Jump to content

What skyline inspired you to be scraper fanatic


NcSc74

Recommended Posts

I remember traveling to visit my aunties in New Jersey when I was around 10 years old. It was the first time I was old enough to remember the trip so I was very excited. When the trees cleared on I-95 and I saw Baltimore for the first time in person I could not take my eyes off of the skyline. Also the magnitude of how all of the bridges, buildings, and the cranes in the inner harbour blended all together to form an urban fabric that I had never seen before. To this day I always take time out to admire B-more when I am passing through. I try to time my arrival at late dusk when the lights are on but there is still sunlight (DC traffic permitting of course). North Jersey is no slouch either. I can still smell the Hess refineries and seeing the statue of liberty with the Trade towers in the background. From that time on I knew...1-I would chose to live in the city and 2. Always take a camera with me to take pics of my favorite skyscrapers from around the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 51
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Even though Jacksonville does not have a very magestic skyline, I used to always stare at it every time I saw it when I was little. However, the ones that "inspired" me have to be Atlanta and Charlotte. I think I may be repeating a post I made in another thread, but I remember as a kid riding with my family through Atlanta just staring straight up out the window of our car looking at Atlanta's towers at night. I thought I was hot stuff when I first moved to Charlotte though because of the size of the skyline in comparison to my former hometown of Jacksonville (remember, I had only seen three "big" cities at this point in my life.)

When I was a young teenager, I went on my first visit to Australia and New Zealand where i fell in love with the views from the Skytowers in Auckland and Sydney. That was the point when I begn researching what the tallest towers in the world were and begun appreciating different types of architecture. In my college years though, it was moving to Sydney that really sparked my interest and pursuit of urban planning in general.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting my two examples are Charlotte and Jacksonville too.

I moved to Jax in 1979, and the FIRST time I went back to Charlotte on vacation, I was blown away by the skyline! Of course I had seen it a million times before, but after a separation of several months the reality of the skyline became more apparent.

Then everytime I went back to Charlotte on vacation, I was more and more blown away with my home town! By 1988, when First Union Corp. Tower was built (now known as Wachovia 1) I was hooked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Weekend trips to Atlanta for me probably. My parents used to live there and my mom still loved to travel through the city---she said there was an excitement there that made it special and unlike other cities. I would look out the window and see those buildings rising up and it was exciting for me too, so it sparked my interest a bit. I do remember as kid too, see this Michelob Light commercial with Phil Collins signing "In the Heat of the Night" in the background and could've sworn they did a shot of the Westin Plaza in downtown Atlanta--I used to love that commercial.

On another note, I was also quite impressed with Jacksonville when I first rode through as a kid and Charlotte.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was 6 going to Tulsa for the zoo and Utica Square I remember looking out the car windown and seeing all of the interesting buildings. Then, when I was 10 I went to New York City and I was in another world. Ever since then, I've been obsessed with buildings and urbanism.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When the trees cleared on I-95 and I saw Baltimore for the first time in person I could not take my eyes off of the skyline. Also the magnitude of how all of the bridges, buildings, and the cranes in the inner harbour blended all together to form an urban fabric that I had never seen before. To this day I always take time out to admire B-more when I am passing through.

I like Baltimore too. Definitely one of my favorites on trips back home to Boston. That's part of the reason I'd rather drive home for holidays instead of flying. Between Durham and Boston, I see so many great skylines: Richmond (definitely an overachiever for a city its size), Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York (if I time it right - otherwise we drive around the Big Apple), and then a bunch in Connecticut, including New Haven (gorgeous skyline, and very impressive for a city its size).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great idea for a topic! I was actually thinking about this a few days ago.

I can remember seriously focusing in on New Orleans' skyline for the first time, and just thinking, "wow." After that I began to get intersted in skyscrapers, their styles, heights, uses, etc. This was all when I was about 12-13, about 10 years ago. And then after I went to Houston a few months later, and saw the 3rd largest skyline in the country, I was amazed, and from that point on I've been an urban fanatic. :D

Basically, this view started it all:

IMG_73173.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also left out SimCity, the face time I've spent on its many variations over the years could easily come to a year. From 2D blocks to 3D sculpturesk renderings of modern day buildings, I've been rather obsessed with the game over the last decade, I've only recently kicked the addiction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like Baltimore too. Definitely one of my favorites on trips back home to Boston. That's part of the reason I'd rather drive home for holidays instead of flying. Between Durham and Boston, I see so many great skylines: Richmond (definitely an overachiever for a city its size), Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York (if I time it right - otherwise we drive around the Big Apple), and then a bunch in Connecticut, including New Haven (gorgeous skyline, and very impressive for a city its size).

I know I love all the Northeast cities to. They all have great skylines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great thread idea, I'm sure everyone on these boards can relate somehow. For me growing up in Jersey, NYC really changed me. Driving down Route 3 and cresting that hill and seeing the skyline stretch accross the horizon got me hooked. Then just before you get to the Lincoln tunnel there is that curve which gives you a perfect view of Midtown just accross the Hudson. I remember having family from Germany visit for the summer and we would spend days giving them the tour, they were so ammazed and awe struck by NY. It made me so proud.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great thread idea, I'm sure everyone on these boards can relate somehow. For me growing up in Jersey, NYC really changed me. Driving down Route 3 and cresting that hill and seeing the skyline stretch accross the horizon got me hooked. Then just before you get to the Lincoln tunnel there is that curve which gives you a perfect view of Midtown just accross the Hudson. I remember having family from Germany visit for the summer and we would spend days giving them the tour, they were so ammazed and awe struck by NY. It made me so proud.

I think I remember that view before the the Linc tunnel. It has been about 6 years since I have been to NJ but I do remember my wife taking me to the city via the Linc. Although I prefer the GW because I'm a bridge freak though. I know the first time on the Pulaski skyway I was glued to the window. I love the big urban feel of northern Jersey. Call me crazy even the smell is something you can't forget. :huh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I remember that view before the the Linc tunnel. It has been about 6 years since I have been to NJ but I do remember my wife taking me to the city via the Linc. Although I prefer the GW because I'm a bridge freak though. I know the first time on the Pulaski skyway I was glued to the window. I love the big urban feel of northern Jersey. Call me crazy even the smell is something you can't forget. :huh:

IMO the Pulaski Skyway is one of the most beautiful urban structures around. Here's a link to a nice photo of it, which is currently the wallpaper on my work pc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I've been a fan of skyscrapers since the Bank of America tower neared completion in Charlotte (1992). I was 5 @ the time and that was the first time I'd ever noticed a skyline in my hometown...let alone anywhere else.

Now being a college student in Atlanta, I absolutely love driving on the Downtown Connector @ night. Midtown, Buckhead, Sandy Springs, & Dunwoody are also favorites. Another eye catcher would have to be Miami. I visited the city for the first time this past Spring Break...& WOW! Its so beautiful & large...its almost as if someone put New York in a tropical paradise.

Speaking of New York, my first & last time in the city was back in March 2001 - the towers were still up, of course. The view from New Jersey as you're approaching the Lincoln Tunnel is very amazing. I felt as though I was being drowned into a sea of massive buildings. Lastly, the view from the NJ Turnpike leaving the city - b/t Newark & the Hudson River. That is the best view ever! I caught it @ dawn right when the sun was coming up behind the World Trade Center Towers & it was just...magnificent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My hometown of Winston-Salem, NC was the city where I first started to become aware of skyscrapers(Reynolds building especially), but it wasn't until I visited Charlotte at the age of ten that I became a skyscraper fanatic. The Bank of America tower simply made me fall in love with the skyline. I absolutely love the view when you are making the transtion from 85 to 77 south and you round that bend and there is the skyline.

On a side note, Sim City was one of the best games ever created :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I'm more of a density/urban fanatic than a scraper fanatic, which is why DC and Baltimore were cool places, as is of course NYC and Philly in the sheer core of urban, sidewalk to sidewalk in-fill, but nothing beats European cities for pure [low-rise] compactness. I won't lie though, I appreciate a good looking scraper as much as the next person. And I too got inspiration from the game SimCity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me it was two things. One watching the construction of the 947 foot tall Key Tower in Cleveland. The other thing was riding into downtown Cleveland on the rapid train and getting off at the mall under the Terminal tower (The city's second tallest), then going to the 52nd floor observatory and seeing the city and the expanse of Lake Erie. I guess visiting cities like Chicago, Detroit and New York City alot also helped.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pittsburgh by a mile... like its been said before, as soon as you come out of the tunnel, its just boom and its all in your face. The first time I saw it was at night right before a steelers game... it was just soo huge I was hooked. And then the next day seeing it again from the Duquesne Incline just sealed the deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.