# Your City/Town Three Graces!



## Karl1587 (Jan 10, 2011)

What are the three best buildings of your City/Town? The ones that stand out architecturally? lets see...

I live in Chorley, Lancashire, England, UK. And i consider these as my towns three best buildings (population of Chorley ~ 40,000)

Chorley Town Hall









Chorley Central Library









Astley Hall, Astley Park


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

*Vienna *

It is very hard to make a selection as there are several nice buildings but not a short list of generally agreed superior ones. Whatever, I go for the two icons of the city and one less known but IMO very special building. 

Stephan' Cathedral
The greatest gothic building in Vienna and also among the oldest buildings in town.









Wiener Riesenrad (Viennese Ferris Wheel)
The oldest still existing (and functional) Ferris wheel in the world. 








http://www.vienna-alacarte.com/Private-Chauffeur-Driven-City-Tour-of-Vienna?page=7

Waste incinerator Spittelau
Hundertwasser Design


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## dweebo2220 (Jan 13, 2006)

I'm living in Manhattan Beach at the moment (a beach town suburb of LA--pop. 35K).
I think these are the three most architecturally significant buildings, though I'm sure others would disagree:

The "roundhouse" on the pier:









Craig Ellwood's "South Bay Bank":









Ray Kappe's Scheimer House:


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## Raaymanx (Feb 16, 2010)

*Graz, Austria*

i'm living in graz, a city with a pop. of about 260.000in the south-eastern of austria.

herz-jesu-church









kunsthaus









the mausoleum of ferdinand II


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## hudkina (Oct 28, 2003)

Detroit, Michigan, USA:

The Guardian Building remains one of the tallest brick-faced buildings in the world:

The Guardian Building - Detroit's Timeless Treasure by Brian Callahan (ShinsanBC), on Flickr

Interior:

Guardian Building Lower Lobby by Brian Callahan (ShinsanBC), on Flickr

The Fisher Building was originally supposed to be one wing of a much larger complex but the onset of the Great Depression ended the greater ambitions:

The Fisher Building by Reading Tom, on Flickr

Interior:

Fisher Building Lobby by Dig Downtown Detroit, on Flickr

The Fox Theatre is the largest surviving movie palace from the 1920's:

Fox Theater by K.G.Photos, on Flickr

Interior:

Fox Theatre, Detroit, MI (HDR) by dionnemusic, on Flickr


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## gino lo spazzino (May 21, 2010)

Milano, Lombardia, Italia

Duomo di Milano:



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Rinascente Mall Palace:



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Castello Sforzesco:



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Galleria Vittorio Emanuele:


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Central Station:



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## Galro (Aug 9, 2010)

*Oslo, Norway.*

Based on popularity, I would say these three (not my personal picks though):

*Holmenkollen Ski Jump:*

En flott hoppbakke - Holenkollen by flutnace, on Flickr

*Oslo City Hall:*

Oslo city hall once again by jeetland, on Flickr

*Oslo Opera House:*

Oslo Opera House by christian.senger, on Flickr


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## Crash_N (May 19, 2011)

My hometown of Zagreb has many brilliant 19th century buildings as well as several great pieces of modern arhitecture, and its three most important, best-known are: 

*1. St. Stephen's Cathedral ( Katedrala sv. Stjepana )*


0316ak by Lancista69, on Flickr


Zagreb Cathedral by Neil Alan Harris, on Flickr


Inside the Zagreb Cathedral by etherwar, on Flickr

There's been a cathedral here since the 11th century ( Zagreb is first mentioned by name in a decree by the king Ladislaus of Hungary and Croatia in 1094, when the city became the seat of the newly formed diocese). The old cathedral was a romanesque building with one belltower. It was raised by the Tatars in 1242 and then rebuilt and extended, with massive fortifications built around the church. The church became the seat of the newly established archdiocese of Zagreb in 1852. In 1880 the earthquake had hit the city and destroyed or damaged almost every building in the city. The old and
poorly maintained cathedral was almost leveled to the ground. The reconstruction was left to the Austrian architect Herman Bolle ( he supervised much of the reconstrucion of the city after the quake ) and was rebuilt in Gothic Revival style. The new cathedral featured two 110 meters tall belltowers with elevators to the top floors and extensivly remodelled interior of the church. of the old cathedral, only a small cript on the northen side remains. The old walls were scheduled for demolition in order to open the church to the park behind it and the newly formed square in front of it. Unfortunately the local NIMBYis protested against the demolition and the entire masterplan was cancelled right afrer the front wall was demolished, leaving the square unfinished and causing a great imbalance between the church and it's suroundings. Nevertheless, the cathedral remains the tallest building in Croatia and the icon of the city of Zagreb.

*2. The Croatian National Theatre ( Hrvatsko narodno kazalište )*


Croatian National Theater by Penningtron, on Flickr


Vlaho_Bukovac,_Hrvatski_preporod_(svecani_zastor_Hrvatskog_narodnog_kazalista_u_Zagrebu) by Crash_N, on Flickr


Croatian National Theatre by franimal, on Flickr

The Croatian National Theatre is the grandest building of Zagrebs Lower town ( _Donji grad_ ), and is located on the NW end of the so-called "Green horseshoe", the series of 8 parks and gardens, icluding the small, but beautifull, Zagreb botanical garden. The construction of the new theatre became a necessity as the old theatre in Upper town ( _Gornji grad_ ) was already too small. The new theatre was erected at the site of the old Fair, on the present day Marshall Tito Square. The Neo-barocque building was designed by the Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Herman Helmer, who had also designed many other theatre houses across Austria-Hungary ( which is why all of these theatres look alike, differing only in the details and the size ). The main curtain, titled "Croatian National Revival" was painted by the Croatian artist Vlaho Bukovac, and depicts the famous poets, artists and intellectuals of the Croatian National Revival. "The well of life", built by world-famous architect Ivan Meštrović, was erected in front of the theatre in 1912. The building was opened in 1895 by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph during his visit to Zagreb. He was invited by the pro-hungarian Croatian Duke ( _ban _) Khuen-Hedervary, who wanted to show the emperor how he'd subdued Croatia completly. But a group of students organised a protest and burned the Hungarian flag on the main city square. They were arrested and expelled from the Zagreb University.

*3. The Mirogoj Cemetary *


mirogoj by wonknuts, on Flickr


Mirogoj galeri2 by tbudak, on Flickr


The Mirogoj Cemetery by Fouad GM, on Flickr


zagreb - mirogoj by manatag., on Flickr

As Zagreb grew in the 19th century, the old parish cemetaries became overcrowded and the need arose for a big public cemetary. The land for the new cemetary was provided by the poet and a linguist Ljudevit Gaj, one of the key figures of the Croatian National Revival, and officially founded in 1876. The arcades that enclose the cemetary from the west were designed by Herman Bolle ( the same man who designed the Cathedral ) and the construction lasted from 1879 to 1929. The arcades are covered in ivy and look beatuiful and colourful in the summer and early autumn. The arcades have a total of 18 copper-cladded cupolas, and are divided into two in the center by the domed building of Christ the King Church. Because of its design, the Mirogoj Cemetery is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemetery parks in Europe ( if not the whole world ), and is among the more noteworthy landmarks in the City of Zagreb.
The arcades themselves are the resting place for numerous famous Croats, with a huge section reserved for the members of the Revival. The cemetary inters people of all religious groups, Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Jews etc. There are several memorials to the victims of both World Wars, the Croatian War of Independance, victims of Bleiburg massacre and a German war cemetary.

Well, I hope you like these buildings, which are just a few of Zagrebs many jewels, and I hope you'd come and visit my city. You're most welcome!
:cheers:


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## Crash_N (May 19, 2011)

Though, this thread probably belongs to the "Cityscapes and Skyline photos" section. 
Moderators?


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