Why did the builders of One World Trade Center in New York settle on fourth place?
The decision to not compete: Why did the builders of One World Trade Center in New York settle on fourth place?
The article includes some nice history about the race in New York in the first half of the 20th century to build the tallest skyscraper.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The decision to not compete: Why did the builders of One World Trade Center in New York settle on fourth place?
The article includes some nice history about the race in New York in the first half of the 20th century to build the tallest skyscraper.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The bigger problem is taking 12 years to get the new tower built at all. Boldness of action in projects like these was already a distant memory.
They would have to add a thousand feet to the building in order to make it to number one. And even then it would not last long as they would just add a few feet to the second place building and reclaim first.
That and the costs would be stupidly high.
I would rather go for a stylish building with real architectural beauty.
Not to nitpick (which I guess I AM ! !), but the article neglects to mention that Sears Tower (now named Willis Tower) in Chicago was taller than the World Trade Center & was the tallest in the world for 25 years. From Wiki:
Willis Tower (formerly named and still commonly referred to as Sears Tower) is a 108-story, 1,451-foot (442 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois.[2] At the time of its completion in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world, surpassing the World Trade Center towers in New York, and it held this rank for nearly 25 years.
Having said that, I agree – I was excited to hear the rebuilt Trade Center would be the tallest & a bit disappointed when it was scaled back. Of course, that Burj Dubai is so dang tall it’s gonna take a lot to top that & probably someone else will come along & go taller anyway, so maybe it’s a losing game. The article’s description of the construction of the Chrysler Bldg’s “unannounced” spire to foil its rivals was quite amusing – never knew that ! !