The first real boom in Skyscraper construction that came at the end of the 19^th Century was born out of the convergence of events and technologies, necessary for such apparently quantum leap advances.

Chicago, a city destroyed by fire in 1871, needed to be rebuilt, and quick. Political pressure for a 'fire-proof' city meant that iron was to be used for building frames instead of the timber that had supported the 18,000 buildings destroyed by the flames. Further, Chicago was booming industrial city with a burgeoning labour-base, itself with a need for accommodation close to the industrial downtown. Couple these requirements with the fine-tuning of Elisha Otis' invention of the lift (elevator) earlier in the 19^th Century and it is easy to see why Chicago elected to go upwards rather than sprawl outwards.

The result was, in 1885, the Home Insurance Building, the World's first skyscraper, insofar as it was the first 'tall' building to have a complete frame as a supporting structure.

Park Row, 1899

Facing City Hall in lower Manhattan, New York City, stands the 188m (386ft) high 30-storey Park Row Building, sometimes known as the Ivins Syndicate Building after William Mills Ivins, the head of the investment group which commissioned its construction in 1896. Designed by prominent architect R.H. Robertson the building took over three years to construct and stood as the World's Tallest Building for nine years from its completion in 1899 until its height was bested by the Singer Building in 1908.

Architecturally, the Park Row Building consists of two steel-framed masonry-faced rectangular boxy towers, yoked together by bracing. Its distinguishing feature is the pair of 5m high copper cupolas which top off the front-facade of the building, and which are either 'a signature presence' or 'insignificant terminations', depending on architectural bent.

Singer Building, 1908

At the northwest corner of the junction of New York City's Broadway and Liberty Street stands 1 Liberty Plaza¹. It is on the site of the erstwhile 187m (612ft) high 47-storey Singer Building, which was the World's Tallest Building for 18 months between 1908 and 1909 when its height was surpassed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. Notwithstanding the September 2001 destruction of the twin-towers of the World Trade Centre, the Singer Building carries the ignominy of being the tallest building ever demolished².

The Singer Building, named for its owners (the sewing-machine company), was designed by architect, Ernest Flagg, and was constructed in just 20 months between September 1906 and May 1908. Upon completion, it was dubbed the world's tallest Christmas tree on account of both its red-brick and bluestone exterior and the fact that it was also the world’s first electrically-lit tower (referring to the lights in the spire).

Metropolotan Life, 1909

The 213m (700ft) high 50-storey Metropolitan Life Insurance Tower standing on New York City's Madison Avenue was the World's Tallest Building from 1909 until 1913 when its height was bested by the Woolworth Building. It was designed by architectural firm Napoleon LeBrun and Sons, and took two years, from 1907 to 1909, to construct.

The italianate-style square tower with its steep pyramidical roof is purposely evocative of the San Marco campanile in Venice, and features an enormous eight-metre diameter clock-face on each of the four (erstwhile ornate) facades. Originally sheathed in white Tuckahoe marble, the building was 'modernised' (in the 1964 sense of the word) when it was re-clad with limestone, and generally simplified.

Woolworth Building, New York, USA – 1913

At the intersection of New York City's Broadway and Park Pace stands the 241m (792ft) high, 58-storey Woolworth Building, which held the record for being the World's Tallest Building from its completion in 1913 until (VERIFY!) 1930 when the Manhattan Building went taller.

Conceived in 1910 by the king of 'Five-and-Dime', F.W. Woolworth, and designed by architect Cass Gilbert, the terracotta-faced steel-framed Woolworth Building is often dubbed the Cathedral of Commerce³ on account of its gothic evocations of religious architecture. The building itself essentially consists of a tower upon a tower, not dissimilar to a church steeple, and internally, vaulted ceilings and cruciform floor-plans emphasise the quasi-religious mood.

Manhattan Company, 1930

Chrysler Building, 1930

Objects of a bizarre race, both buildings were erected more or less simultaneously. The Bank of Manhattan topped out their structure and thought they’d won. Then, the Chrysler people ereceted a telescopic spine which pipped the Manhattan Building by a few feet.

Empire State Building, 1930

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World Trade Center, New York City, USA – 1970

Infamously destroyed by alleged terrorist attack on September 11, 2002, the 417m (1368ft) high 110-storey World Trade Center Tower 1 stood as the World’s Tallest Building from its completion in 1970 until 1973 when the Sears Tower (in Chicago, USA) was topped off.

Together with its 2m shorter twin, World Trade Center Tower 2, the determinedly modernist Trade Centre Towers, designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, stood at once as both the focus of a commercial development in downtown Manhattan and symbols of America’s achievements in finance and technology.

Sears Tower, 1974

Petronas Towers, 1997

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