How Does Toronto's skyline compare to Chicago's ???

My trip to Toronto was awesome, the city was alot bigger and taller then i thought it was, and more dense, once your on the streets it's 110% different then looking at pictures.
Now i can only imagine the size of Chicago ( lets just say HUGE )
anyways i've seen alot of people fighting ( toronto vs chicago threads ) all i wana know is how does Toronto's skyline compare to Chicago's ???
Also i think Toronto's main cluster of high rises is more impresive then Chicago's main cluster of high rises.
Also the addition of Trump tower and Downtown Plaza will further more make T.O's main cluster more inpresive then Chicago's IMO, Chicago's super talls are all spread out i like how in T.O there are in one big cluster. can someone say SKYSCRAPER CANYONS












Toronto

[rbt]

Chicago has a better skyline from most angles for photographing.

Toronto's skyline is building up at the edges an incredible pace at the moment as the city finally sold off the western lands between Front and Gardiner. In 10 years once that and East Bayfront have been constructed we will see a very different skyline than what was in place a couple of years ago.

[schmidt]

Yonge Street between Front and Queen Street looks so dark and the buildings are so high!

I like TO's skyline, it's pretty impressive in real life, maybe because I'm not that used to NA skylines, but it has a nice view, specially from Gardiner xpressway...

[New Jack City]

A Chicago vs. Toronto skyline battle...

[SHORTY]

I LOVE TO!!!!!But Chicago is in a completely different class. With it's greater # of super highs and it's interesting historical mix you have to give the thumbs up to Chicago.

[omersheikh]

im not a fan of the chicago skyline i dont know why people like it at all. but toronto does not compare to chicago on the streets. they got wicked waterfront drive, beaches, and nice neighbouhoods. toronto to me only looks nice from the lake, but i still love the city.

[Homer J. Simpson]

Oh no, now you've done it Lars. These TO vs. Chi-Town battles usually get pretty ugly.

Chicago wins in hieght catagory as well as numbers of scrapers. Chicago is a member of the big three for a very good reason.

But I am a bigger fan of Toronto on the basis of its top three buildings and soon to be the top five are so close and in a cluster formation. Chicago's Top Three, ST, JHC, and the AON center (i think the name changed on the AON center) are all pretty far apart. Just to me, that decreases the impact of the 1000 footers to me.

[KGB]

I'll agree with Chicago having the more impressive skyline...but neighbourhoods? That's Toronto's specialty...Chicago doesn't measure up in that catagory (as will any American city).




KGB

[SpatulaCity]

Chicago's skyline is also very impressive because of the architecture. They have an amazing selection of scrapers from pretty much every architectural style. It's the depth and breadth of their skyline that is immensely impressive. Toronto's skyline can never match that... hence, Chicago by a long shot.

[omersheikh]

when ever i go to chicago i enjoy driving around, it is much better its planned out , i just dont like how toronto is planned. im not talking about lifestyle, but chicago has more scenic roads and more friendly drive of downtown.

[SD]

How does Toronto's skyline compare to Chicago's? As far as overall quality and size (of buildings) goes...it doesn't. As for which is overall more aesthetically pleasing, well that depends on personal preference, as usual. Comparing typical skyline shots, I find Toronto's more attractive...I just like the financial cluster then the drop off, dramatic rise with the CN Tower and the SkyDome just to the left...quite dramatic. And with all of the construction going on, the skyline will be extended without losing the tight, dramatic feel.

[Dampyre]

There's not much of an objective comparison here. Chicago's skyline is much bigger and taller. I guess Calgary could have a better skyline than Chicago subjectively.

[Steely Dan]

chicago has the more impressive skyline in my opinion.

[RRo]

personally even though i am from Toronto i like Chiacago's better. They have more buildings, better architecture and older buildings.

[Puffdaddy]

Landscape wise... Toronto and Chicago are really similar... but obviously.. Chicago is a much bigger city then Toronto. But it is interesting to see how Toronto may have a potential to grow... then I can imagin that both of the city will be look a like in the future.

[Wu-Gambino]

Originally Posted by Puffdaddy

Landscape wise... Toronto and Chicago are really similar... but obviously.. Chicago is a much bigger city then Toronto. But it is interesting to see how Toronto may have a potential to grow... then I can imagin that both of the city will be look a like in the future.

While Toronto has the potential to grow, I think that it would be impossible for it to grow as big as Chicago.

Since 2000, Chicago has completed eight buildings over 150 meters.
Park Tower - 257 m
UBS Tower - 199 m
55 East Erie - 198 m
River East Center 1 - 196 m
Bank One Corporate Center - 177 m
The Fordham - 175 m
Park Millennium - 166 m
191 North Wacker Drive - 157 m

Toronto has completed none.

Chicago has six buildings under-construction over 150 m.

111 South Wacker - 214 m
Hyatt Center - 207 m
Grand Plaza Tower 1 - 195 m
The Heritage at Millennium Park - 189 m
Millennium Center - 182 m
The Pinnacle - 163 m

Toronto has one 1 King West, 176 meters.

Chicago has four buildings over 150 meters proposed.

Trump International Hotel & Tower - 342 m (soon to be u/c)
111 West Wacker - 246 m
River East Center 2 - 196 m
Gallery Park Place - 150 m

Toronto wins in this catagory with six proposed.

Trump International Hotel & Tower - 309 m
Downtown Plaza - 245 m
Richmond-Adelaide Centre 2 - 181 m
764 Yonge - height unknown 50 floors
Minto Midtown Tower 1 - 160 m
Festival Tower - 153 m

[Steely Dan]

here's a little stat that is always fun to rub in the toronto skyline boosters' faces.

number of 500+ foot buildings (including U/C)
Chicago: 87
Toronto: 13

that doesn't prove anything about which skyline is better because if you go down to the 12 story level, then toronto has far more than chicago, but it is still interesting, don't ya think? chicago simply has a significantly higher amount of the truly tall buildings, AND chicago continues to build more of the truly tall buildings, just check out the links below.

CHICAGO boom rundown

TORONTO boom rundown


at the end of the day, however, both cities have great skylines, it's kinda hard to deny that, but given the superior height figures for chicago, i find it to be the more impressive skyline. that doesn't mean that i think toronto has a bad skyline, just that it is not quite at chicago's level, and that's totally OK because few cities are.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Naptown

Since 2000, Chicago has completed eight buildings over 150 meters.

Park Tower - 257 m
UBS Tower - 199 m
55 East Erie - 198 m
River East Center 1 - 196 m
Bank One Corporate Center - 177 m
The Fordham - 175 m
Park Millennium - 166 m
191 North Wacker Drive - 157 m


Chicago has six buildings under-construction over 150 m.

111 South Wacker - 214 m
Hyatt Center - 207 m
Grand Plaza Tower 1 - 195 m
The Heritage at Millennium Park - 189 m
Millennium Center - 182 m
The Pinnacle - 163 m

uhh, naptown, you're a bit off there, grand plaza I and millennium center are now complete, and the 571 ft. (174m) 1 south dearborn has started construction. also your height figure for 111 south wacker is old, it is now listed at 208 meters instead of 214 meters.

you're numbers for the proposed buildings are so far off it isn't even worth it to try and correct them, but suffice it to say that there are many more proposals over 150 meters for chicago, and i am sure that there are more for toronto. but proposals aren't really all that important anyway because maybe they'll get built and maybe they won't. only time can answer that puzzle, but for the here and now, it's better to look at what has actually been recently built and what is currently under construction.

i suspect you got your outdated info from skyscraperpage.com, which is a mistake. for the most accurate and up to date chicago scraper info, head on over to skyscrapers.com

[rbt]

I think much of that comes from Chicago having gone through a cycle or 2 more. Standard development in TO for residential was 20 floors not all that long ago. In fact, more 40+ storey residentials have been completed in the last 4 years than existed prior to 2000.

Anyway, point being Toronto is still getting it's legs under it. Heights significantly increase with each round of development. 50 years from now both Toronto and Chicago will be very different cities, who knows what could happen.

[valantino]

Chicago obviously wins in size, height and architecture. I'd also add that their downtown/main skyline boasts many more of the ever popular 12 storey+ highrises than Toronto.

I do love height but I'm more envious of Chicago's abundant human-scaled (6-12 storey) developments. Chicago can use some of Toronto's nimby-ism as far as height is concerned to get developers to build more of the parking underground.