Top 15 Skylines in North America | 2023 

i want to live there so bad, even for a year or 2 but that cold looks hellish. one of the very few problems i have with the area

@@diodelvino3048 I get it. Chicago and Minneapolis would be two of the best cities of the Midwest to live in… but those long and frigid winters. 😬

Its frustrating as hell, cause those cities check off so many boxes for me, i just dont think im built for it....i'll try someplace up north that isnt as cold first, then we'll see....@@Earth1218

I’m from Chicago it is beautiful ❤

I lived here all my life and it's gorgeous year round even with the cold winter. You learn to love the winter because there's still so much going on during that time as well. Come on down for a year or 2 and try it on for size 😎

Skylines with mainly condos, are different and don't count.

@@Canada-zm5mj Because they give a false representation of the skyline. Skylines for strong cities are office buildings. Condos are for living, so anyone could get those. Office buildings mean that the city is important and not a vacation spot.

Thank you!! Yeah I felt like I had to provide my justification for not putting NYC #1

Well you should see Chicago building that up right now, the you also have projects like lincoln yards and the 78 coming in years to come as well.

Yes and no, there're infill on the back end in T-dot but it's spotty

Why would Montreal be on this list? I don't think it's better than any listed here.

@@lucky247365 Because it has the mountain - Mont Royal - in the background, and the river down below.

@@lucky247365have you been to Montreal?

Who?

I certainly agree with the fact that Ciudad de Mexico and Monterrey really do have impressive skylines as well. Interestingly, Monterrey has North America’s tallest building outside the USA, which is Torres Obispado Torre 1 and the first building in North America outside the USA to exceed 1,000 feet.

Agree, both Monterrey and Mexico City's skylines are really growing. But I think they are so new that they haven't made a mark on the public mind as of yet.

True Monterrey is stunning and Mexico City skyline is sprawling

I honestly thought Philly would be # 3, but # 4 is great, too!

Yeah Detroit was one of those cities on the bubble for me so I probably should have included it as an honorable mention. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and making the case for Detroit!

Agree, Detroit has always had an iconic skyline, with the Renn. Centre. Would be worthy of at least an hon mention.

Since my family roots in Detroit I am biased, too. But I really love the skyline and find it to be very characteristic and iconic, although it is not that dense and that high as in other cities. Yet there are some of the most beautiful and impressive skyscrapers, like the Guardian Building (my absolute favorite! Honestly... how incredibly beautifully designed can a building be?), the Penobscot Building, the Buhl Building, the Book Tower, which are just amazingly artistic examples of the best American architecture could bring forward (the Fisher Building adds to it as a solitair standing tall in a distance to the other historic buildings). Then there are the modern buildings, first of all of course the Renaissance Center, but also One Woodward Ave., built by the same architect Minoru Yamasaki, who also invented the WTC in NYC and left some other wonderful traces of his art in Detroit, like some beautiful buildings for Wayne State University. And the very characteristic shape of the Ally Detroit Center, home of the Flagstar Bank. Love them all, and it feels like home, although my parents moved away from it with me to Germany. But the most part of my family still lives there, and I love visiting them and see the city where all of my family started.

@@FranzKaernBiederstedt agreed, loved views of Detroit skyline growing up across the river in Canada.

Detroit does have a nice skyline

Mount Royal in the background does make Montreal's skyline quite stunning.

Mediocre skyline

Yes. Top 5 worthy in my opinion

@@secrets.295 zero signature towers and extremely flat. How on earth is that a realistic ranking?

Montreal literally looks like Atlanta skyline lol. It's tiny and uninteresting

Thank you!!

Thank you!! 🙏

Thank you!!!

You should visit! It’s amazing in the summer

Chicago's downtown is incredibly arranged. Nothing feels out of place. Everything seems to fall in line perfectly.

I've been to New York and Chicago, and I can tell you that Chicago's downtown is lightyears better than NYC's. Which is saying a lot, because NYs skyline is extremely impressive. Chicago's downtown gives you a feeling of grandeur, whereas New York's downtown feels dark and chaotic. I'm not from either city, so no bias.

​@@born_supreme Yes it's true. Downtown Chicago has a grand/majestc quality to it while other big city centers can feel chaotic and have a grungy quality to them in places. Not Chicago. I was impressed both times was there. It's incredibly designed.

@@born_supreme NYC is so large that the downtown does not matter and is not the center of the city - unlike most cities. Chicago may have the 2nd best skyline, but next to NYC's - it is clear why NYC is the largest city in the US by far.

Thank you!! And I’m glad you agree with my top choice 😊 And you’re right, I probably should have at least included Cinci as an honorable mention.

It would have been nice if Newport had a skyscraper that approached that of Covington, which is still impressive for a town of it's size......

I figured Chicago would be picked first. I lived there in my 20s and the skyline has a way of smacking you in the face whether you drive in from the North via Lake Shore Drive or the west via I-88 or North Ave. Very sad to see what has happened to my city over the past decade..but one day it will be back to normal

Thank you!

Yeah it’s a great skyline! I can’t take my eyes off it anytime I’m heading south on the 35W bridge. I’m excited about the North Loop Green as well. The Capella Tower is probably my favorite but I also like the Foshay tower. I like it enough to have it as part of my logo 😊

@@CityGeek sir why is Vancouver below Houston LMAO? it has ocean and mountains and looks newer. Up next.... Shanghai below Detroit....

He'll put Detroit at #1. 🤔

Minneapolis is definitely nice! I visited in 2020 and will never forget my view from Marriott City Center. impressive skyline for a beautiful underrated city!

Thank you!!

Thank you! I might have to do a Canadian city again 😊

@@CityGeek that would be awesome!

Thank you!! It’s been a long time coming 😊

Houston should've been ranked higher It only showed downtown but there's 8 different skylines outside that area

@Jayden Gray they always f*ck over Houston's skyline only showing a tiny part of the city (downtown) and leaving out the rest

It pains me to see Chicago at number 1, but I get it. I am a bias native New Yorker though 😂 great video!

They do the same thing to Atlanta. And when he said Atlanta and Charlotte together it means this is just his opinion based on his favorite cities. Pittsburgh? Minneapolis? 🤔

Thank you!! I'm glad you agree that Minneapolis has a great skyline!

I guess what hurts it is that its all spread out and not clustered. downtown has a few, midtown has a few, and buckhead has a few too. if all the buckhead ones were moved to midtown and downtown, then Atlanta would easily have a top 5 skyline in the country. Also, I agree that Atlantas skyscraper architecture is incredible.

@@sri-kaushalramana437 Fair enough, but midtown atlanta along beats most cities in the US.

@@shivtim true, especially the north side of midtown. if they connect the north side down to the bank of America plaza then it would really look like a southern Manhattan

@@sri-kaushalramana437 agreed. If they were all together it would be incredible but the fact that they are so spread out really hurts Atlanta's overall beauty.

How high up is the balcony?

@@SupportTheArts-yo8ox It's not a high balcony, like one floor up, but Chicago looks amazing from that northern balcony at the Planetarium! The view looks like in the video at 8:29, but much closer to the ground, of course!

Thank you!

Thank you!!

Seattle also is the 3rd City ever to get a Skyscraper as the Smith Tower is almost 120 years old! Also - They need to fight the Government who keeps trying to Block the Proposed 1300 foot cap, to build one of the Tallest Buildings in the Country (4/C)

I don't think ANY skyscraper they put will beat the ICONIC empire state! Of course, after the tragedy of 9/11, that was the tallest skyscraper in New York tor a good while. And, of course, New York has the statue of liberty 🗽

@@SupportTheArts-yo8ox well yeah of course but what I’m saying is, all the new towers, especially those god awful super tall slender ones are blocking out all the classics and iconics, hell I even heard tell that they’re building the new tallest skyscraper in the city right in front of the Chrysler. Like good god way to completely obscure what makes you iconic right.

Funny how San Diego did not even make this list. He must have overlooked it.

@@HardCold-Alquan I'd totally pick San Diego over LA

@@anthonysnyder1152 Me too

Edmonton??? Seriously???

Thank you!!

Thank you!! I'd definitely recommend visiting Pittsburgh.

Chicago is decent but there skyline being primarily built up on the water makes it a flawed city for growth. Chicago needs to begin to construct a downtown core in the center of city to maximize its development density similar to NYC having midtown and downtown. Chicago just doesn’t have the sprawling feel of development that DC (DMV), LA and NYC have

And I agree with you, Houston has a hideous downtown largely impart to their horrible city zoning laws.

To bad Chicago got no beach and no booty

@@bnb8277 It's unfortunate, if you took all the areas in Houston with skyscrapers (Downtown, Medical Center, Galleria, Energy Corridor, etc.) and shoved them all together, it would be an amazing skyline.

Thanks!!

Wow! That's kind of how it feels if you ever go to the top of the Foshay tower in Minneapolis. That's a smaller scale example, but fitting.

Manhattan is on the water too...

​@@HardCold-Alquanthey don't capitalize on that asset though the city is mainly towers all the way up to the water besides maybe battery park and a few thin parts while majority of Chicago's skyline is parkland on the water that improves the beauty

​@@HardCold-Alquan in a different way, though.

Thank you!

Thank you! I really appreciate the comment

Wow, thanks for the reply

It remains the tallest masonry building in the world

Everything about Philly is what WAS - not what IS.

Detroit?🤔😂😂😂

@@laryanryan9170 Cleveland and Buffalo have beautiful skylines as well.

@@laryanryan9170 There are Art Deco buildings in Detroit that are absolutely stunning, despite the ignorance of the inhabitants due largely to demographic composition.

@@sergpie I don't remember seeing art deco buildings in Detroit but I was never looking for any whenever I was there. By the way I hate art deco buildings.

@@sergpie so basically your saying ignorant black people right? I mean, no need to sugarcoat the clear bigotry.

Thanks! Yeah I love both skylines but I had to give Chicago a slight edge

@@CityGeek Your definitely not alone. Look how many people agree with you just in this comment section, and if you look at similar videos on youtube, there's seems to be more Chicago fans then NY.

@@C-mac_in_the_6ix Chicago's skyline seems to be more cohesive than New York's.

Thank you!!

They’re alright. Monterrey I’d give number 16 😂 Mexico City is meh, maybe number 20 or below LOL.

Frankly, a lot of the skinny supertall buildings in NYC look like smokestacks. And that is not particularly beautiful.

@@tescherman3048 Whatever, but you know that they are stunning and you are mad because Chicago cannot claim to have the tallest anymore and they cannot keep up.

Mad? LOL. Smokestack supertalls are ugly.@@HardCold-Alquan

@@tescherman3048 They give the NYC skyline a futuristic look and make Chicago's skyline look like Philly or L.A. I'll bet once IF Chicago and once L.A. gets one - or two for them, THEN they will be beautiful to you!

@@HardCold-Alquan Nope. Not futuristic at all. They still look like smokestacks from an 1890 industrial city. Ugly on the skyline. And I don't live in Chicago or even much care about it, so chill, dude.

Thanks! I’m glad you agree!

Thank you!!

Fr Calgary is so nice. I came from Cali to go there for vacation and I think it’s my fav city in na

Thanks! I haven't done that but that is an interesting idea. Thanks for the suggestion!

That’s awesome! It’s a beautiful city

I think Cincinnati is also underrated. That view down the hill on the Kentucky side of i75 is always stunning. Also Great American Tower is one of my more favorite newer skyscrapers mainly because of it's crown.

@@tylerguy4496 agreed. The view is always amazing and that is a rather cool skyscraper as well.

Its too small...it's on the level of Louisville ,Ky

Houston Dallas and Vancouver? They are pretty boring to look at overall, too monotone in color and architecture and layout. Nothing stands out in any of those cities unfortunately.

Thanks!! Yeah I think I will at some point. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks!!

Too spread out between downtown,midtown and Buckhead

@@DJ_BROBOT that is certainly a legitimate point. I hope they will one day fill in the gaps.

That's a skyline from downtown to midtown alone should make the list.

@@DJ_BROBOTit’s still a skyline

Agreed. Also there's zombies everywhere which is pretty unique.

I was just watching 'The Man Who Knew too Much' and SF did not even have a skyline then! SF remains a very unique city however.

I like Mexico City's skyline! I just don't like it as much as the ones that I mentioned on this list

No

Yeah I’ll add it too the list!

Thank you!!

Thanks!! Yeah and I can understand why someone would want Vancouver higher on the list. It's a beautiful skyline

@@CityGeek ancouver's is def nicer than houstons

Amen! It kind of reminds me of a smaller scale version of Los Angeles. It's more compact, but the buildings fit so well together and stand out.

Thanks!! And that’s good to know about the Houston skyline and it’s too bad that there isn’t more footage showing it from different angles. Houston is one of the only skylines on this list that I haven’t personally seen in person so my opinion might have been higher if I wasn’t completely relying on images and drone footage. Thanks for the thoughtful comment, as always! 😊

I have it on my page

I think you should really visit Houston More specifically post Houston it’s like a rooftop lounge dwntwn everyone including tourist visit when they come into town And from there you can see just how gorgeous Houston skyline really is up close and in person and see just how beautifully the sun sunsets also complimenting the skyline itself Many has underrated opinions until actually visiting post Houston It also has different restaurants gift shops etc inside And at your convenience Our skyline is way better then most of the skylines on this list especially cities such as Dallas San Francisco Minneapolis Pittsburgh and Seattle And rivals cities such as nyc &&Chicago But much like Miami it would take for you to see it in person Bcuz the thing w/ most of these skylines aside from having never ending skyscrapers So it seems is tht they all have some type of backdrop body of water/mountains to make the skyline look better then it actually does🤷🏿‍♂️And the thing w/ Houston is tht we dnt need any of tht Bcuz our city is naturally beautiful w/ the palm trees And lush greenery vegetation && rivers snaking through the city By day And when the Skyline is lit up by night along w/ the sunset twilight It not only look picturesque But also futuristic and like something straight out of a movie And something else worth noting the way the tourist and visitors are standing out there taking pictures of themselves w/ the Houston skyline as their backdrop you would think they we’re in Paris standing in front of the Eiffel Tower And this is no exaggeration either All You have to do is come to post Houston and you’ll see exactly wht im talking abt😎🤷🏿‍♂️👀

The Tetons. They're on the western border of Wyoming near Jackson. You'll definitely need to visit!

@@CityGeek Thank you, I can't wait!

No, Philly's skyline is better. He got it right. There's an awesome variety of architectural styles throughout the city, as evidenced through City Hall, the Drake, the Comcast Center, the FMC Tower, etc. Seattle simply lacks the architectural diversity that an East Coast or Midwest city would have

I agree with both, especially with Seattle ahead of Philly. Seattle's skyline, besides being framed amongst the PNW evergreens, the Puget sound and Mt. Rainier, has some of the most architecturally diverse buildings on this list, and with the Smith Tower and King Street Station being complete within a few years of Philadelphia City Hall, there is no lack of historical architecture. I also really love the city's modern skyscraper design with buildings like the Rainier Square Tower, who's facade mimicks the falling raindrops of the region's natural climate (look it up, it's really cool!)

@@jacobwood1707 While I agree about the architecture point, I think the spectacular natural setting gives Seattle a big boost. Pittsburgh's skyline also really benefits from it's unique natural setting as well.

I live down here in Miami!, I was a little bummed out on how he didnt add a little footage of the city at night. But Miami's skyline during certain angles look like busted teeth. There are gaps between some buildings and make it look weird. Sometime in the very near future, those gaps will be filled, and miami will have a much bigger skyline!

Thanks! And that’d make an interesting video. Thanks for the suggestion!