Most Famous Buildings in the United States (2020)

Articles > Most Famous Buildings in the United States (2020)

Empire State Building, New York - It became the world’s tallest office building at a height of 204 feet and was built between 1930 and 1931. Its upper tower was built for airships at that time when Transatlantic airship was considered to be a future vehicle as a mode of transportation. Despite its huge size, it took 20 months for its construction to complete. Soon after the demolishment of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, the construction of this building gained momentum and it was completed way ahead of schedule. The construction of this building consisted of trucks carrying sixteen thousand partition tiles, 5000 bags of cement, 450 cubic yards of sand and 300 bags of lime that arrived at the construction site every day. This tower has also been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). For more details about the building, click this link - https://civilengineeringbible.com/article.php?i=258

Fig 1: Empire State Building

Courtesy: World Federation of Great Towers

Chrysler Building, New York - The construction of this tower was accomplished by the construction company, William H. Reynolds, and it was built between 1928-1930 by the architect William Van Allen. It is located in New York, USA at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street. This building is built with African granites and structural steel. The building was customized with automobile designs, pineapple and eagle heads portraying homage to American eagles in homage to the Plymouth automobile’s hood ornaments. The building is in the shape of a pointed needle with a reduced diameter as it proceeds upward on top. Inside, the walls of this building are coated with red Moroccan marble and the floors are Sienna colored. This building is a classic portrayal of Art Deco style starting from its streets to its terrace. It was chosen as America’s most Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. For more details about the building, click this link - https://civilengineeringbible.com/article.php?i=266

Fig 2: Chrysler Building

Courtesy: Architectural Digest

Willis Tower, Chicago - This tower is also called Sears Tower and was built between 1970-1974. It is located at 233 South Wacker Drive, in the district of Chicago, Illinois, United States. This tower was developed by Sears, Roebuck & Company, who were known as the largest retailer in the world having 350,000 employees. Now, this tower has become a business hub for a lot of companies in Chicago and it is also a core activity in Chicago. For 25 years, it remained as the tallest building in the world until it was processed by Towers Petronas that was built in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the year 1998.a Skydeck is present on the 103rd floor which is visited by 1.3 million tourists from all over the world to enjoy the scenic beauty of Chicago. A Skydeck is also present at 103rd floor, that is visited by 1.3 million tourists from all over the world to appreciate the beauty of Chicago. For more details about this tower, click this link - https://civilengineeringbible.com/article.php?i=274

Fig 3: Willis Tower

Courtesy: Chicago Traveler

The White House, DC - This is the official residence and work area for the President of the United States of America and is located in Washington, DC at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The name of the building was “White House” by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. It was designed by the Irish architect James Hoban in the 1790s and the foundation of the building was built by enslaved and free African-American laborers along with Employed Europeans. In February 2020, the northwest section of the White House fence was completed by the United States Secret Service (USSS) and the National Park Service (NPC) and is expected to be completed by August, 2020 after which the southern section of the White House fence will be worked upon. For more details about the building, click this link - https://civilengineeringbible.com/article.php?i=279

Fig 4: The White House

Courtesy: History.com

The Space Needle, Seattle - It is an observation tower located in Seattle, Washington and was constructed between 1960-1962 during the World’s Fair. It is 184 m in height and includes a revolving SkyCity restaurant at 150 m height, as well as an observation tower at 160 m height. Earlier, Seattle was considered a hub for maritime trade and aircraft manufacturing. In October 1957, the launch of Soviet satellite Sputnik attracted the interests of the officials and the Seattle government selected Seattle as the host for the Country’s next World Fair. The design of this building was proposed by an artist Edward E. Carlson for the World’s Fair as an inspiration from the Stuttgart Tower and he sketched the shape of this building as a tethered balloon. But modifications were carried out, and so Edward E. Carlson and the architect John Graham transformed the building's design from balloon-shaped to a flying saucer shape. It was the tallest tower in Seattle and Washington from 1962 to 1969 until it was preceded by Smith Tower and Safeco Plaza. For more details about this tower, click this link - https://civilengineeringbible.com/article.php?i=287

Fig 5: Space Needle

Courtesy: Spaceneedle.com

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles - It was built between 1999-2003 and is located on the hill Bunker Hill, in downtown Los Angeles, USA. It was designed by the architect, Frank Gehry, after he won an international competition where proposals for this building were put forward by 70 well-known architects. A computer program named CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application) was extensively used in the design and plans. For decades, its design, consisting of a metallic polish surface and hall’s sweeping is linked with Frank Genry’s trademark. The overall cost for construction of this building was $ 130 million excluding the parking garage which cost $110 million. The area of this building is 200000 ft2. Lilian Disney contributed $50 million in 1987 to build a concert hall for honoring her late husband, Walt. The building now stands as the permanent headquarters of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Recently, the Walt Disney Concert Hall has celebrated its tenth anniversary. For more details about the building, click this link - https://civilengineeringbible.com/article.php?i=291.

Fig 6: Walt Disney Concert Hall

Courtesy: LA Phil

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Most Famous Buildings in the United States (2020)

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