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Aiming High

The Industrial Revolution (by Charles Austin Beard)
The Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1889 (by Fritz, Editor)
The Age of Great Depression 1929-1941 (by Dixon Wecter)
Skyscrapers and the Men Who Build Them (by Starrett, William Aiken)
New York City, Skyscrapers of Lower New ... (by Library of Congress)
The Pyramids of Giza (by Quibell, Annie Abernethie Pirie)

Many cities worldwide are renowned for their iconic skyscrapers, once defined as tall, multi-story, commercial buildings built mainly in New York City and Chicago between 1884 and 1939.

While New York City has its One World Trade Center (1,776 ft.), Chicago boasts the Willis Tower, which is also known as Sears Tower and stands at 1,450 ft. In Moscow, the OKO Tower stands proud at 1,160 feet.

Beyond the captivating designs which create recognizable skylines for the cities they grace, these soaring buildings also represent engineering innovation.

The nautical industry used the term skyscraper long before it was applied to these towering structures. A triangular sail at the very top of a mast, the ship’s “skyscraper” was designed to catch a light wind. The term eventually shifted into the architecture sector.

After the Civil War, taller buildings debuted in the United States. According to the Museum of the City, the Industrial Revolution, which marked a transition to new manufacturing processes from 1760 to the 1820 to 1840 period, made great contributions to the development of skyscrapers. The increased density of urban populations created a need to start building up.

Chicago initially dominated the skies in 1884, with the debut of its 138-foot Home Insurance Building. It wasn’t until 1888 that these soaring structures started to be referred to as skyscrapers. In 1892, Chicago banned the construction of new buildings taller than 150 feet, paving the way for New York to rise to top of the heap.

New York’s skyscrapers were generally more narrow than other skyscrapers at the time and were structured as towers. More eclectic in style, they received criticism for their lack of elegance, for breaking up the order of the skyline, and for casting everything below into shadow.

Even the Eiffel Tower, which was built for the 1889 World’s Fair, was met with initial criticism. Many believed that this monstrous tower, which dominated Paris, dwarfed its monuments and architectural wonders.

The economic boom of the 1920s and extensive real estate speculation encouraged a wave of new skyscraper projects in New York and Chicago and new building regulations. The 1916 Zoning Resolution regulations led to Manhattan’s tiered Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1920s and 1930s.

Skyscraper heights continued to grow, with the Chrysler and the Empire State Building once claiming new records, reaching 1,046 feet and 1,250 feet respectively. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the real estate market collapsed and new builds stuttered to a halt.

Some of the tallest buildings in the world today include Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (2,717 feet) and Shanghai Tower (2,073 feet).

For more information on skyscrapers, explore “Skyscrapers and the Men Who Build Them” by William Aiken Starrett and “New York City, Skyscrapers of Lower New York and South Ferry” by Library of Congress. Many historians consider the Great Pyramid of Giza one of the earliest skyscrapers. Standing at 481 feet, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years. For more, “The Pyramids of Giza” by Annie Abernethie Pirie Quibell.

By Regina Molaro