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The 55-storey, 793 foot Woolworth building in New York is regarded as the first true skyscraper. During the opening ceremony in April 1913, American President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button in the White House and simultaneously lit up every internal light along wth the floodlights that illuminated the facade.

The building was also remarkable for sheet metal welding the fact that its construction was funded entirely in cash and never held a mortgage until its sale to the Witkoff Group for USD 155 million in 1998.The Woolworth Building was the tallest building in the world and remained so until the Bank of Manhattan toppled its record in 1929 at 927 feet (71 storeys). By now, the race to erect the next 'tallest building in the world' became a frantic competition the 'Chrysler Team' and the 'Empire State' team. When the Empire State Building opened on May 31, 1931, with the same Presidential fanfare enjoyed by the Woolworth Building, it had 102 storeys and reached 1,250 feet in the air.

The Chrysler Building, completed the previous year, had 77 storeys and was 'only' 1,046 feet high. The Empire State Building held the record until the opening of the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 1972.Minoru Yamasaki was the chief architect for the World Trade Center. He specifically made the windows of the building unusually narrow, reflecting his fear of heights, a feature that was ultimately criticized by the building's ultimate occupants.

Structurally, the two towers implemented a new 'tube frame structural system', allowing for a more open floor plan than conventional designs.On completion, the towers were 1,368 feet tall and contained 417 storeys. Both towers were destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001, a date that is now indelibly etched into history.