This list of early skyscrapers details a range of tall, commercial buildings built between 1880 and the 1930s, predominantly in the United States cities of New York and Chicago, but also across the rest of the U.S. and in many other parts of the world.
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Cass Gilbert was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas, and West Virginia, the Detroit Public Library, the Saint Louis Art Museum and Public Library. His public buildings in the Beaux Arts style reflect the optimistic American sense that the nation was heir to Greek democracy, Roman law and Renaissance humanism. Gilbert's achievements were recognized in his lifetime; he served as president of the American Institute of Architects in 1908–09.
Beaux-Arts architecture was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and Baroque elements, and used modern materials, such as iron and glass, and later, steel. It was an important style and enormous influence in Europe and the Americas through the end of the 19th century, and into the 20th, particularly for institutional and public buildings.
George Browne Post, professionally known as George B. Post, was an American architect trained in the Beaux-Arts tradition. Active from 1869 almost until his death, he was recognized as a master of several prominent contemporary American architectural genres, and instrumental in the birth of the skyscraper.
The Manhattan Life Insurance Building was a 348 ft (106 m) tower on Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City.
The Equitable Building is an office skyscraper located at 120 Broadway between Pine and Cedar streets in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The skyscraper was designed by Ernest R. Graham in the neoclassical style, with Peirce Anderson as the architect-in-charge. It is 555 feet (169 m) tall, with 38 stories and 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m2) of floor space. The building's articulation consists of three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital.
Scotia Plaza is a commercial skyscraper in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built to serve as the global headquarters of Canadian bank Scotiabank, it is in the financial district of the downtown core bordered by Yonge Street on the east, King Street West on the south, Bay Street on the west, and Adelaide Street West on the north. At 275 m (902 ft), Scotia Plaza is Canada's third tallest skyscraper and the 52nd tallest building in North America. It is connected to the PATH network, and contains 190,000 m2 (2,045,143 sq ft) of office space on 68 floors and 40 retail stores.
The Canada Life Building is a historic office building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fifteen-floor Beaux Arts building was built by Sproatt & Rolph and stands at 285 feet (87 m), 321 feet (97.8 m) including its weather beacon.
Saint Jacques Street, or St. James Street, is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running from Old Montreal westward to Lachine.
Brookfield Place is an office complex in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, comprising the 2.1 ha (5.2-acre) block bounded by Yonge Street, Wellington Street West, Bay Street, and Front Street. The complex contains 242,000 m2 (2,604,866 sq ft) of office space, and consists of two towers, Bay Wellington Tower and TD Canada Trust Tower, linked by the Allen Lambert Galleria. Brookfield Place is also the home of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The Telus Tower is an office building at 630 René Lévesque Boulevard West in Montreal. It was built for Canadian Industries Limited from 1960 to 1962, given the name CIL House. Designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft from the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill with local architects Greenspoon, Freedlander and Dunne, it stands 135.6 m (445 ft) and 34 storeys tall. In 1960, Bunshaft had recently completed his seminal work, Lever House in New York City.
20 Exchange Place, formerly the City Bank–Farmers Trust Building, is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1931, it was designed by Cross & Cross in the Art Deco style as the headquarters of the City Bank–Farmers Trust Company, predecessor of Citigroup. The building, standing at approximately 741 feet (226 m) with 57 usable stories, was one of the city's tallest buildings and the world's tallest stone-clad building at the time of its completion. While 20 Exchange Place was intended to be the world's tallest building at the time of its construction, the Great Depression resulted in the current scaled-back plan.
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the northwest, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don Valley to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west. It is also the home of the municipal government of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
The Equitable Life Assurance Building, also known as the Equitable Life Building, was the headquarters of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, at 120 Broadway in Manhattan, New York. Arthur Gilman and Edward H. Kendall designed the building, with George B. Post as a consulting engineer. The Equitable Life Building was made of brick, granite, and iron, and was originally built with seven above-ground stories and two basement levels, with a height of at least 130 feet (40 m). An expansion in 1885 brought the total height to 155 feet (47 m) and nine stories.
Spring Street in Los Angeles is one of the oldest streets in the city. Along Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles, from just north of Fourth Street to just south of Seventh Street is the NRHP-listed Spring Street Financial District, nicknamed Wall Street of the West, lined with Beaux Arts buildings and currently experiencing gentrification. This section forms part of the Historic Core district of Downtown, together with portions of Hill, Broadway, Main and Los Angeles streets.
The Gillender Building was an early skyscraper in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. It stood on the northwest corner of Wall Street and Nassau Street, on a narrow strip of land measuring 26 by 73 feet. At the time of its completion in 1897, the Gillender Building was, depending on ranking methods, the fourth- or eighth-tallest structure in New York City.
15 Broad Street is a residential condominium and former office building in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, on the eastern side of Broad Street between Wall Street and Exchange Place. It has entrances at 51 Exchange Place and 35 Wall Street.
The American Insurance Company Building is one of the oldest and tallest skyscrapers in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Located at 15 Washington Street on Washington Park it was once headquarters for the American Insurance Company and is now part of Rutgers University. The neo-classical tower is a contributing property to the James Street Commons Historic District which also encompasses Washington Park, Newark Museum, and Newark Public Library. It re-opened in November 2015 as student dorms, event space, and chancellor's apartment. In 2023 it was renamed in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
[UK first iron building 1797 Shrewsbury Flaxmill]