Aim high.
Tall buildings are a universal expression of power and pride. Constructing them has been an architectural imperative since, well, the Tower of Babel.
So is the competition to make them ever taller. Medieval European cities vied, ostensibly to the glory of God, to build the tallest cathedral, stretching those Gothic arches to the point of actual collapse. The development of steel-frame technology in the late 19th century set off the modern race to the top that shows no sign of abating. Now it's the nouveau riche cities of the Middle and Far East that compete for bragging rights.
The 160-story Burj Dubai is the world's tallest. For now. Record-holding is a fleeting honor.
Atlanta's tallest, the Bank of America Tower, is 55 stories. Clearly and thank goodness, we aren't in the game. Better to aim for a gold medal in architectural design. A city with a stylish skyline can walk tall, too.
The tallest high-rises in Atlanta, pictured here, offer a snapshot of changing fashions. The boxy, flat-top AT&T Building of 1980 is your standard corporate modern, which was followed by a spate of masonry towers with dramatic tops.
The dramatic torqued shape of Sovereign, the newest tall kid on the block, exemplifies the sculptural versions of the glass box that are exploding on skylines around the world.
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> The 48-story Sovereign, 3344 Peachtree St. N.E., was completed this year and at 665 feet is Atlanta's ninth-tallest building.
> With 55 floors rising 1,023 feet, Bank of America Plaza, 600 Peachtree St. N.E., is Atlanta's tallest building and the tallest in any state capital. It was built in 1992.
> Construction finished in 1989 on Promenade II, 1230 Peachtree St. N.E. At 691 feet, it has 40 floors and is Atlanta's seventh-tallest building.
> 1180 Peachtree, completed in 2006, is 657 feet tall with 41 floors and is the city's 10th-tallest building.
> Atlanta's third-tallest building, One Atlantic Center, 1201 W. Peachtree St. N.W., has 50 floors, is 820 feet tall and was completed in 1987.
> Georgia Pacific Tower (foreground), 133 Peachtree St. N.E., is Atlanta's sixth-tallest building. It was completed in 1981 and is 697 feet tall with 52 floors. 7. 191 Peachtree Tower is Atlanta's fourth-tallest building at 770 feet. It has 50 floors and was completed in 1990.
> Finished in 1980, the AT&T Building, 675 W. Peachtree St. N.W., is the city's eighth-tallest building. Rising 677 feet, it has 47 floors
> At 871 feet, SunTrust Plaza, 303 Peachtree St. N.E., is Atlanta's second-tallest building. With 60 floors, it was built in 1992.
> Westin Peachtree Plaza, 210 Peachtree St. N.W., is fifth in height at 723 feet. Completed in 1976, it has 73 floors.
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