See 8 City Skylines Change – Then & Now

It’s incredible to see how much cities have changed in sometimes a very short amount of time. However, I’ve seen some before and after pictures where the writer uses two different parts of town! In one case they used pictures from two different sides of the river in London. So I decided to make my own before and after pictures and point out the old buildings in both pics, so you know you’re comparing apples to apples.

Think about it, I could take a picture right now in Las Vegas of the desert and then turn around and take a picture of the strip. Once I put the desert in black and white, you’d never know. Yes, Las Vegas changed a lot, but I want to see the change.

Hong Kong

Apparently from the 1960s and 2014 – this is my favorite skyline, and this is the view you get from the InterContinental Hong Kong (one of my favorite hotels).

(Credits: here & here)

Dubai

What is incredible about Dubai is that its first high-rise building was built in 1978. Now it’s known for having the tallest buildings in the world! The first photo here was taken around 2005, only a decade ago.

(Credits: here & here)

Shanghai

The first photo is Pudong in the 90s! Can you believe this entire business downtown of Shanghai has been birthed in a couple decades? And by the way, that second tallest building with the observation deck, in the top floors is the Park Hyatt Shanghai, where we stayed on floor 96 with two free nights from the Hyatt card.

(Credits: here & here)

Toronto

What can I say, it’s a beautiful city!

(Credits here & here.)

Singapore

If you’ve been to Singapore you likely know already that this is the Fullerton Hotel being pointed out. The old picture is from the 60’s, and the new one is not showing what is across the water to the left – the Marina Bay Sands (like this photo does). No doubt that this modern skyline has changed a ton in a short period of time. Maybe the most drastic, second to Pudong, Shanghai.

(Credits: here & here)

New York

This is a view of my favorite park in New York: Battery Park. While New York is always growing, this south tip of Manhattan is the most drastic change, in my opinion.

(Credits here & here)

Sydney

A very old aerial of Sydney, possibly 1932, shows a Sydney without skyscrapers and without the iconic Sydney Opera House. The harbor is a must see for any traveler, in my opinion.

(Credits: here & here)

Kuala Lumpur

Here’s a very old photo of KL, back before the Petronas Towers were build (they were built in 1996). We loved waking up to a view of the iconic towers at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur and overlooking the beautiful park. Here you can see them developing it.

(Credits: here & here)

Conclusion

While there were many other cities that have changed a lot, these were the ones I found that I could compare and point out. If you want to contribute a before and after pointing out the consistent buildings, I’d be curious to see it. Most of us in the frequent flyer miles hobby have been to many of these cities multiple times, so the pictures are even more meaningful.