The race to build the world's tallest tower is one of the longest running competitions in human history. It spans continents, centuries, and wildly different definitions of what counts as a "tower."
The ancient record
For nearly 4,000 years, the Great Pyramid of Giza held the record at 146 meters. It was not surpassed until 1311, when Lincoln Cathedral in England reached approximately 160 meters with its central spire. After Lincoln, a series of European cathedrals traded the title back and forth. Then came iron.
The Eiffel leap
The Eiffel Tower changed everything in 1889. At 300 meters, it nearly doubled the previous record. Critics were horrified. Guy de Maupassant reportedly ate lunch at the tower every day because it was the only place in Paris where he couldn't see it.
The tower was meant to be temporary, a showpiece for the World's Fair. It was supposed to come down after 20 years. Paris couldn't bring itself to do it.
New York takes over
The record moved to Manhattan in 1930 with the Chrysler Building at 319 meters, then immediately to the Empire State Building in 1931 at 443 meters. The Empire State held the title for 40 years, longer than any skyscraper before or since.
The World Trade Center's Twin Towers took the record in 1973 at 417 meters. They held it for less than a year before the Sears Tower in Chicago reached 442 meters. Then the race went quiet.
The Asian century
Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur (452m, 1998) shifted the competition to Asia. Taipei 101 (508m, 2004) pushed past the half-kilometer mark for the first time. Then came Dubai.
The Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010, stands at 828 meters. It did not just break the record. It obliterated it, exceeding the previous holder by over 300 meters. It remains the tallest structure ever built by humans.
Does height still matter?
The Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia was designed to exceed 1,000 meters, the first kilometer-tall building. Construction has stalled repeatedly.
Meanwhile, ask someone to name a famous tower and they'll say Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Leaning Tower of Pisa. None of these are remotely close to being the tallest. The towers that endure in culture are the ones with the best stories, not the most meters.
Height is a number. A story is forever.