Timeline Shows Tallest Buildings Since 1909

A timeline published on May 25, 2026, lists every building that held the title of world's tallest since 1909. The data come from the Council on Vertical Urbanism and exclude towers without floors. New York structures held the record for most of the 20th century.

The Metropolitan Life Tower reached 700 feet in 1909, followed by a 792-foot building in Tribeca and a 1,046-foot Art Deco tower that opened in 1930.

1998 The 1,250-foot building completed in 1931 kept the title until 1972. Two towers finished that year in lower Manhattan stood above 1,368 feet before their destruction in 2001. A 1,451-foot building opened in Chicago in 1974 and remained the tallest for nearly 25 years.

Since 1998 Two towers completed in Kuala Lumpur in the late 1990s reached 1,483 feet and ended decades of U.S. dominance. A 1,667-foot tower in Taipei held the record from 2004 until a 2,717-foot tower opened in Dubai. A tower under construction in Saudi Arabia has passed the 100th floor as of April 2026. It is projected to reach 3,300 feet when finished, possibly in 2028.