![]() The other strategy was to add a decorative element that had an architectural appeal but was not otherwise occupiable (the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat calls this Vanity Height). ![]() While adding the tower was not cheap, it tended to rent for higher rates given the small, sun-filled spaces with amazing views. The first was to increase the profit-maximizing height by erecting a narrow tower on top. This was accomplished usually in one of two ways (or both). Having the tallest was important-either for ego, advertisement, or some combination of both. Without the nickels of the thousands of small white-collar businesses, there would have been no space race.įor some builders, however, merely being tall was not enough. In this way, the corporation received a return on its investment in addition to headquarters.įor the speculative developer, the goal was to fill the building with as many companies as possible that was relatively easy in the central business districts, which were bubbling with firms eager to rent in the newest, most convenient accommodations. However, most of these companies did not use all the floors many were rented out to smaller firms. If the developer was a national corporation, it would build tall to house its employees and to have an icon of its success. Rendering by Brenna Fransen and Jihoon Kim. A Vision of the Future? A potential design for a 1.1 kilometer tower in Midtown Manhattan, if New York should get back into building the world’s tallest skyscraper. Land values were rising while engineering and construction technology were improving-these two factors, more than anything, explain the height races. ![]() Skyscrapers were built to accommodate the city’s rapid growth. ![]() The tallest of the tall represented the “peak” of the height distribution. Certainly, today’s New York builders have just as large egos as the old days, and if ego were the main driver, they would still be competitive in the height race.īut the fundamental reason that New York kept outdoing itself was that the underlying economics of going tall was so favorable. But in truth, this is a gross oversimplification. It thus follows that mega-wealthy business tycoons would show off their wealth by building monuments to themselves or their companies. The pharaohs showed off with pyramids, kings with grand palaces, and religions with houses of worship. If you ask a random person on the street why New York built so many record-breakers, the typical answer is bound to be “ego.” Ever since societies settled down, titans have built monumental structures. What drove the city to build so many record-breakers in the first place, and why did it stop competing? The Bricks of Ego? Between 18, New York City developers beat each other for the world’s tallest skyscraper ten times. It is clear that New York has bowed out of the record-breaking game-the very game that it initiated in the 19 th century. And most recently, in Dubai in 2010, with the Burj Khalifa (2,217 feet, 828 meters, 163 floors). After that to Kuala Lumpur with the Petronas Towers (1,230 feet, 452 meters, 88 stories) in 1998. The world’s tallest building then moved to Chicago when the Sears (Willis) Tower topped out at 1,450 feet (442 meters, 110 floors) in May 1973. Out of Gothamįour decades later, in December 1970, when the north tower of the Twin Towers topped out at 1,368 feet (417 meters, 94 stories), the record was broken once again (both towers officially opened on April 4, 1973). The building topped out in March 1931 at 1,250 feet (381 meters, 102 stories) and officially opened on May 1, 1931, with President Hoover ceremonially illuminating the lobby from Washington D.C. However, after the Chrysler Building was completed in December of that year, five more floors and a 185-foot (56-meter) mooring mast were added. When its construction was announced in August 1929, it was planned to be 1,000 feet (305 meters, 80 stories) tall. Next came the Chrysler Building (1,046 feet 319 meters, 77 stories), whose final height was riveted into place concurrently with the Bank of Manhattan but was not formally revealed until its rival was finished.įinally was the granddaddy of them all, the Empire State Building. First was the Bank of Manhattan Building, at 40 Wall Street, which topped out at 927 feet (283 meters, 70 stories) in November 1929 and officially opened in May 1930. At the end of the Roaring Twenties, New York City witnessed a three-way race for the world’s tallest building.
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