There were two newcomers to the top 10 list, both modernist monoliths, the Chase Manhattan Bank Building in lower Manhattan and the Pan Am Building (later the Met-Life Building). The five Art Deco skyscrapers that where the tallest in 1940 remained so in 1962. Cleveland's Union Terminal was in the building and served the legendary New York Central Railroad’spremier New York to Chicago 20th Century Limited. The sixth tallest, the Woolworth Building, had been the world’s tallest from 1913 to 1930 and is neo-Gothic.Ĭleveland's Terminal Tower was 7th tallest, and the tallest building in the world outside New York. The five tallest buildings, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, 60 Wall Tower (now 70 Pine), 40 Wall Tower (now the Trump Building) and the RCA Building (now the GE Building) all opened in the 1930s and represent Art Deco at its zenith. Manhattan was so dominant that the World Almanac listed the city at the top of the list, out of alphabetical order. It was not until the late 1980s that a taller building appeared in Philadelphia ( One Liberty Place).ĭespite Chicago's claim as birthplace of the skyscraper, by 1940, nine of the 10 tallest buildings in the world were in New York. In its wisdom, however, Philadelphia outlawed any building higher than William Penn’s head at the top of City Hall. But it was not until the turn of the 20th century that a commercial or residential building exceeded the tallest religious building, Ulm Cathedral in Germany. For four years, from 1890 to 1894, the New York World Building, itself was the tallest in the world, at 309 feet (95 meters) and 20 floors. But in the middle to late 19th century, taller commercial and residential buildings were erected in the United States. Throughout most of history, the tallest habitable buildings have been religious edifices, or mausoleums, such as the great pyramids of Egypt. The Rise of Commercial and Residential Buildings Extensive hyperlinking is also used, principally to articles on particular buildings. This article provides a historical perspective on the world’s tallest buildings, using information from almanacs and the Internet (See Table Below). The world of skyscrapers has changed radically through the years. My 1940 edition is the first in which “Buildings, tall” appears. I have continued to purchase almanacs each year and until recently, the first thing I would do is look in the index for "Buildings, tall” in the old Pulitzer The World Almanac, the best source until the Internet. Perhaps it began with selling almanacs to subscribers on my Oregon Journalpaper route in Corvallis.
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