Maxis References

[Don Miguel 560]

Leonid Apartment Complex, a residential building from the European Tileset in SimCity 4 may have been inspired by this apartment complex in Cologne, Germany.  Address is Krohstraße 2 and Krohstraße 4.

   

 

[Don Miguel 560]

Zubecker's Hi-Rise Apartments, another high rise residential building from SimCity 4's European tileset may have been inspired by these buildings designed by architect Walter Gropius in Gropiusstadt, Berlin.  They are located next to each other.

 

Wohnhochhaus Ideal:

    

 

Wohn­hochhaus Gropius-Haus:

[Don Miguel 560]

Kuruptz Inc from SimCity 3000's Euro tileset was apparently based on Haus des Reisens in Berlin, Germany.

 

 

[Don Miguel 560]

Hmmm...  I could be wrong, but I wonder if Ryan Apartments from the New York tileset in SimCity 4 is a loosely based rendition of the New Yorker Hotel in New York.

The setback style on the front facade is very similar with a few minor differences.  The window placements also seem to match for the most part.

And even though the side facade on the Maxis version has only one protrusion, it looks like a collapsed version of the three from the real building.

What do you think?

 

     

[nos.17 5,111]

34 minutes ago, Don Miguel said:

What do you think?

The shapes does look rather suspicious between the two.

I'd say "loosely based" is about right.

[Don Miguel 560]

Is Jolly Manor loosely based on the long demolished City Investing Building in New York City?

 

 

[Don Miguel 560]

Lee Avionics, a high tech Industrial building from SimCity 4 looks like it was based on Uniklinikum Aachen, a university hospital in Aachen, Germany.

 

[Captain Adam 415]

The St. Ritzy from the Chicago tileset is based on the demolished Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel from Atlantic City, New Jersey.

 

  

[Don Miguel 560]

This is Ingebretson Place from SimCity 4.

     

 

It's based on the long demolished Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New York City.

    

 

Before you say it looks nothing like it, take a closer look and you will find similarities that are more than just coincidences:

• The balconies are in the same places.
• The wings of the buildings have 3 columns each of single windows with the same rustication pattern.
• The parapets/balusters on top of each setback.
• The windows on the left and right sides of the top floors (skinny window - wide window - skinny window)

So it looks Maxis used the Savoy-Plaza Hotel as a starting point and made some modifications like removing the mansard roof and adding another setback with a pool in the middle of the top floors.

 

[Don Miguel 560]

5 minutes ago, Don Miguel said:

This is Ingebretson Place from SimCity 4.

     

 

It's based on the long demolished Savoy-Plaza Hotel in New York City.

    

 

Before you say it looks nothing like it, take a closer look and you will find similarities that are more than just coincidences:

• The balconies are in the same places.
• The wings of the buildings have 3 columns each of single windows with the same rustication pattern.
• The parapets/balusters on top of each setback.
• The windows on the left and right sides of the top floors (skinny window - wide window - skinny window)

So it looks Maxis used the Savoy-Plaza Hotel as a starting point and made some modifications like removing the mansard roof and adding another setback with a pool in the middle of the top floors.

 

Villars Apartments from SimCity 3000 is could be loosely based on it too...

[nos.17 5,111]

45 minutes ago, Don Miguel said:

Before you say it looks nothing like it, take a closer look and you will find similarities that are more than just coincidences:

I definitely see the similarities. Nice find!

[Jasoncw 11,839]

Never in a million years would I have made that connection, but that's definitely it!

[Don Miguel 560]

Grove Consulting from SimCity 4 was based on the Hofmann Building in Ottumwa, Iowa.

 

[Jasoncw 11,839]

Why, out of all of the buildings that have been identified, has this one taken over 20 years to find??? 

[Captain Adam 415]

My guess is that most people look in cities mentioned in the building tilesets (NYC/Chicago/Houston/Tokyo... etc), and not a small city in Iowa 

[Captain Adam 415]

The Hi-Rise Apartments from the Chicago tileset were probably based on the Hilton Chicago hotel.

 

[Don Miguel 560]

The Museum from the European Tileset in SimCity 3000 was based on the Altes Museum in Berlin.

 

 

[Don Miguel 560]

The Museum from SimCity 4 looks a lot like the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas.

 

[pikachu_SQ 907]

I think the Solar Power Plant is based on the Solar Two. Does it count?

[Don Miguel 560]

The Courthouse from SimCity's European tileset may have been inspired by the Bode Museum in Berlin.

Edit:   This is wrong.  See my next post

 

 

 

  Edited August 10, 2025 by Don Miguel  
Mistake

[Don Miguel 560]

1 hour ago, Don Miguel said:

The Courthouse from SimCity's European tileset may have been inspired by the Bode Museum in Berlin.

 

 

 

Oops.  Never mind.  It's actually this courthouse in Landau, Germany.

 

[Don Miguel 560]

On 10/25/2014 at 7:11 PM, Shy Dude said:

Weber Designs/Retail Stores

Gimbels Department Store skybridge in NYC. I've looked at quite a few green Art Deco stores mostly in California, yet none of them had had pilasters remotely similar to the Maxis building except this thing. Still probably not it though and it probably makes no sense how I am making the color of the building a factor.

But then again, I think it looks more like the Maxis building when viewed from a bad angle like this:

But then again, not really, the Maxis building has like some eyelashes design above the top groups of windows on the sides... So much confusion.

 

It's actually 1130 Howard St in San Francisco...

     

 

Here is what it looks like now...

 

[Don Miguel 560]

Cho & Sons from the Houston tileset was based on the C.W. Moore Plaza in Boise, Idaho.

 

[IDS2 3,344]

These last two are absolutely ridiculous finds. Holy cow.

[Captain Adam 415]

The "Van Prooijen Trading" Skyscraper is based on the Heritage Plaza, a 53-floor tower in downtown Houston, Texas.

  

[elcapo13 5]

 

Is me or the Art-Deco of the Ryan Apartments is based specifically in the Argentina-Brazilian Art-Deco style? because both styles are white and dont have so much decoration on the facade

 

 

[Don Miguel 560]

Schnittjer Printing from SimCity 4 was inspired by the pre-expansion version of the Bankers Life Company building in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

[Don Miguel 560]

The Stock Exchange from the European Tileset in SimCity 3000 was based on the Palais Brongniart in Paris, which used to house the Paris stock exchange (Bourse de Paris).

  Edited February 1 by Don Miguel  
forgot to mention which version of SimCity this was in

[Lab Rat 12]

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