Hey, New Yorkers:

you alone have two skylines, and they're both pretty massive (o.k., Midtown's even more so).

But here's the question: which skyline do you prefer....Midtown or Downtown (I'm talking about how it looks, not what each part of town offers....just the total combination of buildings that make up the two skylines).

Me (as a non-New Yorker):

Lower Manhattan lost so much with the destruction of the WTC. Those two tall buildings really helped define the downtown area. Ironically, lower Manhattan without the WTC would look more majestic if it weren't for the more recent boxy towers. The skyline was a gem when it was made up of spires.

Midtown is massively beautiful, capped off by the likes of the ESB and the Chrysler Bldg. To me, it would win hands down, if it weren't for the fact that its relationship with water is far weaker than downtown (although having Central Park there is no small thing).

I'd be interested in your observations.

Definitely Midtown. More volume, more diversity of architecture styles. Downtown has some wonderful buildings (Woolworth, etc.) but Midtown's skyline made it to my laptop wallpaper.

Midtown

This is like asking a parent to pick a preference between two of their different children.

Both have their positives and negatives, I can't say I have a quick answer, I'll think about it more and post later.

With WTC: Downtown
Without: Midtown

^ same

It's close, but I'll have to say Midtown. With the WTC it's definitely downtown though.

I've always had a strange fondness for downtown for some reason...
I like the way it interacts with the water, and even more so with the Statue of Liberty and the Brookyln Bridge.

Midtown is extremely huge, and is boosted by Central Park. But it loses its power on the water. It'll be gained when the westside is complete though.

With the twins, downtown was taller, and it still does seem taller "per-capita" than midtown where you have endless 500 foot towers.

So I'm going with downtown just to be a minority :D But I mean, both are spectacular!

I've always had a strange fondness for downtown for some reason...
I like the way it interacts with the water, and even more so with the Statue of Liberty and the Brookyln Bridge.

Midtown is extremely huge, and is boosted by Central Park. But it loses its power on the water. It'll be gained when the westside is complete though.

With the twins, downtown was taller, and it still does seem taller "per-capita" than midtown where you have endless 500 foot towers.

So I'm going with downtown just to be a minority :D But I mean, both are spectacular!

The main thing I like about downtown is that it's at the Southern end of Manhattan which is less linear than midtown.
Unlike the grid-like arrangement of the buildings midtown, a lot of the buildings downtown are arranged at different angles.

http://www.highwing.com/Nyc.jpg

i prefer midtown. it has a bigger diversity in skyscraper architecture. even though midtown's only neo-classical gems are the crown building and helmsley building, it has a much wider array of postmodern buildings, especially in the times square area. midtown also have many landmark buildings that really stand out in the skyline like chrysler building, citigroup center, rca building, trump world tower, and metlife building. however, in downtown, the taller buildings like american international and bank of manhattan are rather absorbed into the skyline. another plus about midtown is that it's more vibrant and it's streets are not as crammed as downtown.

but downtown's not that bad either. it's collection of neo-classical buildings are absolutely peerless (would've been even better if singer's still alive today). also, the skyline's more compact and not as sprawling as midtown's, and im not really a fan of sprawling skylines.

if the wtc twins are still alive today, i would've equally liked both skylines. but with the fraudulent and architectually-disastrous freedom tower and its shorter friends soon to take the place of the twins, i think the downtown skyline will be seriously damaged, with a weak lattice/spire taking the place of 2 solid blocks to become the crowning point of the skyline.

Midtown by far, with or without the twins. I've always wondered why downtown's skyline always seems to be shown more often on TV, movies, and photos when midtown's is larger and topped off by the ESB, Chrysler and Citicorp (even now without the twins). Dowtown will be some serious competition when the new WTC, 80 south street and Gehry's tower are built.