Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, is in downtown Chicago and is the country's tallest building. Standing at 1,450 feet with 110 stories, it is officially the largest in the western hemisphere. The building was completed in May of 1973 and for almost a quarter of a century held the title of tallest building in the world. It was in 1998 that the Petronas Towers took that title away. In the early 1980s, an antenna was added, taking the building's height to 1,704 feet. In 2000, another antenna took it to 1,729 feet. Sadly, antenna height does not count toward the tallest building world record.
The Trump International Hotel and Tower is the country's second tallest building, standing at 1,362 feet and 92 stories. It is a luxury hotel, built by Donald Trump, that is located in downtown Chicago and was completed in 2009. The building has never held the record as tallest in the world, but for a while after completion it was the tallest reinforced concrete building in North America. It was built using concrete to decrease its sway from high winds and to allow for more window space.
The Empire State Building is the country's third tallest building, standing at 1,224 feet, minus its lightning rod, and has 102 floors. It was built in just over a year with construction being completed in November 1930. One of the most iconic skyscrapers in the world, it has been featured in numerous television series and several movies such as "Affair to Remember," "King Kong" and "Sleepless in Seattle." It was the tallest building in the world until it was surpassed in 1973 by the World Trade Center buildings.
The Bank of America Tower is New York's second tallest building and fourth tallest in the U.S. Standing at around 1,200 feet tall, with 54 stories, it was opened in 2008. It was designed to be an environmentally friendly building with thermal insulation glass, a state of the art heating and air conditioning system and major water conservation practices. The building was also built using blast furnace byproducts like slag to make its cement. This saved on the Co2 emissions involved in making normal cement.
