In the 20th century, engineering and architectural techniques and resources became stronger and more sophisticated, and skyscrapers took off. For a solid 40 years, the undisputed “World’s Tallest Building” was Manhattan’s Empire State Building. That was shortly followed by the original World Trade Center and then Chicago’s Willis (Sears) Tower. But since the Willis Tower lost its spot in 1998 to Malaysia’s Petronas Towers, we’ve built a ton of crazy huge skyscrapers all over the world.
Asian and Middle Eastern countries like China and the United Arab Emirates seem to be firing back and forth, topping each other every few years. But right now, the title holder is the stupidly tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The good news for those of us not footing construction bills is that often, workers will snap pictures while doing maintenance on the towers. Or maybe a journalist will seek a special permit to photograph the towers. Or maybe a daredevil (who, after researching this piece, I’ve discovered is most likely to be a young Russian man) will elude the building’s guards, climb all the way to the top with no safety gear, and take a pant-shittingly terrifying photo of the city that lies beneath. However the pictures are taken, here are some of the most dizzying, mind-blowingly awesome pictures we’ve been able to find from mankind’s tallest creations.
More info: Facebook
Abraj Al-Bait
Al Hamra Tower
Burj Khalifa
Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay
Empire State Building
The Golden Gate Bridge
One World Trade Center
Princess Tower Dubai
Shanghai Tower
Downtown Toronto
