Louisiana City Skylines

[NCB]

Thanks for those stats Nate. Amazing that Houston could have had four 1,000ft. towers. The image of Bank of SouthWest Tower did not show-up for me.

Sorry about that Richy, I edited the code and the image should show up fine now.

Speaking of games, Oblivion is one of the reasons I haven't been hanging out here quite as long as I was.

Haha, oh yea, those RPG's can get addictive. I've never played Oblivion, but I've heard it's a great game.

[NCB]

Here are my rankings for these three skylines:

In the day

1. Houston
   
2. Atlanta
   
3. Dallas
   

At night(skyline lighting)

1. Atlanta
   
2. Dallas
   
3. Houston
   

Overall

1. Houston
   
2. Atlanta
   
3. Dallas
   

[bluff2085]

Houston has my #1 vote for sheer number of tall buildings. The Houston skyline is a force to be reckoned with! Atlanta gets my #2 vote with Dallas close behind at #3. Atlanta lacks the true "DT clusters" found in Dallas and Houston, but for some reason I enjoy the space between Atlantas 'scrapers--the gaps lend themselves to the buildings, many more of which can be embraced as individual designs; as opposed to the towers in Houston and Dallas, where from a certain distance they lose singularity in favor of one large collection of supertalls. With that said, Dallas has some very nice buildings and could easily be #2 if it weren't for personal preference. Houston still wins hands down b/c its skyline (DT and beyond) is BIG-TIME.

BTW: I apologize for not having posted the skyline battles I mentioned a few weeks ago (SD vs. Baltimore and Toronto vs. Sydney). My lap-top has been on the DL for awhile now and my parent's desktop has no photo-editing capabilities. I'll try and post those battles as soon as I can get my comp repaired.

[NCB]

And here's another one I've been wanting to do for awhile now...the modern skyline of Charlotte vs the more boxy skyline of New Orleans. The reason I'm putting these two together is because they are normally both ranked as #5 or #6 in the list of top skylines in the South.

Charlotte

Tallest building: Bank of America Corporate Center- 871 feet

Number of buildings above 600 feet: 2

Number of buildings above 400 feet: 9

Number of buildings above 200 feet: 20

New Orleans

Tallest building: One Shell Square- 697 feet

Number of buildings above 600 feet: 2

Number of buildings above 400 feet: 12

Number of buildings above 200 feet: 38

^Courtesy of Maitri at Flickr

[dimebag1980]

Damn, Nate, don't make me do this....

I have to put Charlotte on top because of the buildings, but New Orleans definitely has the wow factor as far as overall size of the skyline.

If I knew nothing about either city and just saw these photos, Charlotte would be more visually appealing to me.

[NCB]

I have to put Charlotte on top

Oh, well, no hard feelings.

I'll just have to remember to torch your hotel room when you come down to New Orleans.

[dimebag1980]

Oh, well, no hard feelings.

I'll just have to remember to torch your hotel room when you come down to New Orleans.

[dan326]

One good thing I did see is, on the west side of Dallas' skyline, near the West End District, there is a HUGE residential project being constructed of multiple buildings. This project consists of numerous buildings, both high-rise and mid-rise. There were actually quite a few buildings under construction all over downtown Dallas, so I felt really good about that. None of them were extremely tall, but were helping to fill in the downtown skyline nonetheless.

I saw that when I went over there. There were cranes everywhere.

[dan326]

1.Dallas

2.Houston

3.Atlanta

I have to say Dallas because it looks so good in person and even though I guess this doesn't count ;the shorter, older buildings have very pretty decorations.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to say Charlotte because of that one really tall building, but New Orleans does have better density.

[NCB]

Don't worry guys, I'm not going to suspend all of you if you think Charlotte has a better skyline than New Orleans.

[richyb83]

We are still waiting for your imput Nate.

[NCB]

Hey Richy, you know the routine, I always go towards the end. And hey, where is your imput!?

[Mith242]

Okay let someone out of state start this. Since this is a comparison in skylines I'd have to pick Charlotte. New Orleans has many things no other city in the US has but while the skyline certainly isn't bad in New Orleans. I can't say the skyline is what I think of when I think of New Orleans. If other issues were being considered then maybe the pick would be different.

[richyb83]

Hey Richy, you know the routine, I always go towards the end. And hey, where is your imput!?

My wife makes a good point; That last(4th) photo of Charlotte is more close-up than any pic New Orleans has. So it makes it tough. Great pics of the skyline BTW.

The numbers don't lie. New Orleans WINS by the tip of their nose But it was a photo finish. The New Orleans skyline is just plain bigger. (38 buildings over 200'ft. vs. 20 for Charlotte) The Charlotte skyline is great. The BoA Corp.Center is easily the most impressive individual Skyscraper in design and height. Charlotte has a "Wow Factor"and as new and "flashy" as any. It's easy to see why many would give it to Charlotte. But as I look closer New Orleans just "brings-it" with a dense-elongated urban jungle effect. Both cities have some flashy tall condo's on the way. I believe Charlotte has already started on some of theirs

[dimebag1980]

My wife makes a good point; That last(4th) photo of Charlotte is more close-up than any pic New Orleans has. So it makes it tough. Great pics of the skyline BTW.

The numbers don't lie. New Orleans WINS by the tip of their nose But it was a photo finish. The New Orleans skyline is just plain bigger. (38 buildings over 200'ft. vs. 20 for Charlotte) The Charlotte skyline is great. The BoA Corp.Center is easily the most impressive individual Skyscraper in design and height. Charlotte has a "Wow Factor"and as new and "flashy" as any. It's easy to see why many would give it to Charlotte. But as I look closer New Orleans just "brings-it" with a dense-elongated urban jungle effect. Both cities have some flashy tall condo's on the way. I believe Charlotte has already started on some of theirs

Suck-up.

Just kidding... very well said, Richy.

[NCB]

Ok, finally, my imput:

Without saving any suspense, New Orleans wins it for me, but only by a hair. Like Richy said, the numbers don't lie, and overall, New Orleans has a larger skyline, both in terms of overall size and height. Charlotte's slyline looks better, as do most of the individual buildings that make it up, and that's great...to a certain extent. Charlotte's skyline is still impressive in person, but I don't know, the skyline, and the majority of the Uptown area for that matter, looks almost pre-fabricated, too modern. In an effort for advanced "forward thinking" nearly all of the historic buildings in Uptown Charlotte were razed, and replaced by most of the skyscrapers you see in the photos. As a result, it looks like the city was founded in 1990, and I don't like that. There are literally only a few buildings in Uptown Charlotte that look like they're more than 20 years old, and again, I just don't like that. It makes it seem way too new, and much less urban. One reason I like New Orleans' skyline so much is because once you get close, you see buildings, low, mid, and even high-rises from so many different time periods. 200+ foot buildings from the 1920's and 600 foot building's from the 1970's-80's, along with all of the other low-rise buildings downtown, which really do affect the skyline, as you can tell when you near the city that the lower portions of the skyline are almost completely filled in, and you don't see that in Charlotte.

Probably once Charlotte finishes a few of their major condo and bank towers, I'll put them ahead of New Orleans, but I'll still never like the fact that there is almost no history Uptown to speak of.

[richyb83]

So yall correct me if I'm wrong......

The Southern Skyline Rankings go something like this: ???

Brian- Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, New Orleans

Nate- Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, New Orleans, Charlotte

Richy- Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Charlotte

[NCB]

Nate- Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, New Orleans, Charlotte

You've got mine right on target.

[fla_tiger]

My skyline rankings are:

Houston, Miami (including Miami Beach), Atlanta, New Orleans, Charlotte.

[krazeeboi]

As for the Atlanta-Dallas-Houston skyline competition, here's my ranking:

1. Atlanta

2. Houston

3. Dallas

Atlanta and Houston are VERY close calls for me. The density of Houston's skyline is magnificent, but the individual buildings are kinda "blah," whereas Atlanta's individual towers have pretty unique designs, and the way the skyline is spaced gives travelers through the city a pretty good visual experience. So Atlanta wins, with Houston close behind. The skylines of Dallas and Houston are very similar, but Dallas's towers are just as much "blah" as Houston's, and the skyline has a little less density than Houston's, so I ranked it last.

As for N.O. and Charlotte, I'm not sure. I think I need some more detailed photos of N.O.'s skyline to make a decision.

[NCB]

As for N.O. and Charlotte, I'm not sure. I think I need some more detailed photos of N.O.'s skyline to make a decision.

Sure thing, though based off of your other rankings, I have a feeling you'll prefer Charlotte's skyline over New Orleans', Mainly because most of the major buildings in the New Orleans skyline could also be considered "blah," and many of Charlotte's buildings offer more unique designs. I prefer New Orleans because of the that it is a larger skyline, in extensity, number of buildings, and average height. That, and also because of what I mentioned earlier, I really think Uptown Charlotte, including the skyline, looks too modern. Modernism is great, but I just don't see why you would want to destroy a major part of your city's history, in this case, the historic buildings.

Here's a view of the New Orleans skyline from the Crescent City Connection over the Mississippi River:

Here's a shot of the skyline and the CCC from Uptown:

^courtesy of Maitri on Flickr

Another shot of the skyline from above the Industrial Canal:

Looking down Poydras Street, taken around 1997:

[krazeeboi]

Hmmmm....I'm actually inclined to pick New Orleans here because the skyline is more well-rounded than Charlotte's, which is actually a bit linear in nature. Yeah the buildings are "blah," but it also have density and the river. Atlanta barely won over Houston in my last listing, but I'm not so sure about this one. I have to marinate on it a bit.

[dimebag1980]

City-data.com finally posted some of the photos I've been sending them since 2005.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Shreveport-Louisiana.html

[richyb83]

Wow. Good stuff Brian. I like the photo's. The folks in Shreveport need to thanks you for the nice exposure. Great to see your enthusiasm and pride for your metro. Keep up the good work.

[dimebag1980]

Wow. Good stuff Brian. I like the photo's. The folks in Shreveport need to thanks you for the nice exposure. Great to see your enthusiasm and pride for your metro. Keep up the good work.

well, mine aren't the only ones on there. Quite a few of those actually belong to other people. Mine are just a few, but I've been sending them for so long I was glad to finally see them being posted!