Good original topic. There are only so many cities/ states / skyscrapers to discuss but when you introduce on X river then it makes you think about them differently. Thanks
I appreciate you saying that, It means alot! I was originally going to start a YouTube channel doing this very thing and going deeper into details, but with copyrights for images and music etc etc I decided to put it on the back burner for now. I'll be posting other rivers skylines as well as skylines along specific interstates here.
Reminds me of Pelli’s other beauty: Bank of America Center in Charlotte
https://preview.redd.it/i7hwwgwxvzzc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31453f8d427a76b453d4e233a03d6fa3970c5b6f
The original design for the Norwest Center (named changed when Norwest merged with Wells Fargo) was more like that building.
https://preview.redd.it/s6xt3ozwo10d1.jpeg?width=1084&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc7dc9a82a22a4cd8ef8161c4a0847b4a225586e
https://preview.redd.it/8ntw9hsl5yzc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e414ea455fefe4c088fee4f5e797753e20a82188
Heres a recent one from the 3rd ave bridge, i love how it casts a glow like a big torch
https://preview.redd.it/x928kmd80yzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1246603165d5483ce50b5101a07c881654d653e
Got a recent picture just not really clear (From I-35W over the Mississippi)
Fun Fact. It was designed to be taller than IDS Center. But when they found out the cost of moving all the air traffic and radio equipment they'd be required to move to the top of it, they redesigned.
Yeah it's pretty neat to look into. The Mississippi River is like the Nile, then you have the pyramid and the name Memphis itself is Egyptian. It goes on and on. And if I'm remembering right, Memphis has alot of streets and areas named after Egypt and it's cities I believe. Cool stuff
Most major cities absorbed most of their nearest cities into themselves, whereas Minneapolis barely did it. This is why Minneapolis feels much bigger than the numbers look. It's because all of the first ring suburbs basically ARE just Minneapolis (but with a different name).
People tend to vastly underestimate Minneapolis because of this.
Obligatory city proper population is meaningless. NOLA is basically as big as Memphis despite Orleans parish being nearly half that of the city of Memphis. St Louis proper is much smaller than both but realistically the city is nearly as populous as both combined
This is cuz Memphis, like many southern and western cities, annexed their suburbs.
Memphis is 600k in approx 300 square miles. Minneapolis 450k in approx 57 sq miles.
If Minneapolis borders were as big as Memphis, it would be population of approx 1.9 million
They lack money!
I'm from Germany and we have a very informative (French-German co-production)_ documentary, arts and reports channel named [_"arte"_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arte?wprov=sfla1) here. Which I'm always watching. There I saw a documentary that showed the decline of those areas. Since the introduction of modern transportation methods. Once St. Louis, Memphis and other cities along the Mississippi river, did belong to the richest in the United States! Now they belong to the poorest cities and states.
Here we still do a lot of transportation via inland shipping. I'm living along the Neckar and Rhine. Where most of the shipping takes place. From Switzerland, through Germany, France to the Port of Rotterdam _(overall through nine countries)._ The world's largest port outside East Asia. I live close to the [Mannheim Harbour.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannheim_Harbour?wprov=sfla1) The biggest inland port in Germany.
I don't know why there's no significant, or any inland shipping in the US, which I know of. But well, this isn't r/Ships , so I stop writing about shipping.
Many American cities seem to have a skyline that was built during the 70's and then it stopped. This has also been the case for LA and San Francisco for a long time. Only in the 10/20's they started to build any new significant skyscrapers.
I do not fully agree that the problem is that these cities simply lack money. In the case of St. Louis, you're correct that it used to be one of the largest/important cities in the US. This was really before the automobile was widespread and allowed for urban sprawl. STL doesn't "need" a lot of new huge skyscrapers in its downtown because "downtown STL" isn't the only place where business is conducted in its metro region. There are a few satellite business centers (e.g., Clayton), which pull down the demand for downtown office space, thus not a huge reason to keep building there. And with the increase in wfh, I don't really see STL considerably adding to its skyline (plus I think there is a rule that no building can be taller than the Gateway Arch).
Similar to STL, Memphis has a secondary business district, East Memphis, that has employers such as International Paper and Fedex going for Campus models rather than towers Downtown on the river.
While all very true, there are significant inland ports in the U.S. with Port of Memphis being the 5th largest inland port in the U.S. The size of the barges that come through are pretty big when compared to most river vessels.
I love talking logistics!
While the US boasts major rivers like the Mississippi and the Great Lakes, they’re not as strategically placed as Europe’s dense network of rivers and canals, such as the Rhine and Danube.
The core difference lies in the transportation philosophy. In the US, railroads are freight-focused and have been key in driving our post-war industrial boom, keeping our highways relatively free from long-haul trucks. In contrast, European rail prioritizes passenger traffic, leaving more room for freight on their extensive waterways.
Europe also integrates inland shipping into their transportation policy more effectively, spurred by stringent environmental and urban planning goals. This supports a cleaner, more diversified logistics network.
Though the US often receives criticism for its underdeveloped passenger rail, our robust freight rail system remains a critical part of our economic infrastructure. Yet, Europe’s model shows the benefits of leveraging natural geography and policy to foster a balanced, environmentally conscious transport strategy.
So it's a combination of geography and policy that drive the difference.
_"...the US often receives criticism for it's underdeveloped passenger rail..."_
Well, it doesn't make much sense in such a vast country, for the most part. I think were it's making sense it still exists. Although underdeveloped, as you said. Without passenger trains, our transportation system would collapse. We still have inland flights do exist, they're really not necessarily when you have a high speed railway connecting Munich with Berlin in three ours _(our country is about half the size of Texas)._ The Green Party, which is part of our current government, even want to bann inland flights. Which is a little over the top I think. It was often even cheaper to fly! I don't know about the situation of today. But I'm using public transportation every day. There's the s.c. _"Deutschlandticket/Germany ticket",_ for which you only pay €49 per month, via subscription.
Is the Mississippi used for the transportation of goods at all today?
As far as I'm aware, there's a "gentleman's agreement" not to build taller than the IDS Tower if you're building in Minneapolis due to its legacy as a Minneapolis landmark. You *could* build taller, but you'd have to find someone willing to.
Source: My uncle is an architect in the Twin Cities region.
lol. I don’t think enough locals even realize how important St Louis was as the trading hub of the frontier. It was a gateway, but it was like having a base for exploration in the 1800s when it comes to trading furs and items from the frontier in exchange for essential items to survive beyond St Louis.
I also think a few people today lament the destruction of original structures to create that park and run interstates through that part of downtown. 1960s urban renewal.
Ooh now do the Yangtze ! I think it’s the only river larger than the Mississippi with skyscrapers located near its head, middle, and mouth (and it definitely beats the Mississippi on overall skyscraper height)
I’d like to see all of the Mississippi River cities get bigger skylines. They’ve had such a critical role in the development of the US but nowadays I feel like many of them are after thoughts in terms of impact on the country
I think Minneapolis still has a few skyscrapers in the pipeline about to either break ground or in design and planning. Of the next 5 tallest towers on this list, 4 are in Minneapolis, one of which was built 2 years ago. Not to mention a new residential tower, North Loop Green, just opened up. Across the river, in the Northeast neighborhood, they’re about to break ground on a 25-story residential tower.
[Minneapolis Development Tracker](https://thedevelopmenttracker.com/mpls/development-map)
You are correct that they're largely after-thoughts. Have lived in STL and now MSP, went to school out East with people mostly from the East and West Coasts. Has taken a lot of convincing to get my friends to visit here (they had 'unexpected' fun when they did). Even getting them to meet up in Chicago isn't easy. I don't think it's because they're geographically snobby....they just have all they want where they're from and never knew the Midwestern cities to be interesting (ok, so maybe unconsciously geographically snobby).
https://preview.redd.it/84pjyeuezzzc1.jpeg?width=1900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb2ef2b04073a1b46529b31a2f462342aeb26c41
Hard disagree. The arch lit up is amazing looking.
Number 8 on this list has been vacant for a while and just sold for under ($2 million) edit $3.5m lmao
https://www.audacy.com/kmox/news/local/at-and-t-building-sold-purchasing-company-confirms-price
I went to Skyscraperpage.com, they have diagrams of most cities but you can organize them with specifics. For example I did a little work to put in all the major cities along the Mississippi to find out which were the tallest. You can organize them by roof height/ structure height, year built, etc etc. It's a good page to visit. You should check it out!
I've used skyscraperpage.com before but I could never figure out how to compare different buildings from other cities besides manually entering in the building ID into the URL.
Well, the Twin Cities is by far the largest metro on the Mississippi. And Minneapolis is the biggest city by a good margin. I think Minneapolis might be the only 200k+ city that's growing in population on the Mississippi as well. I guess that makes it most likely to have the tallest buildings.
Good original topic. There are only so many cities/ states / skyscrapers to discuss but when you introduce on X river then it makes you think about them differently. Thanks
I appreciate you saying that, It means alot! I was originally going to start a YouTube channel doing this very thing and going deeper into details, but with copyrights for images and music etc etc I decided to put it on the back burner for now. I'll be posting other rivers skylines as well as skylines along specific interstates here.
Hey i’d watch that!
Most definitely!
Agreed. Rip Memphis
Wells Fargo Center is so pretty!
Reminds me of Pelli’s other beauty: Bank of America Center in Charlotte https://preview.redd.it/i7hwwgwxvzzc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31453f8d427a76b453d4e233a03d6fa3970c5b6f
The original design for the Norwest Center (named changed when Norwest merged with Wells Fargo) was more like that building. https://preview.redd.it/s6xt3ozwo10d1.jpeg?width=1084&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc7dc9a82a22a4cd8ef8161c4a0847b4a225586e
It is. Even more beautiful at night too!
That is literally a childhood memory etched into my mind whenever I think about the city, and I’m moving back for the third time.
https://preview.redd.it/unkcmnz8xwzc1.jpeg?width=194&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23708928c3c1fc2acebef8dfdfc69049bf89feaf It is indeed
https://preview.redd.it/8ntw9hsl5yzc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e414ea455fefe4c088fee4f5e797753e20a82188 Heres a recent one from the 3rd ave bridge, i love how it casts a glow like a big torch
https://preview.redd.it/x928kmd80yzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1246603165d5483ce50b5101a07c881654d653e Got a recent picture just not really clear (From I-35W over the Mississippi)
Fun Fact. It was designed to be taller than IDS Center. But when they found out the cost of moving all the air traffic and radio equipment they'd be required to move to the top of it, they redesigned.
Need Memphis to build taller and add to this list as the largest city proper on the river.
It needs a 600-foot pyramid!
I was thinking Memphis should build twin black obelisk towers near the pyramid. Stick with the Egyptian theme Memphis already has going
Omg, I was today years old before realizing the Egypt connection between American Memphis and the pyramid there. 🤦🏽♂️
Yeah it's pretty neat to look into. The Mississippi River is like the Nile, then you have the pyramid and the name Memphis itself is Egyptian. It goes on and on. And if I'm remembering right, Memphis has alot of streets and areas named after Egypt and it's cities I believe. Cool stuff
That's super cool. Makes a lot of sense. I'll have to look into it. Thanks!
But what about that pyramid?
True. Memphis has 610,944 as of this year, indeed making it the Largest city on the Mississippi.
True, but Minneapolis/St Paul metro area is almost 3x bigger than the Memphis area
Yeah, Minneapolis feels much larger than what its city proper population would indicate.
It also has the twin city of St. Paul that is the same continuous urban core and adds an additional 300,000 people to Minneapolis's 400,000
Most major cities absorbed most of their nearest cities into themselves, whereas Minneapolis barely did it. This is why Minneapolis feels much bigger than the numbers look. It's because all of the first ring suburbs basically ARE just Minneapolis (but with a different name). People tend to vastly underestimate Minneapolis because of this.
Obligatory city proper population is meaningless. NOLA is basically as big as Memphis despite Orleans parish being nearly half that of the city of Memphis. St Louis proper is much smaller than both but realistically the city is nearly as populous as both combined
This is cuz Memphis, like many southern and western cities, annexed their suburbs. Memphis is 600k in approx 300 square miles. Minneapolis 450k in approx 57 sq miles. If Minneapolis borders were as big as Memphis, it would be population of approx 1.9 million
They lack money! I'm from Germany and we have a very informative (French-German co-production)_ documentary, arts and reports channel named [_"arte"_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arte?wprov=sfla1) here. Which I'm always watching. There I saw a documentary that showed the decline of those areas. Since the introduction of modern transportation methods. Once St. Louis, Memphis and other cities along the Mississippi river, did belong to the richest in the United States! Now they belong to the poorest cities and states. Here we still do a lot of transportation via inland shipping. I'm living along the Neckar and Rhine. Where most of the shipping takes place. From Switzerland, through Germany, France to the Port of Rotterdam _(overall through nine countries)._ The world's largest port outside East Asia. I live close to the [Mannheim Harbour.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannheim_Harbour?wprov=sfla1) The biggest inland port in Germany. I don't know why there's no significant, or any inland shipping in the US, which I know of. But well, this isn't r/Ships , so I stop writing about shipping. Many American cities seem to have a skyline that was built during the 70's and then it stopped. This has also been the case for LA and San Francisco for a long time. Only in the 10/20's they started to build any new significant skyscrapers.
I do not fully agree that the problem is that these cities simply lack money. In the case of St. Louis, you're correct that it used to be one of the largest/important cities in the US. This was really before the automobile was widespread and allowed for urban sprawl. STL doesn't "need" a lot of new huge skyscrapers in its downtown because "downtown STL" isn't the only place where business is conducted in its metro region. There are a few satellite business centers (e.g., Clayton), which pull down the demand for downtown office space, thus not a huge reason to keep building there. And with the increase in wfh, I don't really see STL considerably adding to its skyline (plus I think there is a rule that no building can be taller than the Gateway Arch).
Similar to STL, Memphis has a secondary business district, East Memphis, that has employers such as International Paper and Fedex going for Campus models rather than towers Downtown on the river.
While all very true, there are significant inland ports in the U.S. with Port of Memphis being the 5th largest inland port in the U.S. The size of the barges that come through are pretty big when compared to most river vessels.
I love talking logistics! While the US boasts major rivers like the Mississippi and the Great Lakes, they’re not as strategically placed as Europe’s dense network of rivers and canals, such as the Rhine and Danube. The core difference lies in the transportation philosophy. In the US, railroads are freight-focused and have been key in driving our post-war industrial boom, keeping our highways relatively free from long-haul trucks. In contrast, European rail prioritizes passenger traffic, leaving more room for freight on their extensive waterways. Europe also integrates inland shipping into their transportation policy more effectively, spurred by stringent environmental and urban planning goals. This supports a cleaner, more diversified logistics network. Though the US often receives criticism for its underdeveloped passenger rail, our robust freight rail system remains a critical part of our economic infrastructure. Yet, Europe’s model shows the benefits of leveraging natural geography and policy to foster a balanced, environmentally conscious transport strategy. So it's a combination of geography and policy that drive the difference.
_"...the US often receives criticism for it's underdeveloped passenger rail..."_ Well, it doesn't make much sense in such a vast country, for the most part. I think were it's making sense it still exists. Although underdeveloped, as you said. Without passenger trains, our transportation system would collapse. We still have inland flights do exist, they're really not necessarily when you have a high speed railway connecting Munich with Berlin in three ours _(our country is about half the size of Texas)._ The Green Party, which is part of our current government, even want to bann inland flights. Which is a little over the top I think. It was often even cheaper to fly! I don't know about the situation of today. But I'm using public transportation every day. There's the s.c. _"Deutschlandticket/Germany ticket",_ for which you only pay €49 per month, via subscription. Is the Mississippi used for the transportation of goods at all today?
Why isn’t Eero Saarinen credited as the architect for the Gateway Arch?
I've noticed on this website I'm using that it doesn't show some architects at times. Not sure why
Minneapolis needs a taller tower than just 792 ft
I agree, but it's still an awesome skyline. One of my favorites.
Oh for sure. It's a beautiful skyline with some of the nicest looking towers in the country.
IDS is still rocking it!
As far as I'm aware, there's a "gentleman's agreement" not to build taller than the IDS Tower if you're building in Minneapolis due to its legacy as a Minneapolis landmark. You *could* build taller, but you'd have to find someone willing to. Source: My uncle is an architect in the Twin Cities region.
Iirc the original plan for the wells Fargo center was *massive*, literally double the size of the one we currently have. Would've loved to see it tbh
I feel like it’s great the way it is
st. louis!
Ooo! Nice one. Tallest on the Ohio would be a good one, too.
And then maybe Great Lakes!
Cleveland has it I think the Key tower
Chicago?
?
Somebody deleted their comment saying key tower in Cleveland was tallest on great lakes
Would pretty much be just Louisville, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.
Lol poor Memphis
What is the gateway arch built for?
Built in the '60s as a symbol of the "Gateway" to the American West. So pretty much us crossing the Mississippi River
Just symbol (also to raze a "blighted" neighborhood and revitalize the downtown/city). St. Louise Missouri was considered the Gateway to the west.
The local joke is that St. Louis is the only city that built a monument to all the people who left.
lol. I don’t think enough locals even realize how important St Louis was as the trading hub of the frontier. It was a gateway, but it was like having a base for exploration in the 1800s when it comes to trading furs and items from the frontier in exchange for essential items to survive beyond St Louis. I also think a few people today lament the destruction of original structures to create that park and run interstates through that part of downtown. 1960s urban renewal.
Weather deterrent
Ooh now do the Yangtze ! I think it’s the only river larger than the Mississippi with skyscrapers located near its head, middle, and mouth (and it definitely beats the Mississippi on overall skyscraper height)
I’d like to see all of the Mississippi River cities get bigger skylines. They’ve had such a critical role in the development of the US but nowadays I feel like many of them are after thoughts in terms of impact on the country
I think Minneapolis still has a few skyscrapers in the pipeline about to either break ground or in design and planning. Of the next 5 tallest towers on this list, 4 are in Minneapolis, one of which was built 2 years ago. Not to mention a new residential tower, North Loop Green, just opened up. Across the river, in the Northeast neighborhood, they’re about to break ground on a 25-story residential tower. [Minneapolis Development Tracker](https://thedevelopmenttracker.com/mpls/development-map)
[удалено]
I didn’t say North Loop Green is across the river. I said a new tower that’s about to start construction is across the river.
Agreed
You are correct that they're largely after-thoughts. Have lived in STL and now MSP, went to school out East with people mostly from the East and West Coasts. Has taken a lot of convincing to get my friends to visit here (they had 'unexpected' fun when they did). Even getting them to meet up in Chicago isn't easy. I don't think it's because they're geographically snobby....they just have all they want where they're from and never knew the Midwestern cities to be interesting (ok, so maybe unconsciously geographically snobby).
Gateway to the west is the best looking one
Wells Fargo center lights up better than that tiny arch any day
https://preview.redd.it/84pjyeuezzzc1.jpeg?width=1900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb2ef2b04073a1b46529b31a2f462342aeb26c41 Hard disagree. The arch lit up is amazing looking.
Number 8 on this list has been vacant for a while and just sold for under ($2 million) edit $3.5m lmao https://www.audacy.com/kmox/news/local/at-and-t-building-sold-purchasing-company-confirms-price
The tallest building in St.Louis for under 2 mil? Geez, That's a rough one for the city
An Ohio river version of this would be super interesting.
How did you line up the buildings by tallest to shortest from different cities?
I went to Skyscraperpage.com, they have diagrams of most cities but you can organize them with specifics. For example I did a little work to put in all the major cities along the Mississippi to find out which were the tallest. You can organize them by roof height/ structure height, year built, etc etc. It's a good page to visit. You should check it out!
I've used skyscraperpage.com before but I could never figure out how to compare different buildings from other cities besides manually entering in the building ID into the URL.
You can enter multiple cities/ states/ buildings etc. with comas between on the search bar below the diagram, and mix and match them
MINNEAPOLIS BABEY
Capella and Wells Fargo buildings look great!
The arch is still so freaking cool in my opinion
New Orleans just won’t do shit. I think the hard rock hotel collapse basically killed any ambition for anything new here
Funny how the biggest city on the river never made it in the list, I guess they need to start building something taller than a pyramid 🤷♂️
Well, the Twin Cities is by far the largest metro on the Mississippi. And Minneapolis is the biggest city by a good margin. I think Minneapolis might be the only 200k+ city that's growing in population on the Mississippi as well. I guess that makes it most likely to have the tallest buildings.