# NYC Vs. Chicago **URL:** \ **Category:** meta\ **Created:** [September 15, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285 "2021-09-15T20:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shane\_Keena](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/shane_keena/32/77791_2.png) [@Shane\_Keena](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Shane_Keena)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/1 "2021-09-15T20:21:05Z")
Which city is home to the first skyscraper? Which city has the better architecture/skyline? I’m not dissing Chicago here, but structural engineering is only one side of the coin. Mechanical engineering is equally important in the construction of a skyscraper and advances in those aspects should be taken into account. That is why I believe the first buildings with elevators, mostly located in New York City, should be included in this list. Who thinks New York is home to the first skyscraper? Who sides with Chicago? The battle of the Big Apple vs. the Windy City. ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Sandoval](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/dennis_sandoval/32/79318_2.png) [@Dennis\_Sandoval](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Dennis_Sandoval)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 8:25pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/2 "2021-09-15T20:25:55Z")
I think there used to be a real neck and neck competition between them, but NYC has pulled way far ahead now and is still going. ---
**Author:** ![Shane\_Keena](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/shane_keena/32/77791_2.png) [@Shane\_Keena](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Shane_Keena)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/3 "2021-09-15T20:34:35Z")
The new Tribune tower in Chicago looks pretty cool, don’t discount that. Don’t underestimate Chicago’s ability to upstage New York at any time. ---
**Author:** ![YIMHudson](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/yimhudson/32/2304_2.png) [@YIMHudson](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/YIMHudson)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 8:55pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/4 "2021-09-15T20:55:27Z")
NYC left Chicago in the dust this past decade. Super-slim uber luxury towers, multiple new office supertalls, more observatory experiences, transportation infrastructure mega-projects etc… Chicago will probably always be more affordable, but NYC is also building affordable housing units in the thousands per year. ---
**Author:** ![robertwalpole](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/robertwalpole/32/15739_2.png) [@robertwalpole](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/robertwalpole)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/5 "2021-09-15T23:39:44Z")
I love Chicago, but anyone who thinks that it’s NY’s peer is truly delusional. ---
**Author:** ![GSPLover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@GSPLover](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/GSPLover)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2021, 11:49pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/6 "2021-09-15T23:49:26Z")
So true Robert. ---
**Author:** ![tjr101](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/tjr101/32/125010_2.png) [@tjr101](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/tjr101)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/7 "2021-09-16T01:08:11Z")
I admire the Chicago skyline but let’s be real here, there is zero chance of Chicago upstaging NYC. At least not in our lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Sandoval](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/dennis_sandoval/32/79318_2.png) [@Dennis\_Sandoval](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Dennis_Sandoval)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 4:53am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/8 "2021-09-16T04:53:51Z")
NY’s peers are now in Asia. ---
**Author:** ![lowkeylion](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/lowkeylion/32/1239_2.png) [@lowkeylion](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/lowkeylion)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/9 "2021-09-16T20:06:36Z")
There are no peers. Asia is still poor and likely always will be relative to the US. ---
**Author:** ![SMCYB](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/smcyb/32/71640_2.png) [@SMCYB](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/SMCYB)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/10 "2021-09-16T21:00:23Z")
Chicago moved to Asia? ---
**Author:** ![SMCYB](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/smcyb/32/71640_2.png) [@SMCYB](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/SMCYB)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/11 "2021-09-16T21:03:02Z")
1 New York 2 N/A 3 N/A 4 Chicago 5-12 (in no particular order). Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Miami, San Francisco ---
**Author:** ![bmosborne](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/bmosborne/32/78906_2.png) [@bmosborne](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/bmosborne)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 10:16pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/12 "2021-09-18T22:16:14Z")
Chicago’s skyline is more aesthetically pleasing, but New York City is by far bigger. Chicago has fallen way behind New York and other global cities in new development. Just a decade ago, Chicago was supposed to build the Chicago Spire, but now it is struggling to build new buildings while New York City and others continue to build. ---
**Author:** ![robertwalpole](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/robertwalpole/32/15739_2.png) [@robertwalpole](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/robertwalpole)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/13 "2021-09-19T00:07:51Z")
That Chicago’s skyline is more aesthetically pleasing is an opinion, and one that I don’t agree with. ---
**Author:** ![tjr101](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/tjr101/32/125010_2.png) [@tjr101](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/tjr101)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/14 "2021-09-19T02:24:26Z")
I hear that a lot from people who prefer Chicago’s skyline, that it’s more aesthetically pleasing. That’s subjective. For me personally, nothing on the Chicago skyline can hold a candle to the ESB and Chrysler. Maybe the Tribune building, but that is too short to even be seen from a distance. Chicago like the majority of US cities have sadly fallen way behind. It’s only NYC that’s consistently producing showstoppers on the skyline. ---
**Author:** ![Shane\_Keena](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/shane_keena/32/77791_2.png) [@Shane\_Keena](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Shane_Keena)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/15 "2021-09-19T03:55:55Z")
Does it start top-down with major projects, or does transitioning those inner-ring, single-family neighborhoods to brownstones/row houses count as a start? ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_Sandoval](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/dennis_sandoval/32/79318_2.png) [@Dennis\_Sandoval](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Dennis_Sandoval)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 4:46am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/nyc-vs-chicago/20285/16 "2021-09-19T04:46:27Z")
Not to mention the Woolworth building. Some of the new skyscrapers are spectacular too. 111 W 57th, Tower Verre, Via W 57th, 1 Vandy, 9 Dekalb, 56 Leonard. I even love 10 & 30 Hudson yards. I think they are unique and look like giant crystals from a distance.