Lecture: Why So High? The World's Tallest Buildings

Since the ill-fated Tower of Babel, mankind has been powerfully attracted to the idea of buildings rising into the clouds. The Empire State Building and the Sears Tower still rank among the world’s tallest and most famous buildings, while the latest contenders for the title rise close to a quarter mile into the sky. In the 20th century, it was the American skyscraper that regularly pushed the limit – from the Singer, Met Life and Woolworth buildings to the Chrysler and the Empire State, and eventually the World Trade Center and Sears Tower. Plans for the World Trade Center site have focused worldwide attention on such monuments, raising the question: why so high? Was it strictly dollars and cents? Or was something more at play? This illustrated journey across a century and a half of the race to the top pays special attention to the design and construction of the Trade Center.

This lecture is sponsored by the Patterson Library, and funded by the New York State Council of the Humanities. It is free and open to the public.