How New York Built Its Skyline

How New York Built the World’s Most Famous Skyline New York City didn’t just grow

upward by accident. Its skyline is the result of ambition, competition… and ego.

In the early 1800s, New York was mostly low buildings made of brick

and stone. But as land became expensive, one question changed everything:

What if we built up instead of out? By the late 1800s,

steel frames and elevators made skyscrapers possible. Buildings like the Flatiron shocked people.

Not because it was tall—but because it looked impossible. The 1920s and 30s

sparked a skyscraper arms race. The Chrysler Building and Empire State Building were built