Skyscraper Interesting Facts and Information

  • Skyscraper comes from a nautical term which referred to a small triangular sail placed above the skysail on a sailing ship.
  • Empire State Building is a skyscraper that was the longest holder of the "world’s tallest building" title.
  • Home Insurance Building in Chicago , United States is considered the first skyscraper. It was built in 1884.
  • Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure in the world. Its height is 829.8 m. It also has world's highest nightclub, world's highest restaurant, world's longest travel distance elevators: 504m, and is the world’s building with most floors: 163.
  • Taipei 101 is the tallest and largest green building in the world which means that it is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient. It was also is the first building in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height.
  • On May 25, 1981, Dan Goodwin climbed Sears Tower, wearing a homemade Spider-Man suit while using suction cups, and sky hooks. Goodwin said that the reason he made the climb was to call attention to shortcomings in high-rise rescue and firefighting techniques. On August 1999, French urban climber Alain "Spiderman" Robert did the same using only his bare hands and feet.
  • Dubai , United Arab Emirates is today the city with the most skyscrapers.
  • Empire State Building was built in 410 days.
  • Empire State Building's distinctive Art Deco spire was originally designed to be a mooring mast and depot for dirigibles. After a few attempts with airships idea proved too dangerous.
  • Original design for the Chrysler Building called for a decorative jewel-like glass crown.
  • Petronas Towers are built on the world's deepest foundations (114 meters deep).
  • No workers died during the construction of the Chrysler Building.
  • Moscow is a European city with the most skyscrapers.
  • During the construction of the Chrysler Building, workers built 4 floors per week.
  • The Empire State Building was the first building in the world to have more than 100 floors. It has 102 floors.
  • Taipei 101 has fastest ascending speed of its elevators: 60.6 km/h. Burj Khalifa is on the third place with “only” 36 km/h.
  • Intempo skyscraper in Benidorm, Spain has 47 floors and no elevator.
  • The first commercial passenger elevator was installed by the Otis Elevator Company in 1857 in New York City. It marked beginning of the skyscrapers.
  • The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are the world’s tallest twin buildings with height of 452 meters.
  • From the top of Sears Tower in Chicago, if the day is clear, one can see four states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.
  • Currently, there are 9 completed buildings around the world with over 100 floors.
  • There are more than 10 million bricks in the Empire State Building.
  • The World Trade Center twin towers in New York City were assigned two zip codes, 10047 and 10048, one for each building.
  • The Empire State Building also has its own zip code to accommodate its 1,000 businesses and 21,000 employees. It is 10118.