A Brief History of the World's Tallest Buildings

Empire State Building
It has been hit by a plane, it has been climbed by a giant gorilla (in both film and real life: an inflatable gorilla was attached to its side for the 50th anniversary of the original movie King Kong in 1983) and it has twice stood as New York City's tallest building (before the World Trade Center's completion in 1972 and after its destruction on Sept. 11, 2001). At 102 stories, the Empire State Building has become one of the world's most iconic structures and landmarks. In 1967, after having held the title of world's tallest building since 1931, it was surpassed by the Ostankino Tower in Moscow.

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