This Month’s Sky Scraper Challenge for Globetrotters Is A Challenge

I must not be a skyscraper person because I don’t have many photos to share for this month’s challenge topic from the Globetrotters.

The article entitled “Tall Buildings Worldwide — Statistics and Facts,” from the website, statistica tells us the following about how skyscrapers are defined,

“A skyscraper is defined as a very tall, continuously habitable building that generally has over 40 floors, but there is no universally defined minimum height.”

Today, after advances in construction, a sky scraper might be defined as having 40 inhabitable floors or being 492 feet in height! (source).

Chicago and New York City come to mind when I think of skyscrapers that have made an impact on me.

In 2013, I chaperoned our high school’s music department trip to The Big Apple (New York City). It was the first time I’d even been in the “city proper” and was duly impressed.

We went to the Empire State Building at night and traveled up to the observation deck. Seeing this iconic landmark in person was a thrill, even though it was hard to keep track of my eight students on a crowded observation deck at night.

The Empire State Building is 380 meters tall. If you include the spire and antennae, it is 443 meters tall and currently is the 4th tallest building in NYC, but only the 43rd tallest in the world (source).

No matter the height, the Empire State Building constructed in 1930 was at one time the tallest building in the world (source). It has graced the city’s skyline and welcomed visitors from all over the world ever since!

The other iconic landmark we saw on that trip that qualifies as a sky scrapper was World Trade Center Building #1 which was just being finished at the time. The second building was being worked on and the third building was just a foundation at the time.

One World Trade Center is 1,776 feet tall, paying homage to the United States being born that year. (source). It is taller by several hundred feet than the old World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, which fell during 9/11 (source).

New York City is filled with skyscrapers. I don’t know the names of any of them, just these iconic landmarks. But they are pretty and daunting all at the same time!

Chicago’s skyline is impressive as well. We drive through the Windy City a few times a year to get from Wisconsin to Western New York to see my parents.

During our last visit, in March, we noticed one of the buildings near the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) had a crown of lights on it!

The address and name of this building is 311 Wacker Drive. It has fluorescent tube lights that can change color depending on the desired theme or season. There is no observation deck here but I’ve read that there is plenty to do in and around the building at street level (source).

At over 950 feet in height, it is a beacon of light on the Chicago skyline at night. Check out this Wikipedia page for a view of the top of this building from its neighbor, the Willis Tower (source).

While I’m not a “skyscraper” kind of gal, I do appreciate the architecture, engineering, and power the buildings have to enliven a city!

Need more tall building inspiration? Check out these posts from fellow Globetrotter challenge participants:

Finally, here are some Sky Scraper Facts from the U.S.

This post took me back ten years to one of my first trips with my eldest son — we saw NYC together, just as we saw the California Redwoods together this past week. Although skyscrapers are nice, I’ll take those naturally occurring ones any day of the year!

Thanks to the editors at Globetrotters who continue to offer us monthly challenges that make us appreciate the world — from every corner!

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