Skylines, Then & Now: What These Iconic Skylines Looked Like Half A Century Ago
With skyscraper construction becoming more and more popular, it's staggering to see how much our architectural landscape has benefited thanks to supertall buildings and shiny green balls (howdy Dallas). Check out how much of a difference 50 years makes for some of the country's most breathtaking skylines.
LA (1950-now)
The mighty LA skyline still stands tall against the San Gabriel Mountains—getting riddled with skyscrapers over the past 75 years, with the US Bank Tower heading up an impressive list of 50-plus-story buildings.
Vegas (1950-now)
Nothing says splendor like the casino-packed view of Vegas at night. When you combine a pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, a golden lion, and the ruins of ancient Rome, and cover it all in neon, you have possibly the world's grooviest skyline.
Dallas (1950-now)
The big ball on top of Reunion Tower, (the state’s second tallest observation tower)—and the green neon of the Bank of America building—turned Dallas into the prettiest skyline in Texas.
Chicago (1950-now)
Chicago, like it did with cold weather and street crime, has taken something New York does well and improved on it. Because while Chi-town built up just like NYC, it managed to avoid going crazy with it to maintain a skyline with shape and recognizable features. Set that on the shores of Lake Michigan, and you’ve got probably the best big city skyline in the world.
St. Louis (1950-now)
If there's a one-man team of American skylines, it’s St. Louis, where the entire skyline is unrecognizable save for the giant 630-foot Gateway Arch, America’s tallest monument and pretty much the only thing people know about St. Louis that doesn’t involve baseball or microbrew.
Philadelphia (1950-now)
Philadelphia City Hall was the tallest in the world from 1901-1908. Now, it is the ninth-tallest, with the towering 119 total floors of One and Two Liberty Place, the former standing at 945 feet.
Philadelphia (1950-now)
Philadelphia City Hall, was the tallest in the world from 1901-1908. Now, it is the ninth tallest, with the towering 119 total floors of One and Two Liberty Place, the former standing 945-foot tall.
Seattle (1950-now)
Seattle is like the homely girl in high school, who on the six days a year she decided to get dressed up made every guy regret not flirting with her in art class. Set a bunch of architecturally unique high-rises on a steep hill, front it with a space-age national landmark, put snow-capped Mount Rainier behind it, and set it all on the shores of Puget Sound, and you have the most breathtaking skyline in America. (On a sunny day—of which Seattle has about six a year.)
Houston (1950-now)
The country's fourth-largest metro turned on the jets for development over the last half century, adding iconic buildings like the 1,002-foot JP Morgan Chase Tower in the '70s and the stacked pyramid of the Bank of America Center put up in 1984.
