This is a list of tallest demolished freestanding structures in the world. To be freestanding a structure must not be supported by guy wires, the sea or other types of support. It therefore does not include guyed masts, partially guyed towers and drilling platforms but does include towers, skyscrapers (pinnacle height) and chimneys. [1]
Structures with the same height are ordered by demolition date
Name | Pinnacle height (metres / feet) | Year built | Year removed | Type of structure | Main use | Country | City | Remarks | Recording of event | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 World Trade Center | 526.7 m | 1,728 ft | 1973 | 2001 | Skyscraper | Office, observation | ![]() | New York City | Destroyed on September 11, 2001. Tallest freestanding structure that no longer exists. Tallest building in the world 1972–1974. | |
2 World Trade Center | 415.3 m | 1,362 ft | 1973 | 2001 | Skyscraper | Office, observation | ![]() | New York City | Destroyed on September 11, 2001. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Andorra Power Station | 343 m | 1,125 ft | 1981 | 2023 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Andorra (Teruel) | Demolished on 16 February 2023 by explosives. Tallest freestanding structure ever demolished in a controlled manner. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Power Station Westerholt | 337 m | 1,106 ft | 1981 | 2006 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia | Demolished on 3 December 2006 by explosives. | Video on YouTube |
Atlanta Turner Broadcasting Tower | 314.3 m | 1,031 ft | 1967 | 2010 | Lattice tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Atlanta, Georgia | Dismantled in 2010. Tallest lattice tower to be demolished. | |
Chimney of Harllee Branch Power Plant | 307 m | 1,007 ft | 1978 | 2016 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Milledgeville, Georgia | Demolished on October 15, 2016. Tallest multi-flue windscreen chimney ever demolished. [2] | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Widows Creek Fossil Plant | 305 m | 1,001 ft | 1980 | 2020 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Stevenson, Alabama | Demolished on December 3, 2020. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Marl-Chemiepark Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 197? | 1995 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia | Demolished in 1995. | |
Chimney #1 of Boxberg Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1979 | 2000 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Boxberg, Saxony | Demolished in 2000. | |
Chimney of Lippendorf Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1967 | 2005 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Lippendorf, Saxony | Demolished by explosives in 2005. | |
Chimney #1 of Power Plant Jänschwalde | 300 m | 984 ft | 1981 | 2003 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Jänschwalde | Demolished by explosives 2002–2007. | |
Chimney #2 of Power Plant Jänschwalde | 300 m | 984 ft | 1981 | 2005 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Jänschwalde | Demolished by explosives 2002–2007. | |
Chimney #3 of Power Plant Jänschwalde | 300 m | 984 ft | 1981 | 2007 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Jänschwalde | Demolished by explosives 2002–2007. | |
Chimney of Thierbach Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1968 | ? | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Espenhain, Saxony | Demolished. | |
Chimney #2 of Boxberg Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1979 | 2009 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Boxberg, Saxony | Demolished in 2009. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney #3 of Boxberg Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1979 | 2012 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Boxberg, Saxony | Demolished in 2009. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Chimney of Tušimice Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1974 | 2012 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Tušimice | Dismantled in 2011–12. [3] | |
Chimney #4 of Boxberg Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1979 | 2012 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Boxberg, Saxony | Demolished in 2012. | |
Chimney #3 Matla Power Station Smokestack | 276 m | 906 ft | 1982 | 1982 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Kriel | Demolished in 1982 after partially collapsing during construction. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of R.E. Burger Power Station | 260 m | 854 ft | 19 | 2016 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Dilles Bottom | Demolished on July 29, 2016 [4] | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Shawville Generating Station | 259 m | 850 ft | 1972 | 2016 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Shadyside, Ohio | Demolished in 2016. | |
Chimney of Hamburg-Port | 256 m | 840 ft | ? | 2004 | Chimney | ? | ![]() | Hamburg | Demolished in April 2004. Further damage occurred caused by miscalculation of debris trajectories from explosive demolition. | |
Chimneys #2 Yates Power Plant | 253 m | 830 ft | 1974 | 2017 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Newnan, Georgia | Demolished on 21 January 2017. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney #2 ASARCO El Paso Smelter | 252.5 m | 828 ft | 1967 | 2013 | Chimney | Smelter | ![]() | El Paso, Texas | Demolished in April 2013. | Video on YouTube |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 1 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1918 | 1944 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Demolished in 1944. [5] | |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 2 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1918 | 1944 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Demolished in 1944. | |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 3 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1918 | 1944 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Demolished in 1944. | |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 4 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1918 | 1944 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Demolished in 1944. | |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 5 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1918 | 1944 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Demolished in 1944. | |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 6 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1918/1920 | 1944 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Demolished in 1944. | |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 7 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1920 | 1944 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Demolished in 1944. | |
Lafayette transmitter, Tower 8 | 250 m | 820 ft | 1918/1920 | 1953 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Marcheprime | Disassembled in 1953. | |
Bakar Eurco Chimney TE Rijeka | 250 m | 820 ft | 1978 | 2005 | Chimney | ? | ![]() | Bakar | Demolished in 2005. | |
Chimney #1 Dolna Odra Power Station | 250 m | 820 ft | 1973 | ? | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Nowe Czarnowo | Disassembled. | |
Chimney of Grain Power Station | 244 m | 801 ft | 1979 | 2016 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Isle of Grain, England | Demolished on September 7, 2016. | Video on YouTube |
Central tower (Königs Wusterhausen) | 243 m | 797 ft | 1925 | 1972 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Koenigs Wusterhausen | Collapsed during storm on November 15, 1972. Tallest freestanding structure to collapse in a storm. | |
Chimney #1 Navajo Generating Station | 236.2 m | 775 ft | 1997 | 2020 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Page, Arizona, | Demolished on December 18, 2020 | Video on YouTube |
Chimney #2 Navajo Generating Station | 236.2 m | 775 ft | 1998 | 2020 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Page, Arizona, | Demolished on December 18, 2020 | (see above) |
Chimney #3 Navajo Generating Station | 236.2 m | 775 ft | 1999 | 2020 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Page, Arizona, | Demolished on December 18, 2020 | (see above) |
Chimney Inverkip Power Station | 236 m | 774 ft | 1976 | 2013 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Inverkip, Scotland | Demolished on July 28, 2013. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Power Station Schwandorf | 235 m | 771 ft | ? | 2005 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Schwandorf, Bavaria | Demolished in 2005. | |
Channel 9 TV Tower | 233 m | 764 ft | 1965 | 2021 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Sydney | Disassembled in August 2021. | Video on YouTube |
WOR TV Tower | 231.65 m | 760 ft | 1949 | 1956 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | North Bergen, New Jersey | Dismantled after being struck by an aircraft in 1956. | |
Chimney of Castrop-Rauxel Power Station | 230 m | 755 ft | 1966 | 2008 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia | Demolished in 2008. | |
Chimneys of Heating Power Station Gera-Nord | 225 m | 738 ft | 1984/1986 | 2010 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Gera, Thuringia | Demolished 2008–2010. | |
Chimney of Schilling Power Station | 220 m | 722 ft | 1962 | 2005 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Stade, Lower Saxony | Demolished in 2005. | |
Yekaterinburg TV Tower | 219 m | 720 ft | 1962 | 2018 | Tower | Observation Tower | ![]() | Yekaterinburg | Demolished on March 24, 2018. Was originally intended to be 360 m (1,180 ft) tall. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Pembroke Power Station | 217.3 m | 713 ft | 1968 | 2000 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Pembroke, Wales | Demolished on November 25, 2000. | |
270 Park Avenue | 216 m | 708 ft | 1960 | 2021 | Skyscraper | Office | ![]() | New York City | Disassembled in 2020–21. Tallest building to ever be voluntarily removed. | |
Chimney of Littlebrook Power Station, Unit 'D' | 215 m | 705 ft | 1981 | 2019 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Dartford, Kent | Demolished in December 2019. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Alma Power Station | 213.5 m | 700 ft | 1960 | 2018 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Alma, Wisconsin | Demolished on October 1, 2018. [6] | Video on YouTube |
Chimney Power Station Moers-Meerbeck | 210 m | 689 ft | ? | 1990's | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Moers–Meerbeck, North Rhine-Westphalia | Demolished early 1990s. | |
Novosemeykino Longwave Transmission, Tower 1 [7] | 205 m | 673 ft | 1943 | 2010 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Novosemeykino | Demolished in 2010, [8] selfradiating insulated against ground | |
Novosemeykino Longwave Transmission, Tower 2 [7] | 205 m | 673 ft | 1943 | 2010 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Novosemeykino | Demolished in 2010, [8] selfradiating insulated against ground | |
Novosemeykino Longwave Transmission, Tower 3 [7] | 205 m | 673 ft | 1943 | 2010 | Lattice Tower | UHF/VHF-transmission | ![]() | Novosemeykino | Demolished in 2010, [8] selfradiating insulated against ground | |
Chimney Power Station Franken II | 202 m | 663 ft | 1964 | 2001 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Erlangen, Bavaria | Demolished in 2001. | |
Chimney of Považská Bystrica Old Power Station | 201 m | 659 ft | ? | 2016 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Považská Bystrica | Demolished in 2016. [9] | |
Chimney Ludwigshafen | 200 m | 656 ft | ? | 2002 | Chimney | ? | ![]() | Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate | Demolished in November 2002. | |
Chimney Power Station Breitungen | 200 m | 656 ft | 1986 | 2005 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Breitungen, Thuringia | Demolished in 2005. | |
Chimney of Schwedt PCK-refinery | 200 m | 656 ft | ? | 2003 | Chimney | Refinery | ![]() | Schwedt, Brandenburg | Demolished in 2003. | |
Chimney of Pątnów Power Station | 200 m | 656 ft | 1967 | 2008 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Pątnów | Demolished in 2008. | |
Manušice Chimney | 200 m | 656 ft | ? | ? | Chimney | ? | ![]() | Česká Lípa | Demolished ? | |
Chimney of Skalice u České Lípy | 200 m | 656 ft | ? | ? | Chimney | ? | ![]() | Skalice u České Lípy | Demolished ? | |
Chimney of Didcot A Power Station | 199.5 m | 654 ft | 1968 | 2020 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Didcot, Oxfordshire | Demolished in February 2020. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Ohio Edison Toronto Power Plant [10] | 198 m | 650 ft | 19 | 2008 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Toronto, Ohio | Demolition on November 1, 2008. | Video on YouTube |
Port Kembla Copper Stack | 198 m | 650 ft | 1965 | 2014 | Chimney | Smelter | ![]() | Port Kembla, New South Wales | Demolished on February 20, 2014. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney #1 of Nanticoke Generating Station Units 1–4 | 198 m | 650 ft | 1972 | 2018 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Nanticoke, Ontario | Demolished on February 28, 2018. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney #2 of Nanticoke Generating Station Units 5–8 | 198 m | 650 ft | 1972 | 2018 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Nanticoke, Ontario | Demolished on February 28, 2018. | (see above) |
Chimney of Kingsnorth Power Station | 198 m | 650 ft | 1970 | 2018 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Hoo St Werburgh, Kent | Demolished in March 2018. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of St. Johns River Power Park [11] | 198 m | 650 ft | 1988 | 2019 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Jacksonville, Florida | Demolished on July 23, 2019. [12] | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Consumers Energy B.C. Cobb Plant | 198 m | 650 ft | ? | 2020 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Muskegon, Michigan | Disassembled in 2019-20. [13] | Video on YouTube |
Chimneys of Ferrybridge C Power Station | 198 m | 650 ft | 1966 | 2020 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Ferrybridge, North Yorkshire | Demolition in 2020. | Video on YouTube |
Chimney of Thunder Bay Generating Station | 198 m | 650 ft | 1963 | 2021 | Chimney | Power station | ![]() | Thunder Bay, Ontario | Demolished on September 9, 2021. [14] | Video on YouTube |
Name | Height (metres / feet) | Held record | Structural type | Country | City | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Meidum pyramid | 92 m | 300 ft | 2610 BC–1303 AD (3913 years) | Mausoleum | ![]() | Meidum | Collapsed during construction, now 65m |
Lighthouse of Alexandria | 103 to 118 m | 338 to 387 ft | 1303–1500 (197 years) | Lighthouse | ![]() | Alexandria | Damaged by earthquakes in 956, 1303 and 1323. The most destructive of which is indicated to be the 1303 quake. |
Malmesbury Abbey | 131 m | 431 ft | 1500–1549 (49 years) | Church | ![]() | Malmesbury | Spire collapsed around 1500. |
Lincoln Cathedral | 159.7 m | 524 ft | 1549–1921 (372 years) | Church | ![]() | Lincoln | Spire collapsed in 1549. |
New Brighton Tower | 172.8 m | 567 ft | 1921–1936 (15 years) | Lattice Tower | ![]() | Liverpool | Dismantled from 1919 to 1921. |
US Naval Radio Station Pearl Harbor, 3 identical towers [15] | 183 m | 600 ft | 1936–1938 (2 years) | Lattice Tower | ![]() | Honolulu | Dismantled in 1936. |
US Naval Radio Station Cayey, 3 identical towers [16] | 189 m | 620 ft | 1938–1944 (6 years) | Lattice Tower | ![]() | Cayey, Puerto Rico | Demolished in 1938. |
Lafayette transmitter, 8 identical towers | 250 m | 820 ft | 1944–1982 (38 years) | Lattice Tower | ![]() | Marcheprime | Towers 1 through to 7 demolished in 1944, tower 8 demolished in 1953. [5] |
Chimney #3 Matla Power Station Smokestack | 276 m | 906 ft | 1982–1995 (13 years) | Chimney | ![]() | Kriel | Demolished in 1982 after partially collapsing during construction. |
Chimney of Marl-Chemiepark Power Station | 300 m | 984 ft | 1995–2001 (6 years) | Chimney | ![]() | Marl | Demolished in 1995. |
2 World Trade Center | 415.3 m | 1,362 ft | 1973–2001 (28 years) | Skyscraper | ![]() | New York City | Destroyed on September 11, 2001. |
1 World Trade Center | 526.7 m | 1,728 ft | 1973–2001 (28 years) | Skyscraper | ![]() | New York City | Destroyed on September 11, 2001. Tallest freestanding structure that no longer exists. |
The Inco Superstack in Sudbury, Ontario, with a height of 381 metres (1,250 ft), is the tallest chimney in Canada and the Western Hemisphere, and the second-tallest freestanding chimney in the world after the Ekibastuz GRES-2 Power Station in Kazakhstan. It is also the second-tallest freestanding structure of any type in Canada, behind the CN Tower but ahead of First Canadian Place. As of 2023, it is the 51st-tallest freestanding structure in the world. The Superstack is located on top of the largest nickel smelting operation in the world at Vale's Copper Cliff processing facility in the city of Greater Sudbury.
A lattice tower or truss tower is a freestanding vertical framework tower. This construction is widely used in transmission towers carrying high-voltage electric power lines, in radio masts and towers and in observation towers. Its advantage is good shear strength at a much lower weight than a tower of solid construction would have as well as lower wind resistance.
The Dudelange Radio Tower is a 285-meter (935 ft) high freestanding steel framework FM radio and television transmission tower, also called a lattice tower, with a triangular cross section located near Dudelange in Luxembourg. When completed in 1957 the Dudelange Radio Tower was the tallest structure in Luxembourg and the fourth tallest lattice tower in the world after the Tokyo, Eiffel and KCTV towers. It remains the tallest freestanding structure in Luxembourg today and the 5th tallest structure overall in the country.
Schilling Power Station was an oil-fired power station in the proximity of the nuclear power station at Stade. It went into operation in 1960, was extended in 1962 and 1964, and was shut down in the 1980s. Since it principally served Hamburg north for the electricity supply of Hamburg and fed its current into the transformer station, the first overhead line crossing of the Elbe was built at that time at Stade, the Elbe Crossing 1. The buildings still exist today and are occasionally used for disaster control exercises.
Westerholt Power Station was a coal fired power station in Gelsenkirchen-Westerholt, Germany. The power plant consisted of two units built in the 1960s, each capable of producing 150 MW of electricity. Its smokestack, built in 1981, was 337 metres tall, making it Germany's tallest chimney at the time.
Teruel Power Plant was a lignite fired power plant near the town of Andorra in the province of Teruel, community of Aragon, Spain. The flue gas stack of Teruel Power Plant was 343 metres (1,125 ft) high. Teruel Power Plant had three generating units with a capacity of 350 megawatts each. In 1992, Teruel Power Plant was equipped with filters that reduced the amount of detrimental sulfur dioxide emitted in the smoke by 90%.
Mitchell Power Plant is a large coal fired power station located on West Virginia Route 2 south of Moundsville, West Virginia, United States.
Plant Harllee Branch was a coal-fired power station located in Putnam County, southeast of Eatonton, Georgia, United States. It was located between Eatonton and Milledgeville, to the southeast. The power plant was owned and operated by Georgia Power. It was named after Harllee Branch Jr., president of Georgia Power.
Widows Creek Fossil Plant was a 1.6-gigawatt coal power plant, 4.8 miles (7.7 km) east of Stevenson, Alabama, USA. The plant, operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, generated about nine billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. It had one of the tallest chimneys in the world at 305 metres (1,001 ft), which was built in 1977, and was removed December 3, 2020 in a controlled demolition. Along with the Chimney of the Harllee Branch Power Plant, it is the tallest chimney to be demolished in the United States.
The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.
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