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Chicago's downtown is way better than NYC. Aesthetically speaking...Chicago skyline is also much better, prettier and elegant. The Chicago river which flows through makes it look even better. And...I really don't want to disappoint any NYC fans out there, but dude...NYC has become old, over-populated. The architecture itself has become obsolete...expect maybe for the newer Freedom tower etc. If you want to seriously compare just on the basis of "number of skyscrapers", then please do a fair comparison...like NYC with Hong Kong. HK will kick NYC's ass anytime.
BTW...I have been to all three cities.
1. By skyscraper density:
HK > NYC > Chicago
2. By aesthetics/"downtown beauty":
Chicago > HK >NYC
Just type "best skyline" in Google....you will get the link below:
I agree. Chicago's downtown is much more aesthetically pleasing than New York's. The river, the L, and the collection of beautiful buildings is just great. New York always gets overrated here (and everywhere for that matter) because it's New York.
i was just curios as to what newyorkers thing is the better looking downtown. i have never been to newyork but i know it has a massive downtown. i have been to chicago and it is also very large and there are many great looking buildings including the new 2000ft spire building currently under construction. im from minneapolis and i think its a good looking downtown but nothing compared to chicago or newyork.
umm... Grammar? It's good though it's just the internet, Anyways this is as tough as it gets! Requires a lot of thinking, In order to even think about one must visit the two cities to even make a opinion. Making a opinion off a Picture is like a multiple choice question( you guess and stick with it) kind of like picking a side! I have been to both, the NYC downtown is more Massive but I like Chicago Architecture better. For a city with 2 million population that skyline is a killer. Who'd ever think LA or Houston would have that kind of skyline even though LA has more a bigger population and Houston chasing that 3rd spot? The Chicago is Secret. I call it the Distance between! NYC has I would say has a better more Long Massive Skyline. Major props to NYC that place looks incredible at night!
Simple as this: If "downtown" means New York's Financial District, Chicago's downtown wins easily. If "downtown" is being misused here for Midtown Manhattan, New York wins.
I agree with this. NY's financial district is nothing special really. There are a couple nice buildings hidden in there but not much going on overall and it's definitely missing the wow factor of other parts of Manhattan. It's also really dead at night...there's a reason why the hotels in the financial district are a relative bargain compared to the rest of Manhattan.
Chicago's downtown on the other hand has the river and lakefront, the el, plus a nice mix of memorable buildings that make it stand out. Plus the bar/restaurant scene of River North is a short walk away.
If we're talking all Manhattan, then it's not really a fair contest since there are few places in the world that can compare.
"Downtown" in New York City = SoHo, West Village, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, NoHo, NoLita, Tribeca, East Village, Lower East Side + Financial District. "Lower Manhattan" usually = Financial District (Battery Park maybe), only.
Downtown Manhattan is the best part of Manhattan, IMO and Downtown Manhattan trumps Downtown Chicago.
NY is great but it is DEFINITELY overrated.
Seriously, what can you do in New York that you can't do in Chicago, or any other major city like London, Tokyo, etc?
Here's an aerial map showing both cities at the same scale. I know Lower Manhattan often referred to as "Downtown" is bounded to the north at 14th street but the yellow marks where the skyline drops off. You'll also notice how much smaller NY's Pier 17 is to Chicago's Navy Pier. Only "Midtown" skyline is larger so technically Chicago has the largest "downtown" skyline in the country. Manhattan's downtown skyline is about the size of Chicago's "Loop" area if you placed it on top. Now just imagine the two skylines across the Hudson River from each other connected by subway.
Here's an aerial map showing both cities at the same scale. I know Lower Manhattan often referred to as "Downtown" is bounded to the north at 14th street but the yellow marks where the skyline drops off. You'll also notice how much smaller NY's Pier 17 is to Chicago's Navy Pier. Only "Midtown" skyline is larger so technically Chicago has the largest "downtown" skyline in the country. Manhattan's downtown skyline is about the size of Chicago's "Loop" area if you placed it on top. Now just imagine the two skylines across the Hudson River from each other connected by subway.
Very cool image - just curious how it was accomplished - could you put all of Manhattan next to it or even compare to some other cities - cool perspective - oddly - and I Love Chicago - the current NJ composition accross the river would have some similar charactersitics - not the skyline though
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