Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#1

Post by monort » Sun, Jan 10, 2016, 6:24 PM UTC

Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)
observer.com

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#2

Post by pc86 » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 2:47 PM UTC

(2012)

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#3

Post by Amorymeltzer » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 2:51 PM UTC

Two points:

- It's only the "middle" if you ignore everything above 59th street. Which is fair if you're considering skyscrapers but otherwise quite false.

- The two peaks roughly correspond to the old city in lower Manhattan, where the financial district is, and to the bottom of central park, where the views are.

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#4

Post by krschultz » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 3:04 PM UTC

It's all zoning. Which means it's all politics. At best you can come up with some historical explanations for how certain neighborhoods evolved, but really it is practically random.

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#5

Post by ilzmastr » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 4:20 PM UTC

"Therein, he posited his belief in a correlation between bedrock and big buildings, and like the Empire State Building" - What a weird sentence. Like a skyscraper being built successfully is some random event that can be used to indicate bedrock. Are measurements of the bedrock really that hard to come by?

p.s. How old is the quote at the end lol? "traipsing through ... Soho to get to work? That land was cheap, but the location was worthless"

[Some](http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/092515...) would say soho is the most expensive neighborhood now

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#6

Post by dang » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 4:31 PM UTC

pc86 wrote: post #2

(2012)

Good catch. Added.

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#7

Post by CPLX » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 4:32 PM UTC

Amorymeltzer wrote: post #3

Two points: - It's only the "middle" if you ignore everything above 59th street. Which is fair if you're considering skyscrapers but otherwise quite false. - The two peaks roughly correspond to the old city in lower Manhattan, where the financial district is, and to the bottom of central park, where the views are.

I'd hazard a guess that it's not the views, but three giant transportation hubs (grand central, penn station, and the port authority) that form the axis of the midtown high rise district. Looking out the window is nice, but it's filling those buildings with people every morning that comprises the real magic of a central business district.

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#8

Post by jchendy » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 4:57 PM UTC

The article doesn't really answer the question. It's more like "here's some evidence that a popular myth is incorrect."

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#9

Post by noodles23 » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 5:13 PM UTC

I thought this was a joke with the answer being "because there's a giant park instead of buildings"

Re: Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan (2012)

#10

Post by pluckytree » Mon, Jan 11, 2016, 5:23 PM UTC

I had trouble getting past the first sentence. That NYC has the finest skyline in the world is a fact? Well, I think it’s ugly and uninspiring. And that’s not a fact. Also, seems extremely odd to not just ask developers why they don’t build skyscrapers in the middle of the island? They would be able to tell you whether it’s lack of feasibility or that no one has asked them to do it.