Timeline of the Tallest Buildings since 1892

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History of the Tallest Buildings

Illustration by Martins Jegorovs

It can be noticed that the majority, about 70%, of the skyscrapers on the list of 100 tallest buildings were built later than 1990. There has been a huge boom of skyscrapers due to the extremely fast growth of major cities and the ever improving technology used to make these buildings possible easier.

Ever since the 1800's the US has been the home for the tallest buildings. But during these last couple of years this tradition has stopped. Asia is now the capital for tall buildings. With so many countries competing to hold the title, it is becoming impossible for buildings to hold their title very long. Currently the Empire State Building holds the honor of being the tallest for the longest, 40 years. Just to see the rise of Asian skyscrapers, here's a list of the 10 tallest buildings in 1990 compare and the 10 tallest in 2005.

10 tallest buildings in 1990

Rank	Building, City	Year	Stories	Height
				m	ft
1.	Sears Tower, Chicago	1974	110	442	1,450
2.	Empire State Building, New York	1931	102	381	1,250
3.	Bank of China, Hong Kong	1989	72	369	1,209
4.	Aon Centre, Chicago	1973	80	346	1,136
5.	John Hancock Center, Chicago	1969	100	344	1,127
6.	Chrysler Building, New York	1930	77	319	1,046
7.	U.S. Bank Tower, Los Angeles	1990	73	310	1,018
8.	AT&T Corporate Center, Chicago	1989	60	307	1,007
9.	JP Morgan Chase Tower, Houston	1982	75	305	1,002
10.	Two Prudential Plaza, Chicago	1990	64	303	995

10 tallest buildings in 2005

Rank	Building, City	Year	Stories	Height
				m	ft
1.	Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan	2004	101	509	1,670
2.	Petronas Tower 1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1998	88	452	1,483
3.	Petronas Tower 2, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	1998	88	452	1,483
4.	Sears Tower, Chicago	1974	110	442	1,450
5.	Jin Mao Building, Shanghai	1999	88	421	1,381
6.	Two International Finance Centre, Hong Kong	2003	88	415	1,362
7.	CITIC Plaza, Guangzhou, China	1996	80	391	1,283
8.	Shun Hing Square, Shenzhen, China	1996	69	384	1,260
9.	Empire State Building, New York	1931	102	381	1,250
10.	Central Plaza, Hong Kong	1992	78	374	1,227

Only 1 out of 10 of the 10 tallest buildings were in Asia in 1990, but today 8 out of the 10 are in Asian cities.