Mixing the Old with the New in Historic Cities

In almost every historic city that you visit, there will be an old town area where the buildings have been preserved. There is often another part of the city that is new and modern and they are usually in different parts of the city so that the traffic associated to tourists and that of the businesses can be kept separate from one another. Every now and then, though, you will find a historic building right in the middle of the modern skyscrapers. It is often a church, but not always as it could just be a historic landmark. The juxtaposition of the two can sometimes be visually interesting.

Church in Chicago with a Skyscraper Rising next to the Bell Tower
Old and New Side-by-Side in Cologne, Germany
Modern Paris as Seen from the Eiffel Tower
New Artistic Awnings in Old Cairo

We have seen several examples throughout our travels, especially in Germany where so much of the cities were rebuilt after WWII, but it certainly isn’t limited to European cities. We have seen many interesting examples here in the United States, especially in Chicago, which is a city with a rich history of its own. We find the contrasts to be so striking that we often pause to take a variety of photographs to capture the differences and similarities between the old and the new.

Another Bell Tower and Skyscraper Image, but in Denver
New and Old in Frankfurt
Apparently We Really Like Building Towers Transitioning to Skyscrapers
Gothic Church and Glass Tower

5 thoughts on “Mixing the Old with the New in Historic Cities

  1. I was pleased to see the photo of old Cairo showing a kind of umbrella structure. These “umbrellas” were designed by a german architect, Bodo Rasch of Stuttgart. They are also in place on the upper floor of the Kaaba building in Mecca.

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