The tower was created as the headquarters for retail company Woolworth's, which owned the tower up until 1998.Ĥ0 Wall Street, New York City, USA (1930) – 283 metres Woolworth Building, New York City, USA (1913) – 241 metresĭesigned by architect Cass Gilbert, the 241-meter-high Woolworth Building was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930. In 2015, the tower was refurbished and now contains the 273-room New York Edition Hotel. It rises to 213 metres alongside an office building that occupies an entire city block. The building's clock tower was inspired by St Mark's Campanile in Venice. The Singer Building only briefly held the title of the world's tallest building, being eclipsed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower a year after it was completed. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, New York City, USA (1909) – 213 metres The SOM-designed One Liberty Plaza skyscraper now stands on the site. In 1908, the Beaux-Arts-style Singer Building became the world's tallest skyscraper and, standing at 187 metres high, the world's tallest building.ĭesigned for sewing machine company Singer, the building was divided into two distinct parts: a 14-storey base with a 27-storey square tower rising from it.ĭespite protests, the office building was demolished in the late 1960s. Singer Building, New York City, USA (1908) – 187 metres It is considerably shorter than Ulm Minster cathedral in Germany, which rises to 161 metres. In the early 2000s, the building was renovated and converted into residential units.Īlthough the structure was the world's tallest skyscraper at the time, it was not the world's tallest building. Originally an office block for 4,000 people, the 31-storey steel-framed early skyscraper was designed by architect R H Robertson. At the beginning of the century, the 119-metre-tall Park Row Building in New York City was the world's tallest skyscraper, a title that would remain in the city until 1974, when the Sears Tower completed in Chicago.

Sears tower vs willis tower