Possibly the most famous of American skylines, the New York skyline contains two iconic figures: The Empire State Building, with its distinctive, boxy figure and its antenna penetrating into the sky, and the Chrysler Building, whose top slopes gracefully inwards to form a spire. The impressive height of Manhattan's buildings adds to the skyline's power; 48 buildings stand more than 650 feet tall. As one of the largest and busiest cities in the world, New York is portrayed often in the media and films, and its skyline has become one of the most famous in the world.
A single iconic structure defines the Chicago skyline: Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, a 1,450-foot, black and boxy structure that held the record as the tallest building in the world between 1973 and 1998, when it was surpassed in height by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Chicago's skyline contains many tall buildings; the city holds 25 buildings over 650 feet tall, including three of the world's 25 tallest buildings.
Only three buildings in San Francisco surpass 650 feet in height, but what the city's skyline lacks in height, it makes up for in iconic structures. The Golden Gate Bridge, which feeds into the city, defines the skyline and is perhaps the most famous bridge in the world, while the distinctive Transamerica Pyramid keeps the skyline recognizable.
Like the skyline of its sister West Coast city, San Francisco, Seattle's skyline lacks height but makes up for it with a single iconic structure: The Space Needle. Built originally for the 1962 World's Fair, Seattle's Space Needle defines the skyline, and Mount Rainier -- while not a man made portion of the city's skyline -- towers visibly in the distance behind the city.
Photographs of the American capital always contain an iconic spire that identifies the city: The Washington Monument, an obelisk completed in 1884 to commemorate the country's first president, George Washington. The tall, rotund dome of the U.S. Capitol often appears alongside the spire and is another distinctive feature of the skyline. Because the city is so closely tied to American politics, it appears often in the media and films and is recognized around the world.
As America's casino town, Las Vegas appears frequently in American films, and a combination of neon lighting, water fountains and distinctive casino architecture makes it one of America's most recognizable skylines.
