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How deceptive! Tallest building in the Western Hemisphere! Since when does a spire count as building!!!
Architectural spires have always counted toward total height. The Empire State Building is 1,454 feet to the top of its spire, but the actual rooftop height is 1,250. Then there was the race between 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building in 1929; Water P. Chrysler secretly had the spire constructed within the crown of the building, then hoisted it up shortly after 40 Wall Street topped out to claim title to the World's tallest at 1,046 feet. It was short lived as the Empire State Building surpassed it a year later.
I also remember the outcry when the Petronas Towers in Malaysia displaced the Sears Tower as world's tallest, but only due to the spire height--the Sears Tower is actually about 200 feet taller if comparing roof heights.
This is a pretty good illustration showing how spires affect total building height. Spires count; antennas do not. Also, it should be noted that Freedom Tower's design has changed significantly since this rending was created. The "skeleton" upper portion is now solid floors.
Last edited by mustang84; 05-08-2013 at 11:19 PM..
Architectural spires have always counted toward total height.
They often have, though that whole model started to fall apart back during the Petronas Towers controversy in the 1990's, which ended up with various agencies using four different criteria (antenna height, "architectural" height - spires but not antennae, roof height, and highest occupiable floor height).
I think "roof" (which usually means the highest planar surface before the addition of any spires or antennae) is probably the best measure, followed by highest floor.
Was listening on the radio as I drove into Jersey City, then after I parked I walked to my office and could it from across the river. Later I was in the city for a meeting and walked past the building itself--looked WAY up and could see the American flag they stuck up there, fluttering in the breeze.
The thing is with this building is that it's not really a "spire". What your seeing is bare steel that was once going to cladded with a decorative shell. The shell was ditched. That shell made it a spire. Now It's just a bare antenna.
Not really 1,776.
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