It’s Skyscraper National day so we will be dishing out lofty facts! National Skyscraper Day was chosen to be on September 3rd because it is the anniversary of the birth date of Louis H. Sullivan who is often referred to as “the father of the modern skyscraper”.
The world’s first skyscraper was The Home Insurance Building in Chicago and was completed in 1885. It was only 10 stories tall and 138 feet high. It wouldn’t even count as a skyscraper today. Now, to be considered a skyscraper, a building must be at least 40 stories tall.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest skyscraper in the world at 163 stories and over 2,720 feet hight. It is nearly 20 times taller than the Home Insurance Building was. It also has world’s highest nightclub, world’s highest restaurant, and world’s longest travel distance elevators. Dubai is also home to more skyscrapers than anywhere else in the world.
The Empire State Building in New York City has held the title of “world’s tallest building” longer than any other building. It claimed the title from 1931 to 1971 when the North Tower of the World Trade Center (also in New York City) surpassed it. The Empire State Building was built in a incredibly short 410 days and was the first building in the world to have more than 100 floors, clocking in at 102. The Empire State Building is still part of an elite group. There are still only 21 completed buildings on earth that have 100 floors or more.
The first ever commercial passenger elevator was installed in New York City, in 1857, at the Haughwout Department Store by Elisha Otis and the Otis Elevator Company. The elevator was steam powered. Obviously elevators are an essential part of building very tall skyscrapers, but the tallest building in the world with no elevators is the Intempo Skyscraper in Benidorm, Spain. The Intempo has 47 floors with no elevator…talk about a good workout for your glutes if you’re going to the top!
Whats your favorite skyscraper and why? Let us know in the comments below!
