the.com/skyscraper
a city's way of flexing on the laws of gravity and zoning boards alike.
means A very tall multi-story building, the kind that dominates a city skyline.
from Long before it meant a building, 'skyscraper' was a word that got around: in the 18th and 19th centuries it named the tallest, topmost sail on a ship — the one that seemed to brush the sky. From there it drifted onto anything improbably high, including a tall horse, a tall hat, even a tall person, and a high-flying ball in early baseball. When iron and steel framing let buildings climb in the late 19th century, the old nautical nickname was waiting, and it stuck to the towers of cities like Chicago and New York.
- name origin
- Originally a sailing term for the tallest mast
- built to sway
- Top floors move several feet in high wind
- first one
- Chicago's 1885 Home Insurance Building, just 10 stories
- vanity height
- Spires add fake height to win records
- elevator dependent
- Skyscrapers were impossible before the safety elevator
burj khalifa — tallest building in world at 828 meters, dubai 2010
empire state building — 102 stories, completed 1931, nyc iconic structure
merdeka 118 — second tallest at 678.9 meters, kuala lumpur 2023