Terminating vista
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Arc_de_Triomphe1.jpg
In urban planning a terminating vista is a building or monument that stands at the end, or in the middle of a road, 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 memorials, courthouses 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 Paris where many of the largest streets end in monuments and structures such as the Arc de Triomphe or the Pantheon.
The important disadvantage of terminating vistas is that they make traffic more complicated and prevent a simple grid system of city blocks. To accommodate them large traffic circles or other techniques have to be employed to get traffic around the monument. Cities on a grid system such as New York City thus have few terminating vistas. A prominent NYC exception however, is the controversial MetLife Building which was built on top of Park Avenue, with traffic passing underneath the building.