The world’s tallest building, IMO, should be the Sears Tower: it is taller in 3 of the 4 categories previously listed. The WTC did have the tallest antenna (ever since its completion, NOT for 3 months), but about a year ago the Sears Tower increased the height of its antennas by a few feet, giving it the new title.
And regarding 7 South Dearborn, that project has been all but dead for over a year. There was some rumor that another company would buy the “building” (site,design, etc.) but I haven’t heard anything about that in a while.
Oh, and one more thing, the Sears Tower and the Twin Towers are/were a whopping 22 stories taller then the Petronas Towers.
It’s amazing how many of these tall buildings get approved but then are not built. A few years ago, a builder in Melbourne, Australia named Bruno Grollo (a self-aggrandizing wanker if ever there was one) got approval to build the worlds tallest building in the city. It was going to be something over 120 floors and about 520 metres tall. The project has, however, been shelved. Many people in Melbourne opposed it, saying it would stand out like a sore thumb in what is not, by world standards, a high-rise city.
There is considerable rivalry in Australia between Sydney and Melbourne, and when news that Melbourne might build the world’s tallest building got around, there was some consternation in Sydney. But there was also considerable amusement, including some jokes, like:
Q. What’s will be the best thing about Melbourne’s Grollo Tower?
A. You might be able to see Sydney from the top floor.
Last i heard, one landmark still going ahead in Melbourne was Eureka Tower, destined to be, at 300m (1000 feet), the world’s tallest all-residential building.
Just after September 11 here in Chicago it was reported on the news that the backers of the plan for 7 South Dearborn were reconsidering building the thing. So it looks like it’s on hold.
Most people working in the Chicago Loop don’t drive now - they take the train or bus, thereby reducing traffic.
About ten years ago I heard that about 400,000 people a day trudge into the Loop to work (yours truly among them these last 18 years) and there are only 65,000 parking spaces. And that was before Daley started eliminating parking spots at every opportunity.
Naw, the REAL problem would be keeping the Starbucks in the building stocked with bad coffee…
Sounds like the Warsaw joke about the Stalin-era Palace of Culture.
Q: Why is the best view in Warsaw from the Palace of Culture?
A: That’s the only place you don’t have to look at the Palace of Culture.
And then add 100,000 MORE! All in one block! Can’t you see the congestion, even if everyone walks or takes public transportation. Have you ever tried to get on the Red Line or a bus to the Loop during rush hour??? You can’t get a seat and have to wait for 3 trains or buses to pass before one comes by that has any room to stand! And that’s at Belmont which is 4 miles from the Loop.
BTW, I have you beat by 4 years - I started working in the loop in 1979. I walk 2 miles to work so I don’t have to get on the bus or the El.
