Full NYC Skyline view from a road

[mrsman]

In the Canadian forum, AsphaltPlanet posted:

View looking easterly towards the Toronto Skyline from the Winston Churchill Boulevard overtop of the QEW:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/QEW_images/QEW_cl_124_TB_skyline_Sep21_24x16.jpg

An extremently impressive highway photo with a view of the entire Toronto skyline. 

In response to the photo, I posed the following question:

Is the area of highrises even larger than that of NY?

{I'm asking in terms of area, not height.  From that vantage point, it appears to be linear corridor of about 20 miles of highrises.}

Given the above photo, I wonder if there is a similarly impressive photo of Manhattan's entire skyline (Midtown and Downtown and perhaps any other nearby skyscrapers in Queens, Brookllyn, and/or NJ) that can be viewed from a highway with a similarly impressive view.

In other words, I'm trying to find as good a vantage point for NYC from a highway.  It is hard to capture both Midtown and Downtown in one shot.  Another issue that probably impacts Manhattan is that the "Valley" (between Canal and 14th) doesn't have many tall buildings at all.  Kind of view them as being separate high rise CBDs.


Here's a respectable vantage point off I-278 in Queens that captures the midtown skyline, with some newer highrises in the Upper East Side and bare glimpses of Downtown.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7346963,-73.9219018,3a,37.5y,289.99h,89.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1slaISTAqEOpLoMCGYjtoszA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Here's another view from the other side, taken from the Pulaski Skyway in NJ.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7354397,-74.0905329,3a,37.5y,93.08h,91.94t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sa3kV31S5lOGo-eNYALQ9Rw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Are there any other points of photography on a highway that can truly capture the full Manhattan skyline and that would seem more impressive than Asphaltplanet's photo of Toronto?

[webny99]

I remember a really cool view of the NYC skyline from somewhere in or near Passaic NJ. I've tried to find it since, but no luck so far.

[NJRoadfan]

NJ-3 East in Clifton has a nice view: https://goo.gl/maps/g6Ztc6nZTp81mi5m8

"America's Highways: 1776-1976" has a nice shot from the First Watchung Mountain from West Orange showing I-280 and the NYC skyline in the background. Its surprisingly hard to see NYC from afar on a highway in NJ for some reason.

[artmalk]

There are also great views of NYC from NJ 208.

[TheDon102]

Westbound I-495 Long Island Expressway heading towards Manhattan

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7399426,-73.9426459,3a,48.9y,292.85h,94.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_gG9DMJEt2HHm_v4UHKCqQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[Conn_Roadgeek]

Whitestone Bridge southbound.

[jeffandnicole]

Should I be the guy to point out you're not actually seeing the Toronto Skyline from the QEW, but rather from a vantage point slightly above the highway?  If you were actually on the highway, chances are those trees, buildings and poles will obstruct some of the view.

And while the skyline is impressive, it's about 10 miles in length, and that's being generous.  Certainly nowhere near 20 miles.

For NYC, it's hard getting a view of a long line of highrises, as because between Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan, there aren't really many distinctive highrises that create an impressive linear view of a skyline.  Sure, seemingly every building for blocks are 10, 20 stories tall, but when viewed from a distance, it just looks like a wall.

[empirestate]

The Lincoln Tunnel helix is the first spot that came to my mind:
https://goo.gl/maps/5Mp752qS3gqFsVh29

[Alps]

Pulaski Skyway, from the elevated but not inside-the-truss portion(s).

[Rothman]

Should I be the guy to point out you're not actually seeing the Toronto Skyline from the QEW, but rather from a vantage point slightly above the highway?  If you were actually on the highway, chances are those trees, buildings and poles will obstruct some of the view.

And while the skyline is impressive, it's about 10 miles in length, and that's being generous.  Certainly nowhere near 20 miles.

For NYC, it's hard getting a view of a long line of highrises, as because between Lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan, there aren't really many distinctive highrises that create an impressive linear view of a skyline.  Sure, seemingly every building for blocks are 10, 20 stories tall, but when viewed from a distance, it just looks like a wall.

I was on the QEW a couple of weeks ago and saw the skyline.

[roadman65]

Oh the Turnpike in NJ from Elizabeth to Kearney and on the West Spur all the way up to Ridgefield Park.

[artmalk]

On a clear day there is a very distant view from I-80 in Parsippany.

[roadman65]

There is also a view of it at one spot along Route 17 somewhere between Mahwah and Paramus.  It's been a while, but can't remember how much of the skyline can be seen. Whether some buildings or all though.

I believe the OP wants full skyline in one glance.

[1995hoo]

If you're a passenger, you can get a pretty good view from the Verrazzano Bridge, although there aren't many good pictures online (probably because of the "photo ban" the MTA purports to impose). Harder to get a good view as a driver just because of the need to focus on the road.

Edited to add–Street View gives something of an indication: https://goo.gl/maps/HHfTUhpexK1uwLwXA  You can see the Statue of Liberty at the far left if you look closely.

[MinecraftNinja]

RFK Bridge.

[empirestate]

You can also get a full, if distant, view from the Bayonne Bridge. I was very lucky to catch a view of the shuttle Enterprise being piggy-backed into town on a 747 while crossing that bridge. (I knew it was happening that day so I knew to keep an eye out, but it was only sheer luck that I crossed the bridge just as the flyover was crossing New York Harbor.)

[Pete from Boston]

The BQE around Calvary Cemetery.

[Pete from Boston]

NJ-3 East in Clifton has a nice view: https://goo.gl/maps/g6Ztc6nZTp81mi5m8

"America's Highways: 1776-1976" has a nice shot from the First Watchung Mountain from West Orange showing I-280 and the NYC skyline in the background. Its surprisingly hard to see NYC from afar on a highway in NJ for some reason.

Not that surprising, Bergen Hill blocks the view of pretty much all of Manhattan.

[storm2k]

There are a couple of spots on 46 in the Lodi area that have some good views like this, but they're pretty fleeting.

[Interstatefan78]

I-78 East from exit 56 to Holland Tunnel and also RT-495 From I-95 to Lincoln Tunnel Helix

[Declan127]

Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway (NY) has a few spots where it's along Jamaica Bay, showing the entire skyline.