Best skyline in the Carolinas

[krazeeboi]

Charleston may not have much of a skyline, but it has a very graceful cityscape.

[Jerseyman4]

Now thats my favorite skyline

[NcSc74]

Now thats my favorite skyline

Yeah Newark may not have tall scrapers but it makes up for it with density.

[Spartan]

I find it interesting that you shoe to put in Durham, of all places, and not Spartanburg. I know that my hometown is not well known for its skyline, and that it certainly doesn't hold a candle to the other starts in our region- but it does exist!

Here are some of the skyline, and a few of downtown just food good measure

Anyway, my vote for density and quality would be for Columbia. For a city its size, Colmbia has more density and a better skyline than any other city. Raleigh is just missing something. Its not as large as it should be.

Architecture goes to Asheville as far as skylines go.

As far as density and architecture go, Charleston wins this with no contest. You have densities of 10,000 people per square mile on the peninsula. And being one of the oldest and best preserved cities in America gives it a lot of great architectural treasures. Its skyline is different. Its not dominated by office towers, but by churches, which is fitting for the Holy City. Its definately a unique thing in this day and age.

Here is a shot that I took recently from the flyover going to Mt Pleasant:

To get high rises in downtowns, you first must have a need for them.

One need is large companies, with lots of employees.

There is no need to build a high rise and you can't fill it.

Call the builders of the Vue, maybe they will build a condo tower for you.

Charlotte biggest boom now is condos. Without them not much would be going on in uptown but one tower for Wachovia.

The residential component of any downtown is key. Without it you have only a nice looking set of skyscrapers and a 9-5 activity center. After that it goes dark. Charlotte's residential boom will help remove any of that which remains. I argue that its residential construction is more important now than any new office tower they can come up with. Even if its a new tallest for the city.

[The_sandlapper]

Now thats my favorite skyline

Ahhhhh, Newark. The humble city of me birth!

[simms3]

I think that Asheville has the best skyline, followed by Columbia. Both seem to have a very nice balance, and are always building and improving. Asheville is the winner because I like its buildings the most, although Columbia seems to have some beautiful old buildings as well, and maybe the setting has to do with it as well because Asheville is IN the mountains. Coming up I-26, there is a fantastic view of Columbia on a hill as 26 intersects 85 or some highway before it

[Spartan]

I think that Asheville has the best skyline, followed by Columbia. Both seem to have a very nice balance, and are always building and improving. Asheville is the winner because I like its buildings the most, although Columbia seems to have some beautiful old buildings as well, and maybe the setting has to do with it as well because Asheville is IN the mountains. Coming up I-26, there is a fantastic view of Columbia on a hill as 26 intersects 85 or some highway before it

That would be I-26 & I-77, which is where that large photo of Columbia was taken on the first or second page.

This is the one, which was taken by waccamatt from that location:

[goodbye]

Are these really the best skylines, or are they your favorites? If "most impressive" is what is being asked for, then there are certainly better skylines in the Carolinas than Columbia and Asheville. Raleigh and Winston Salem are far more impressive than these two, IMO. Thinking in side-by-side comparisons, I like the spread of Columbia, but it's the height and architecture that wins the eyes first.

[krazeeboi]

Well, "best" is certainly subjective.

[Spartan]

Well, "best" is certainly subjective.

I think thats the point. For example- I generally disagree that Raleigh has an impressive skyline.

[MR-2]

I think thats the point. For example- I generally disagree that Raleigh has an impressive skyline.

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=396428

It has a great skyline from I-40. If you look at it from cardinal east or west though, it looks obviously spread out and poorly organized. Luckily RBC's headquarters will substantially improve that.

I think the general message from this thread is that Charlotte's skyline is far ahead of the rest of the Carolina cities. Charlotte's skyline is generally compared to cities much larger than itself, because everything came together in the right place for it. It will carry this lead for the next few decades probably. I can picture Raleigh and Winston-Salem narrowing the gap during that time though.

[Spartan]

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=396428

It has a great skyline from I-40. If you look at it from cardinal east or west though, it looks obviously spread out and poorly organized. Luckily RBC's headquarters will substantially improve that.

I think the general message from this thread is that Charlotte's skyline is far ahead of the rest of the Carolina cities. Charlotte's skyline is generally compared to cities much larger than itself, because everything came together in the right place for it. It will carry this lead for the next few decades probably. I can picture Raleigh and Winston-Salem narrowing the gap during that time though.

I disagree. I think Charlotte will continue to reign supreme in the Carolinas. Don't be so quick to discount Columbia. It has a very solid skyline for a city its size.

[goodbye]

I've created a new poll for this thread!

Best Carolina Skyline Poll

You can vote there and discuss it all here. I don't have moderation powers in the Southern USA forum, so I couldn't put the poll in this thread.

[MR-2]

I disagree. I think Charlotte will continue to reign supreme in the Carolinas. Don't be so quick to discount Columbia. It has a very solid skyline for a city its size.

I never discounted Columbia. It has an appropriate skyline for its MSA. I also think Charlotte will continue to have the best skyline in the Carolinas from here onward, but the disparity between it and the other major cities will gradually narrow.

Thanks for the poll Skyliner! I like how thorough it is.

[redjeep77]

^ no, i don't think that it will. Just like atlanta will never be rivaled by any other city in GA.

[MR-2]

^ no, i don't think that it will. Just like atlanta will never be rivaled by any other city in GA.

That's completely different. Georgia has no major cities other than Atlanta. Notice the subforums for the NC/SC sections. There are other major cities in the Carolinas. Major enough to require their own subforum.

[803metlife]

maybe i missed something but why do we have 2 forums named the same thing, asking the same question ???????I guess someones looking for more answers...lol

[JDC]

I think overall, Winston-Salem has the most "impressive" skyline (and most historic). Raleigh's is far too boring. I like Asheville's because it combines architectural styles so flawlessly and how it's so beautiful with the mountains in the background.

You've gotta love Durham's though, for the mix of architectural types (buildings, smokestacks, water towers). The city code even says that any building 14 stories or higher CANNOT have a plain rectangular top.

I've never been to High Point or any of the SC cities though.

[MR-2]

Durham's buildings are nice, but there aren't nearly enough of them. There are only three 12+ story buildings downtown, and they're spread out rather inconveniently. That skyline has a long way to go.

[krazeeboi]

Isn't Durham's tallest located outside the CBD?

[MR-2]

Isn't Durham's tallest located outside the CBD?

Depends what you're going by. The Durham Centre (downtown) has more floors, but the University Tower is physically taller, with a gigantic and unnecessary spire on top of it.

Greensboro is the same. The Koury Center hotel has the most floors in the city. The Jefferson Pilot tower (downtown) is physically taller.

Raleigh is going to get that too, probably. The Soleil Center will be taller than anything currently downtown, and have more floors. (If Reynolds gets enough tenants for his project, it could be surpassed in height by something downtown, but it'll still probably have the most floors).

North Carolina has some pickle problems it seems. In a few short years, the tallest building in the state outside of Charlotte will not be in a CBD.

[Subway Scoundrel]

Carolina Hurricanes lead the NHL with 66 points. So Raleigh is the best and loudest !!!!

I would like to attend a game in Nashville...(good team this year)

[Eastwestrob]

I agree 100% on that. Why they spaced those two towers out like that is beyond me. They could have had a twin towers thing going on. I guess that leaves some space for infill.

Well....Soon it will be a 3 or a 4 tower thing going on.

[damus]

A good example of midrise and talls is Newark NJ. Not a lot of height but the midrise buildings go for more than a few blocks and the feel you get is that you are in a big city even though Newark has about 400,000 in its city limits. It does help that the city is not very big in terms of square milage but the premise is that building tall does not guarantee big city feel.

Well Newark is actually closer to 200,000 than 400,000. It's population is around 280,000. For the northeast, it's not too small of a city in terms of area. Its 26 square miles are more than Hartford (17), Providence (20), and slightly smaller than my childhood home of Norwich, CT (28).

Most towns are not that big around here. Only some places, like very big cities, are big and that's only because of annexation. New York City was once only the island of Manhattan (23.7 square miles and 1.5 million people)... My home "city" of 38k, whose biggest claim to fame still is that it was the home of Benedict Arnold, actually annexed several square miles from the town I live in now because it was getting "too city like" for the town...

[gs3]

I'm more and more becoming a fan mid-rise density, such as that which exists in Washington, DC. Innovista will bring that to Columbia, and the other residential developments will add density in terms of population. I much prefer those two over just skyscrapers (although they look nice).

Agreed. That's what makes downtown Greenville so much denser than most realize....all the new mid-rise developments.

Best Skyline:

Winston-Salem