The Tallest Building in the World Competition
During the mid-1900s, Americans had a fascination with skyscrapers. We were engaged in a highly publicized race, of sorts, to create the world’s tallest buildings. It’s not likely anyone at the time had considered something like the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was almost 500 feet in its prime, in the competition, but architects had discovered new ways to work with steel. Structural engineering had also progressed significantly to the point that structures as tall as 800 feet were possible.
The competition was an attempt to break that.
In 1914, Frank Woolworth opened a structure on Broadway that measured 792 feet in height. At the time, his building was the tallest structure in the world. It held the title for 16 years until 40 Wall Street. The planners behind the building were in a race with the architects behind the Chrysler Building, and had recently changed their plans to be just two feet taller than what Chrysler’s builders had announced. When it was completed, it had surpassed Woolworth’s building and seemed to be surpassing Chrysler’s as well.
That is until Chrysler’s secret weapon was introduced. He’d cunningly created an elaborate spire that was to be mounted atop his building. 125 feet in height, the stainless steel tower put the Chrysler building a full 120 feet above 40 Wall Street, making their triumph extremely short lived.
Chrysler had achieved his dream, but neither party would hold onto their hopes for long. Eleven months after Chrysler’s deception, the Empire State Building became the world’s new tallest structure at 1,250 feet in height.
About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Facebook.