Ever wondered where the world's oldest skyscraper is? Chicago and New York were the first to develop skyscraper cities and served as a precedent (and inspiration) for countless others around the world. We've compiled a list of the world's oldest – but some of the entries are bound to surprise you. From humble beginnings to cloud-piercing pinnacles, we've ranked this list from youngest to oldest.
It’s hard to imagine Dubai pre-skyscrapers but in 1979 the city welcomed the Dubai World Trade Centre as its first. Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the glittering tower which stands at a height of 488 feet (149m) and covers 39 stories. It was also the first (and tallest) in the country until 1999 when the Burj Al Arab pipped it to the post at 1,053 feet (321m). Today it’s used as an events and exhibitions complex.
This post-war, modern structure was a bold move for architecture firm Bates, Smart & McCutcheon. At 265 feet (80m), it soared past Victoria’s 132-foot (40m) height restrictions to create the first skyscraper in Melbourne. The former headquarters of the Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand (ICIANZ), the skyscraper features a glass ‘curtain wall’ façade which earned it the nickname Glass House. It’s now registered on Australia’s National Heritage List and called Orica House, operating as an office unit.
The Torre Latinoamericana may not be the oldest skyscraper on this list but it’s certainly stood the test of time. Constructed between 1948-1956, its deep-seated pylons have allowed it to withstand major earthquakes, including one as recent as 2017. Because of this, it’s believed to be the first major skyscraper constructed on active seismic land. Also known as Latin America Tower, Mexico’s first 597-foot-tall (182m) skyscraper still stands undefeated in downtown Mexico City.
At 1,472 feet (448m) tall, the Empire State Building glitters over the rest of Manhattan. Designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates architectural firm, it took an impressive 20 months to construct this instantly famous city landmark and it continued to reign supreme as the world's tallest building for 40 years. Interestingly, it was modelled after two Art Deco buildings in North Carolina and Ohio, but is perhaps best known (and most photographed) for its 200-foot (60m) crowning spire.
Germany doesn’t have many skyscrapers. Instead, you’ll find most cities focus on preserving their historic skylines with churches and cathedrals taking the top spot for tallest buildings (although Frankfurt is an exception to this unofficial rule). Arguably the country's first skyscraper was Düsseldorf's Wilhelm-Marx-Haus, constructed between 1922-1924. At 187 feet (57m) tall, it spans 12 stories with six storey-wide wings and limestone and red brick façade. But this is contentious – could you class Frankfurt’s 1924’s Mousonturm (Mouson Tower) as the first skyscraper instead? Pay these two German cities a visit to decide for yourself.
Nicknamed the ‘cathedral of commerce’, the elegant Woolworth Building was named after the millionaire store owner who commissioned the project, Frank W. Woolworth. It resembles a European church built in the Gothic style and at a height of 792 feet (241m) showcased modern technology of the time. Designed by Cass Gilbert, it features a terracotta façade and pointed turrets which would make it seem more at home at Westminster Abbey if it wasn’t for the pockets of windows lining its 60 stories.
A close contender to Europe’s oldest skyscraper is the Royal Liver Building. Overlooking the River Mersey, this iconic structure was designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas and stands 300 feet (90m) tall. It has the largest clock face in Britain, which commenced for the first time on 22 June 1911, on the day of King George V’s coronation. The grand building has always been the Royal Liver Assurance head office.
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This early skyscraper was designed by Napoleon LeBruen and was a later addition to an already-standing office block. The façade was replaced with limestone and was styled similarly to Venice’s Campanile di San Marco. Constructed between 1905-1909, the MetLife Building was the world’s tallest building at 698 feet (213m) until the Woolworth Building surpassed it in 1913. While it underwent heavy renovations in the 1960s, causing it to lose much of its original detailing, today the tower is best-known for its beautiful top and clock faces on each side of the tower.
Now called Consultancy House, the New Zealand Express Company Building is the oldest skyscraper in the country. At 133 feet (40.6m) high, it opened in 1909 as the headquarters for the nationwide road carrier and while it was designed in a Chicago Romanesque style by Alfred and Sydney Luttrell – note the oriel windows – the Corinthian columns marked the only real difference from the classic Chicago style. Today it’s home to an osteopathic clinic. Look closely and you’ll spot the old New Zealand Express logo on its southern face.
The PAST (or PASTa) Building is the oldest ‘skyscraper’ in Warsaw and was the tallest until 1933 when the Art Deco Prudential building took its spot. Finished in 1910, it drew inspiration from medieval towers (more noticeable in older photographs). PAST (Polish Telephone Joint-stock Company) moved in from 1922 as the main telephone switchboard for domestic and international calls. Sadly, it was bombed during the Second World War – the building you see today was reconstructed in the 1950s.
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Built between 1903-1904, Winnipeg’s Union Bank was the first (and oldest surviving) skyscraper in Canada. It was constructed during Winnipeg’s Wheat Boom using a lightweight steel framework and a ‘curtain wall’ which allowed the building to reach a toppling height of 156 feet (47.5m). Designed in the Chicago style with decorative window keystones and elegant lower arches and a medieval fortress-like structure, you can still see a ghost sign of The Royal Bank of Canada. Today it’s home to Red River College’s culinary institute.
The oldest skyscraper in Europe is Witte Huis in Rotterdam. At 141 feet (43m) tall, the Art Nouveau-style building was also the tallest in Europe at the time of its construction, and while others prioritised wood, this one made a change. Inspired by American office buildings, iron, steel and cement were used in its construction, as well as thick interior walls to increase its strength. This allowed it to stand the test of time – unlike other buildings, it survived bombings during the Second World War.
Boston’s first skyscraper was named after Frederick L. Ames, who commissioned the building. It first served as the headquarters for Ames’ family agricultural tool company and the offices of the building’s architects Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. In 2007 it became a luxury Hilton hotel but as of 2019 the swish spot was converted into student accommodation for Suffolk University. Still, at 196 feet (60m) and 14 stories high, it’s the tallest masonry building in the US.
At 170 feet (52m) tall, Manhattan Building is both on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated Chicago Landmark. The commercial office space was created by William LeBaron Jenney (of Home Insurance Building fame) in the late 19th century and features a granite façade on the lower levels and brick on the upper levels. Rather than focusing on height, its horizontal size reflects the public’s concerns about the safety of tall buildings. We wonder what they’d make of the city’s skyline today…
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One of the last survivors of Newspaper Row, the New York Times Building (or 41 Park Row) served as the eponymous newspaper’s headquarters from 1889 until 1903. Designed in Romanesque Revival style, Pace University has owned the premises from 1951 where modern renovations include a new gallery and student centre. The Manhattan landmark was designed by George B. Post and reaches 212 feet (65m), spanning 16 stories.
Now operating as the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, the Old Chronicle Building started life as the San Francisco Chronicle’s headquarters in 1889. It originally stood at 218 feet (66m) and 10 storeys whereas now it reaches 312 feet (95m) and 24 storeys. From 1924 until 2007 it was used as a combination of office and residential space and, although it found new life as a snazzy hotel, a few of its original features – like the façade and concrete-panelled towers – have been restored.
Many consider Montreal’s New York Life Insurance Building as Canada’s first skyscraper. At an estimated 132 feet (40m), this Romanesque Revival building was built between 1887-1888 by Babb, Cook & Willard. Law and financial firms made up the bulk of the tenants of this 10-storied office space which also features a clock tower. Whether it’s a skyscraper or just a very tall building, we’ll leave that for you to decide.
The oldest standing skyscraper in Chicago, the Rookery Building housed the offices of its architects, Burnham and Root. Located in the financial district of the city, this stately looking building has a dark brick façade and stands at 181 feet (55m) tall. Over the years it’s had modern renovations – including Art Deco touches in the 1930s – and still stands proud as a historic building in the heart of Chicago.
Rochester’s Wilder Building was the first skyscraper in the city at 167 feet (51m) tall. Its Romanesque Revival style uses decorated red brick, multiple arched windows and decorative turrets and once included a spire on each of its four turrets. The red-brick building’s main claim to fame is being the home of the oldest surviving mail chute; invented in 1883 to make mail collection in skyscrapers easier, the office block was also one of the first to use it.
At the time of its completion in 1887, the Sun Building was hailed as "the most imposing private structure at the national capital". Today, you could walk past and admire its symmetrical façade but that’s about it. Still, standing at 116 feet (35.4m), it was the tallest building in Washington DC at the time with the Baltimore Sun newspaper operating from its ground floor. Designed by Alfred B. Mullett, other tenants in the seven-storey building (as well as a two-storey ground floor and mezzanine) included Woodrow Wilson’s law firm.
New York may be seen as the city of skyscrapers but Chicago was the birthplace of them all. The Home Insurance Building in Illinois was built in 1885 and is hailed as the world’s first modern skyscraper. By 1890 it stood at 180 feet (55m) with 12 storeys. Its steel frame moved away from traditional masonry construction and marked a new era of design and engineering. Sadly, it was demolished in 1931 to make way for the Art Deco LaSelle Bank Building, which still stands at 535 feet (163m) high.
In 1885 The Osborne unveiled itself as one of the first major luxury apartment buildings. Its proximity to Carnegie Hall has made it a long-standing favourite for those in the arts and was where Leonard Bernstein wrote West Side Story. At 162 feet (49m), the brown-stone building features 14-foot-high (4m) ceilings and lavish interiors. Along with its Billionaires Row location, it may not come as a surprise that apartments go for well over £800,000 ($1 million).
Possibly Manhattan’s – if not all of New York’s – most famous hotel stands 144 feet (44m) tall and was completed in 1884. Using Queen Anne Revival and Victorian Gothic architecture, the 12-storied Hotel Chelsea was home to long-term residents and creative types including Jack Kerouac, Mark Twain, Patti Smith and Bob Dylan. Andy Warhol shot his Chelsea Girls film here in 1966 (featuring a few residents) and the hotel is often referenced in popular television shows, songs and movies.
Built between 1881 and 1883, Temple Court Building (aka 5 Beekman Street) is the oldest skyscraper in the world still standing today. Constructed from red Philadelphia brick, tan Dorchester stone and terracotta, it was also the first high-rise in New York at a height of 150 feet (46m). This former lawyer’s office spans 10 storeys and now forms part of the luxury Beekman Residences. The architects, Silliman & Farnsworth, implemented Queen Anne, Neo-Grec and Renaissance Revival styles into the designs and an annexe was added in 1890.
You might not think the desert would be home to the oldest skyscraper city in the world (as recorded by the Guinness World Records) but the 1,700-year-old town of Shibam proves otherwise. Nicknamed the Chicago (or Manhattan) of the desert, some 500 mud-brick towers were built in the 16th century to protect from flooding and as a vantage point for incoming attackers. While many have been rebuilt, Shibam shows one of the earliest examples of multi-storied vertical structures in the world. Buildings span between five to 11 stories with some reaching heights of a hundred feet (30m).