The word “skyscraper” comes from nautical slang; it was the term sailors used for the tallest mast of a sailing ship. Although New York was not the first to use this construction technique, building tall has been a local tradition since the late nineteenth century. On the practical side, individual plots of land, a relic of colonial times, were small, and not always suitable for the placement of wide-based buildings. More importantly, though, height confers prestige, and having grand headquarters in this center for America’s trade with the world is evidence of a corporation’s economic might.

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