In
urban designUrban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
, a
terminating vista is a
buildingIn architecture, construction, engineering and real estate development the word building may refer to one of the following:# Any man-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy, or...
or
monumentA monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of past events. They are frequently used to improve the appearance of a city or location. Cities that are planned...
that stands at the end or in the middle of a
roadA road is an identifiable route, way or path between places.
, so that when one is looking up the street the view ends with the site.
Terminating vistas are considered an important method of adding aesthetic appeal to a city, and to emphasize important structures or monuments. Common terminating vistas include government buildings,
war memorialA war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
s,
courthouseA courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America...
s and other important structures. Standing at the end of a street adds grandeur to a structure and legislature and palaces are thus often place in such a locale.
A city particularly known for its terminating vistas is
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where many of the largest streets end in monuments and structures such as the
Arc de TriompheThe Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the "Place de l'Étoile". It is at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The triumphal arch honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the...
or the
PanthéonThe Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but after many changes now combines liturgical functions with its role as a famous burial place...
.
The important disadvantage of terminating vistas is that they make
trafficTraffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
more complicated and prevent a simple grid system of city blocks. To accommodate them, large
traffic circleA traffic circle is one of several types of circular intersections. Traffic is normally allowed to go in one direction only around a central island. In the absence of signs or signal control, traffic entering a circle has the right-of-way, although many circles give right-of-way to the primary...
s or other techniques have to be employed to get traffic around the monument. Cities on a grid system such as
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
thus have few terminating vistas. A prominent NYC exception is the controversial
MetLife BuildingThe MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in New York City.-History:The Pan Am Building was the largest commercial office building in the world when it opened on March 7, 1963...
, which was built
on top of
Park AvenuePark Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Throughout most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
, with traffic passing underneath the building.
Philadelphia's
City HallPhiladelphia City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At 167 m , including the statue, it is the world's tallest masonry building: the weight of the building is borne by granite and brick walls up to thick, rather than steel; the principal exterior...
is another example, situated on Penn Square where
BroadBroad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is Pennsylvania Route 611 beginning at City Hall and north. The north-south street lies between 13th Street and 15th Street, in lieu of 14th Street...
and
MarketMarket Street, originally known as High Street, is a major east-west street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the majority of its length, it serves as Pennsylvania Route 3....
Streets intersect. The two streets form the north-south and east-west axes of the city's core grid, leaving the large masonry structure visible from all sections of the city.