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The Washington Monument, U.S.A., completed in 1884 (555 ft - 169.29 m)

The Washington Monument took the title as the world's tallest building in 1884 and is among the world's tallest masonry structures, standing 555 feet - 169.29 m in height, and is made of marble, granite, and sandstone. The Monument held the title for just 3 years.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, completed in 1887 (1,063 ft - 324 m)

The Eiffel Tower, completed in 1887 took the title of the world's highest building not with just a few extra feet in height - it is twice the height of it's predecessor, The Washington Monument. The Eiffel Tower was to retain the world's tallest building title for another 43 years.

The Chrysler Building, New York, USA, finished in 1930 (1046 ft - 319 m)

Completed in 1930, the Chrysler Building had just 1 year of glory as the world's tallest building. You will note from it's height that it appears to be shorter than the Eiffel Tower, however this is because a new antenna was located on the Eiffel Tower in the year 2000 - before this the Eiffel Tower was some 79 ft - 24 m shorter than The Chrysler Building.

The Empire State Building, New York, U.S.A., finished in 1931 (1,472 ft - 449 m)

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York, NY on the intersection of 5th Ave and W 34th Street. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until the construction of the World Trade Center North Tower topped out on December 23, 1970. It is now once again the tallest building in New York, after the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 from terrorist attacks.

World Trade Center, New York, U.S.A., 1972 - 2001 (1,727 ft - 526.3 m)

When completed in 1972, 1 WTC became the tallest building on Earth, unseating the Empire State Building after a 40-year reign. 2 WTC became the second tallest building in the world when completed in 1973. The WTC towers held the height record only briefly. As the building neared completion in 1973, work had already begun on Chicago's Sears Tower, which ultimately reached 1,450 ft - 442 m (not including spire or antenna). Sadly both WTC towers were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of 9-11-2001.

Sears Tower, Chicago, U.S.A., finished in 1973 (1,729 ft - 527 m)

The Sears Tower was completed in May 1973 and held the title as the world's tallest building until 1998.

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, finished in 1998 (1,482 ft - 542 m)

The Petronas Towers were completed in 1998 and became the tallest buildings in the world on the date of completion, although there is controversy surrounding this because the Sears Tower, including antenna is actually taller - but due to a change of regulations and guidelines used to define tall structures, the antennas of the Sears Tower were not counted as part of its architectural features.

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Original source and photos courtesy of Cool Pics, The Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu), Sacred Destinations, and Wikipedia