architecture

the old world’s tallest buildings, 1884


(click on pic for mightier version or go here for mightiest version)

this is incredible.

published in 1884, the diagram above shows the 77 tallest buildings of the old world (europe, asia and africa) at that time. strangely, the 78th and tallest structure shown is from the new world: the washington monument. it stood/stands at 555ft and was completed the year the diagram was made. the tallest of the old world was number 34, cologne cathedral, at 510ft.

the buildings were colour coded depending on the construction materials used…

red tint = brick ; stone colour = stone ; pink = granite ; purple = bronze, copper or lead ; yellow = gold

just as a comparison, here are the current tallest buildings on earth…

discussion

48 comments for “the old world’s tallest buildings, 1884”

  1. great image.
    I’ve found a larger version here:
    http://www.infocustech.com/skyscrapers/worlds%20tallest%20buildings.jpg

    posted by entropia | 2nd of December, 2007, 6:03 pm
  2. cheers entropia, i’ve added that link.

    posted by deputydog | 2nd of December, 2007, 6:09 pm
  3. very cool…crazy to think about people 100 years from now looking back at our measly little buildings.

    posted by Jason | 3rd of December, 2007, 12:38 am
  4. Wheres the CN Tower?

    posted by Kelly | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:35 am
  5. Thats neat!

    posted by mikeg | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:38 am
  6. Great that you put both the old and new photos together. The link in the previous comments made it much easier to read. You should switch it to that one.

    posted by Okizoo | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:39 am
  7. cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    howtobelike.com

    posted by mikeg | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:39 am
  8. “current” tallest buldings? might want to check over two of those….. awkward..

    posted by Justin | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:41 am
  9. if you like skyscrapers there’s an awesome poster of 33 world skyscrapers here. i have it and it’s great…the whole site is great!!

    http://skyscraperpage.com/store/posters/

    posted by albert rarow | 3rd of December, 2007, 6:02 am
  10. Where’s the CN Tower? It was just surpassed by the Burj Dubai as the worlds tallest freestanding structure earlier this year.

    posted by DiscoRage | 3rd of December, 2007, 6:25 am
  11. no manes

    posted by uri | 3rd of December, 2007, 6:29 am
  12. Well, if we’re counting the washington monument, should we not count the CN Tower, standing 1,815.39 ft high?

    posted by Jamie | 3rd of December, 2007, 6:42 am
  13. What about the Dom Tower in Utrecht, Netherlands: 112 metres (368 feet) in height, built between 1321 and 1382?

    What about the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Delft, Netherlands: 108 meters = 354 feet in height, built in 1496?

    In other words: I think the statement “77 tallest buildings of the old world” is a bit strange, unless 1382 is not yet old world.

    The *map*’s title is *principcal* high building: Apparently some selection was made?

    posted by Lamzak | 3rd of December, 2007, 6:43 am
  14. The list is inaccurate because it doesn’t include the 12th century Qutub Minar in Delhi. It is the tallest brick minaret in the world at 237 feet high.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qutub_Minar

    posted by Sayan | 3rd of December, 2007, 6:44 am
  15. the modern image is missing the CN Tower, should be 2nd

    posted by cody | 3rd of December, 2007, 7:32 am
  16. Hmm.. the new version left off the Chicago Spire. Which is also under contruction and is supposed to be taller than the Sears Tower.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire

    posted by Vanilla Jedi | 3rd of December, 2007, 8:03 am
  17. Great work. It’s really cool you managed to find those all by yourself.

    posted by RonP | 3rd of December, 2007, 8:26 am
  18. The U.S. has really dropped the ball with the freedom tower… Short and poorly named. A true testament to America’s reluctance to conquer adversity in an age sullied by multiculturalism and hyper-sensitivity. The “greatest generation” has given birth to a bunch if sissies…

    posted by Kevitivity | 3rd of December, 2007, 9:43 am
  19. Looks great. Good Job.

    posted by 7mika | 3rd of December, 2007, 10:07 am
  20. Wow,
    America was great even then!!!

    posted by John | 3rd of December, 2007, 12:18 pm
  21. This is really cool :-) and interesting comments on what has been left out \
    Thanks

    posted by Geoff | 3rd of December, 2007, 1:38 pm
  22. Although the CN Tower is now the 2nd taller free standing structures, its just that, the 2nd tallest free standing structure. It does not get classified as a ‘building’. If we looked at the tallest structure period we would have to look at the KVLY-TV mast standing 628.8 m (2,063 ft).
    Agreed though that if the Washington Monument is included then I would classify the CN Tower.

    posted by James | 3rd of December, 2007, 2:08 pm
  23. The CN Tower was not built prior to 1884. That is why it is not included on the first diagram. The second diagram is tallest skyscrapers, not tallest freestanding structures. That is why it is not in the second diagram, it is not in the same classification. There are several restrictions concerning skyscrapers.

    posted by Jim | 3rd of December, 2007, 2:38 pm
  24. The Washington Monument was big news in 1884; the capstone was set in December of that year, and it was dedicated in February of 1885. At that time, everyone knew about it. In fact, it is quite likely that this document is ABOUT the monument - showing people how big it is in relation to all those other big things.

    The document also does not claim that these are the old world’s tallest buildings; it says “principal” buildings. They weren’t trying to make a comprehensive list; they were simply trying to explain to people how tall the Washington Monument is by comparing it to other buildings that people of that era would have known about.

    Even if the Washington Monument wasn’t the purpose of the document, its inclusion still makes sense as the “modern” comparison that everyone would know. We see this commonly today with anything attempting to show relative size (”this skyscraper is as tall as 20 Empire State Buildings” or “the Sassanid Empire was larger than the United States”).

    posted by David | 3rd of December, 2007, 2:51 pm
  25. That building in dubai is so tall, it’s classified. Now that’s a tall tale. i guess the Apple store in Manhattan is going to have a huge opening this friday at 6pm, even though it isn’t officially announced, that’s what iHear!

    it is going to have many square feet, but nothing like the ultra mass of these buildings.

    posted by Thunk Different. | 3rd of December, 2007, 4:09 pm
  26. From wikipedia:
    “The Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville in Seville, Spain, one of the largest churches in the world and an outstanding example of the Gothic and Baroque architectural styles. The tower first two thirds is a former Almohad minaret which, when built, was the tallest tower in the world at 97.5 m (320 ft) in height. “

    posted by Alberto | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:08 pm
  27. Just a slight correction to this old diagram. In 1884 (and since 1876) the Rouen’s Cathedral was 495 feet high and not 460. It was the highest building in the world before Cologne’s Cathedral was finished (in 1880)

    posted by Morlos | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:17 pm
  28. Everyone knows that Canada isn’t a real country, thus the CN Tower doesn’t count. :)

    posted by Mr. Dumb | 3rd of December, 2007, 5:38 pm
  29. why antennas are sometimes taken into account and sometimes not in the second graph?
    Looks weird…

    posted by dikiz | 3rd of December, 2007, 9:45 pm
  30. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures_in_the_world

    Meters Feet
    585.7 1,922 Skyscraper (under construction), Burj Dubai
    553.3 1,815 CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario
    527.3 1,730 Skyscraper (completed only) - to top of antenna, Sears Tower, Chicago
    509.2 1,671 Skyscraper (completed only) - to top of spire, Taipei 101, Taiwan
    452 1,482 Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    posted by Maq | 4th of December, 2007, 12:49 am
  31. i think the image lack of the mayan piramids (tikal (64mts), kukulkan piramid (26mts)), and i think some aztec piramides where tall enough to be in that list

    posted by alfonse | 4th of December, 2007, 12:56 am
  32. How many were built as monuments to God and how many were built as monuments to man? Has the frequency changed over time? Is there a lesson in the answers?

    posted by Tom | 4th of December, 2007, 6:03 am
  33. the freedom tower is gonna be awesome!!! cant wait till its done

    posted by maurozea | 4th of December, 2007, 5:08 pm
  34. The Washington Monument was the world’s tallest building for five years - from it’s completition in 1884 until 1889. In 1889 it lost that title to Eiffel Tower, which is, in my opionion, way more impressive and beautiful as an installation. I would’ve included it in the picture. Eiffel in its turn lost the title to the Empire State Building only in 1930…

    http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=231623809&size=o

    posted by Rok | 5th of December, 2007, 9:11 am
  35. why isn’t the saint louis arch on this was it not built yet

    posted by michelle | 31st of March, 2008, 12:48 pm
  36. The “current” one should also have a date on it, as the 2008 list would be substantially different with new buildings being added and old ones no longer standing since the diagram was generated.

    posted by Mark | 21st of April, 2008, 9:54 pm


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