How long did the Eiffel Tower remain the tallest structure in the world?
The Eiffel Tower was surpassed in height on May 28, 1930, by the Chrysler Building in New York City, United States. Ironically, the top floor of the Chrysler building is only one metre (three feet) higher than the top floor of the Eiffel Tower. Still more ironically, the Eiffel Tower today is taller than the Chrysler Building. The reason for this is that spires and towers at the top of a structure count as part of the height. The Chrysler Building was deliberately built with an eighteen-story spire to make sure it was the tallest structure in the world (a common practice at the time, less so today). The Eiffel Tower later had a larger transmission tower placed on top, and now it’s six metres (eighteen feet) taller than the Chrysler Building again. This illustrates the kind of weirdness that goes on when builders are just trying to beat a record. When the Eiffel Tower was built, nothing else was remotely close, so there was no problem beating the record, but the Chrysler Building was bu
