[Vocodr]

The Grace Hotel has a definite NYC/Gotham City look about it.

errr... no.
I know most schmucks north of the Murray like to compare themselves to cities in America, but really.... I mean... REALLY... why not be Sydney rather than some try-hard American-like city.

Sydney is Sydney. Nothing else.

No-one here is saying Sydney is like Manhattan - it's just a thread about Manhattan/NYC-style buildings in Sydney. Besides, Sydney is arguably far more itself than Melbourne. One of Melburnians' most oft-repeated claims is that it's Australia's "most European" city. By contrast, I never hear Sydneysiders claim that Sydney is Australia's "most American" city.

'I know most schmucks south of the Murray like to compare themselves to cities in Europe, but really... I mean... REALLY... why not be Melbourne rather than some try-hard European-like city.

Melbourne is Melbourne. Nothing else.'

 

[Vocodr]

The lack of Georgian and neo-Gothic architecture in Australia is depressing. I think the only city in our country with a good selection of beautiful historical buildings is Melbourne.

I disagree - for a start, almost all of Australia's limited examples of Georgian architecture is found in two cities: Sydney and Hobart. Melbourne has next to none. (Not surprising, because Georgian architecture generally comes from the period 1720-1840; Sydney was founded in 1788, Hobart in 1804, Melbourne in 1835.) Sydney and Melbourne are probably equal in terms of neo-Gothic but I would say Sydney just edges out over Melbourne, retaining some of Australia's best and most prominent examples: Sydney University, St Mary's Cathedral, Government House, etc. Sydney definitely has a better selection of Federation architectural styles than Melbourne; there's absolutely no argument there. It also has a better selection of Art Deco, IMO. Where Melbourne truly shines is Victorian architecture. I would say it wins out over Sydney in both quality and sheer numbers, but not by a huge margin.

 

[Vocodr]

Don't really agree about the Anzac Arcade bldgs - they've always reminded me of Boer/South African colonial buildings. One building in Brisbane that I think looks *very* NYC (the only one) is the Manor Apartments. In fact, it stood in for a New York skyscraper in the 1996 film "Phantom" starring Billy Zand and Catherine Zeta-Jones, which was largely filmed at Warner Bros Movieworld and in/around Brisbane.