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I hate to start another flamewar but it's getting too quiet. I think NYC has better buildings/structures, looks better, has a more ambiance, is more vibrant, has better restaurants, has better schools, has better nightlife.
I might be biased because I don't remember that much about Chicago but it wasn't that memorable for me and I'm going by pictures when comparing architecture. NYC is very memorable.
What does Chicago beat NYC in? I can't think of anything but cost of living.
I hate to start another flamewar but it's getting too quiet. I think NYC has better buildings/structures, looks better, has a more ambiance, is more vibrant, has better restaurants, has better schools, has better nightlife.
I might be biased because I don't remember that much about Chicago but it wasn't that memorable for me and I'm going by pictures when comparing architecture. NYC is very memorable.
What does Chicago beat NYC in? I can't think of anything but cost of living.
Thoughtful poll Americanboy. This will add a lot of meaningful discourse to the forum.
BTW-- is this a poll or is this just a masked thread where you are telling everyone that you think NYC is better than Chicago? I appreciate your enthusiasm for New York, but this has been done to death.
New York City is certainly America's archtiectural capital of today, but Chicago's place in architectural history is a storied one. Chicago is where the skyscraper was invented, and the "Chicago School" of architects basically invented modernism in the late 19th Century. While New York architects were adorning the new steel-framed skyscrapers with classical ornament borrowed from tried-and-true European styles, architects like Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, and William LeBaron Jenney were moving in a radical new direction. Ornament and solid walls gave way to clean lines and strutural expressionism. Chicago architects found that a true expression of a steel frame could allow for vast expanses of glass and light.
Now, the architects of the Bauhaus in Europe got a lot of inspiration from Chicago when they captiviated the European Avant Garde with modernism as we know it today--and they were chased out of Germany by the Nazis and scattered througout the West. Walter Gropius ended up on the East Coast (at Harvard), and Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe came to Chicago to teach at IIT. We all know who had a more sucessful enduring career (Mies), though Gropius had just as great a legacy through his influence. Mies's Chicago years helped usher in the era of the metal and glass skyscraper, and he collaborated with New York's Phillip Johnson to create the Seagram Building. Skidmore Owings and Merrill started in Chicago in 1936, but opened their New York office the same year. Both offices made major contributions and had their "starchitects" like Bruce Graham and Gordon Bunschaft.
Chicago and New York both had great stature in the mid-20th Century as architectural capitals, but New York was able to keep that momentum rolling into the 21st Century with new blood. Being the cultural center of the United States, New York has surpassed all other American cities in the architecture world. Chicago lost it's creative mentor when Mies died in 1974, and SOM's Chicago office seemed to lose steam after the cocaine and hookers era of the 1980s. But Chicago still has a strong footing in the field, and will always have a collection of better late 19th-early 20th Century "skyscapers" than New York. Architectural Record, the most widely read professional journal for architects, dedicated an issue to Chicago's architectural rennaissance a few years ago. Obviously the economic crash has put a damper on this, but Chicago will once again shine after the real estate sector recovers. New York will remain the architectural capital of the United States, but Chicago will always hold a special place in the hearts of architects.
Last edited by Lookout Kid; 05-11-2009 at 10:19 PM..
New York City is certainly America's archtiectural capital of today, but Chicago's place in architectural history is a storied one. Chicago is where the skyscraper was invented, and the "Chicago School" of architects basically invented modernism in the late 19th Century. While New York architects were adorning the new steel-framed skyscrapers with classical ornament borrowed from tried-and-true European styles, architects like Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, and William LeBaron Jenney were moving in a radical new direction.
Now, the architects of the Bauhaus in Europe got a lot of inspiration from Chicago when they captiviated the European Avant Garde with modernism as we know it today--and they were chased out of Germany by the Nazis and scattered througout the West. Walter Gropius ended up on the East Coast (at Harvard), and Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe came to Chicago to teach at IIT. We all know who had a more sucessful enduring career (Mies), though Gropius had just as great a legacy. Mies's Chicago years helped usher in the era of the metal and glass skyscraper, and he collaborated with New York's Phillip Johnson to create the Seagram Building. Skidmore Owings and Merrill started in Chicago in 1936, but opened their New York office the same year.
Chicago and New York both had great stature in the mid-20th Century as architectural capitals, but New York was able to keep that momentum rolling into the 21st Century with new blood. Being the cultural center of the United States, New York has surpassed all other American cities in the architecture world. Chicago lost it's creative mentor when Mies died in 1974, and SOM's Chicago office seemed to lose steam after the cocaine and hookers era of the 1980s. But Chicago still has a strong footing in the field, and will always have a collection of better late 19th-early 20th Century "skyscapers" than New York. Architectural Record, the most widely read professional journal for architects, dedicated an issue to Chicago's architectural rennaissance a few years ago. Obviously the economic crash has put a damper on this, but Chicago will once again shine after the real estate sector recovers. New York will remain the architectural capital of the United States, but Chicago will always hold a special place in the hearts of architects.
New York is the ugliest city I've ever seen. Trash on the ground, dirty buildings, nasty subways, yuck. I'll take Chicago anyday.
I take it you haven't seen Chicago's subways... Though they have redone several stations to look like McDonald's franchises.
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