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Michael Bay, the famous Hollywood director of the Blockbuster film series Transformers also agrees with me and the majority of T&L's readers. Chicago skyline is more beautiful than New York skyline. Bay did not say Chicago's one of the most beautiful skylines; He said "it's the most beautiful skyline in the world" . Quite a statement from a guy who's been shooting movies in most major cities across the globe.
And the reason why so many films have been set in New York City was not just because it has a better skyline compared to Chicago's. New York is America's most exciting and dynamic city, and it makes sense for Hollywood to showcase New York more on the silver screen.
Michael Bay's Thoughts on Chicago
"Pointing toward Lake Michigan, he said, ”You go over to Michigan Avenue — right there by the Wrigley Building … and you look back this way [pointing west along the Chicago River] and it’s the most beautiful skyline in the world. … The reason it’s so interesting is — unlike New York, where you’ve got to get far away in a helicopter to make it interesting — Chicago has so many interesting bits of architecture, you can capture very close up.”
Wow, Michael Bay says Chicago is the bestest... Wow, the director of kid movie series Transformers hisself likes Chicago. I guess Coppola, Scorsese or Allen, all infatuated with New York know nothing. After all what is Godfather compared to Transformers.... Lol. Are you collecting clippings of when somebody famous said something good about Chicago? Lol
And no, NYC is not showcased because "New York is America's most exciting and dynamic city" as you want but simply because while Chicago skyline is beautiful, New York skyline will take your breath away. Chicago's skyline is great for a single shot from a specific location while New York skyline you can pan from above for a few minutes going over manhattan from downtown up. Beautiful and impressive. That's one of my favorite shots of nyc and have seen it in many movies. I guess more people must like it...
Are you talking about downtown? Because outside of downtown I haven't seen much interesting architecture but simply either bungalows or siding clad suburban houses.
Since you are obviously in need of some remedial Chicago education, despite your thinly-veiled antipathy to the city....Do you now know of such common Chicago housing styles as the courtyard buildings, they are all over the city and even in suburban areas. Evanston and the far north side neighborhood of Rogers Park, some 10-13 miles north of downtown have hundreds of such beauties
Having more buildings or population don't always equate to making a city better. So if Tokyo and Sao Paulo are larger that would make them better cities than NY.
Why don't you stick to cities in the us? Makes comparisons easier and more precise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbanologist
Yes, I was referring to downtown because that's where most of the city burnt down. Suburbia was virtually non existent in 1871 as most people in the Chicago area lived in the city.
I am not talking about suburbia or suburbs but areas within the city other than downtown.
Since you are obviously in need of some remedial Chicago education, despite your thinly-seiled antipathy to the city....Do you now know of such common Chicago housing styles as the courtyard buildings, they are all over the city and even in suburban areas. Evanston and the far north side neighborhood of Rogers Park, some 10-13 miles north of downtown have hundreds of such beauties
I have seen better looking buildings in oak park but I know what buildings you have in mind. Too bad that those buildings are facing main streets and behind them are endless rows of ugly bungalows or siding-clad apartments.
ugh.....what are these siding-clad apartments you speak of? Chicago is like 90-95% brick/masonry. Granted way too many cinder block condos went up during the last boom....but siding-clad?
and have you ever been inside a true Chicago bungalow? They are stunning on the inside (usually) and the brickwork on many is amongst the most beautiful in the country.
The bungalows were built with incredible craftsmanship and are aging incredibly well and are in fact one of the architectural gems of America....they will be around for centuries to come.
and most of the courtyard buildings in places like Rogers Park are on side streets, and hose neighborhoods have virtually no bungalows, which are found further west..
It should be noted that the "Bungalow Belt" is not uniformly bungalows, there are also 2-3-4flats plus larger apartment buildings as well. The white areas are virtually devoid of bungalows, having much denser housing in general.
And no matter how much you flail about bungalows and "siding-clad" apartments...that doesn't change the fact that Chicago easily has some of the world's greatest pre-auto urban streetscapes.
Because outside of downtown I haven't seen much interesting architecture but simply either bungalows or siding clad suburban houses.
I know Chicago is also guilty but at least I'm being honest here. Let's not kid ourselves NYC has suburban like development too. Again so much for the non stop dense urban utopia that only exists in NYC. If that isn't enough I can post more areas other than the Bronx that have suburban style development. All American cities are guilty of having suburban style development but you get the idea. NYC is no exception even though it has less of it than Chicago.
Here are some photos I shot. This is just one of many examples of suburban style development in NYC.
Bay Plaza is a humongous strip mall in the Bronx. You want to see more? You don't think some of us have actually been here?
Last edited by urbanologist; 07-22-2013 at 03:22 AM..
ugh.....what are these siding-clad apartments you speak of? Chicago is like 90-95% brick/masonry. Granted way too many cinder block condos went up during the last boom....but siding-clad?
and have you ever been inside a true Chicago bungalow? They are stunning on the inside (usually) and the brickwork on many is amongst the most beautiful in the country.
The bungalows were built with incredible craftsmanship and are aging incredibly well and are in fact one of the architectural gems of America....they will be around for centuries to come.
and most of the courtyard buildings in places like Rogers Park are on side streets, and hose neighborhoods have virtually no bungalows, which are found further west..
It should be noted that the "Bungalow Belt" is not uniformly bungalows, there are also 2-3-4flats plus larger apartment buildings as well. The white areas are virtually devoid of bungalows, having much denser housing in general.
Here's a little know fact since our friend thinks little of the Midwest. Speaking of material the outside skin of the Empire State Building is made of Indiana Lime Stone quarried out of the "Empire Quarry" in Bedford, IN also used on several buildings in NYC and other cities. May be we should take some of it back along with the brownstones from Wisconsin used in Brooklyn.
Chicago is a great city, one of quiet quality. It's an exceptional place, not in your face. I spent a lot of time there, since I'm from the area. One of the most memorable times was cycling from Evanston to Chicago's south side and back, along the lakefront, running parallel to Lake Shore Drive. The beauty of that city from that vantage point is unmatched by anything I've seen in NY. It was an empowering experience that still has an effect on me.
NY's greater density and size doesn't make it better IMO.
Chicago is a great city, one of quiet quality. It's an exceptional place, not in your face. I spent a lot of time there, since I'm from the area. One of the most memorable times was cycling from Evanston to Chicago's south side and back, along the lakefront, running parallel to Lake Shore Drive. The beauty of that city from that vantage point is unmatched by anything I've seen in NY. It was an empowering experience that still has an effect on me.
NY's greater density and size doesn't make it better IMO.
You're right. That's the argument I made earlier about cities like Tokyo, Sao Paulo having more urban development than NY but doesn't make them necessarily better, imo.
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. Quite a statement from a guy who's been shooting movies in most major cities across the globe.
Chicago
