- the first sign of civilization. 😉 STFU! ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/84 "2009-12-02T20:58:42Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > STFU! Hehehe. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/85 "2009-12-02T21:03:27Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > San Jose doesn’t have much of a skyline. The airport was built such that the flight-path for planes takes it directly over downtown, which puts strict height restrictions on buildings. So it has numerous squat and mostly unremarkable 20 story-or-so buildings. So it’ll never have an iconic Google/Adobescraper to make it recognizable like San Francisco’s. Huh? Adobe’s main headquarters is actually in downtown San Jose, and is higher than [20 stories](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adobe_HQ.jpg). Google is in Mountain View, 40 miles from SF, and since it’s corporate zoned in Mountain View, no building can be larger than three stories tall, which they [aren’t](http://techfreep.com/images/googleplex.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/86 "2009-12-02T21:29:22Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Huh? Adobe’s main headquarters is actually in downtown San Jose, and is higher than [20 stories](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adobe_HQ.jpg). Google is in Mountain View, 40 miles from SF, and since it’s corporate zoned in Mountain View, no building can be larger than three stories tall, which they [aren’t](http://techfreep.com/images/googleplex.jpg). No it isn’t. It doesn’t look it in the picture, and is listed as 18 floors (West Tower) in the list of tallest buildings in San Jose: > **[List of tallest buildings in San Jose, California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_San_Jose)** > > The city of San Jose, California, known for its height-limited downtown skyline due to its proximity to San Jose International Airport, has over 46 high-rises, mostly in downtown. Twenty-seven buildings stand taller than 200 feet (61 m). San Jose is the most populous city in the U.S. with no buildings over 300 feet (91 m). The next most populous city in the U.S. with no buildings over 300 feet is Fresno, California. > This lists ranks San Jose buildings that meet the common definition of skysc... It’s the sixth tallest on that list. The height limitation for downtown buildings in San Jose is about 300 feet. In return, they get one of the more convenient airports. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/87 "2009-12-02T21:43:45Z")
One thing contributing to San Jose being much larger than it seems is that it’s one of those places that grew through annexation - it sprawls all over the place, and counts many outlying areas inside its limits: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/SanJoseMapWithLAFCOandCityLabelsandCA.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/SanJoseMapWithLAFCOandCityLabelsandCA.png) The area inside San Jose’s city limits is about 180 square miles, as opposed to San Francisco’s 47, or Oakland’s 80. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/88 "2009-12-02T21:58:41Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > No it isn’t. It doesn’t look it in the picture, and is listed as 18 floors (West Tower) in the list of tallest buildings in San Jose: > > [List of tallest buildings in San Jose, California - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_San_Jose) > > It’s the sixth tallest on that list. The height limitation for downtown buildings in San Jose is about 300 feet. In return, they get one of the more convenient airports. I knew trying to count the windows myself in the picture was a bad idea. 🙂 But the remainder of my point still stands - I don’t get what **fiddlesticks** is saying about SF having an iconic Google/Adobescraper, since neither is in SF. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/89 "2009-12-02T22:47:27Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I knew trying to count the windows myself in the picture was a bad idea. 🙂 But the remainder of my point still stands - I don’t get what **fiddlesticks** is saying about SF having an iconic Google/Adobescraper, since neither is in SF. I believe **fiddlestick** means that San Jose won’t have an iconic skyscraper from any major corporation (Google and Adobe being some notable South Bay corps), as opposed to SF which has very tall landmark buildings most notably including the Transamerica Pyramid (built by a major corporation, albeit neither Google nor Adobe). ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/90 "2009-12-02T23:44:34Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > I believe **fiddlestick** means that San Jose won’t have an iconic skyscraper from any major corporation (Google and Adobe being some notable South Bay corps), as opposed to SF which has very tall landmark buildings most notably including the Transamerica Pyramid (built by a major corporation, albeit neither Google nor Adobe). Ah. I get it now. I belive it was the apostrophe. Me: It will never have an iconic Google/Adobescraper to make it recognizable like San Francisco’s {Google / Adobe skyscrapers}. Intent: It will never have an iconic Google/Adobescraper to make it recognizable like San Francisco’s {skyline}. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787/91 "2009-12-02T23:51:18Z")
You guys sorted it out. 🙂 I realize the Googleplex isn’t in San Jose, but an iconic skyscraper is unlikely to be built anywhere in Mountain View or the surrounding “little” Silicon Valley burgs either. I suppose if the Googleguys ever do get the idea to build a skyscraper monument to themselves, they’ll do it in SF. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-large-us-city-ever-just-disappeared/518787.md?page=4)