The "skyscraper" is a uniquely American invention that has come to symbolize the cultural and economic predominance of the United States in the twentieth century. With the invention of the elevator in 1859 and the development of new...

Until one hundred years ago, the skylines of the world's cities were characterized by silhouettes of trees and church towers, but as urban populations have grown, urban land has become extremely valuable. To keep up with the demands of the population...

A skyscraper is a very tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition or a precise cutoff height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper. However, as per usual practice in most cities, the definition is...

With its grandiose colonial buildings, ultramodern skyline and hyperkinetic downtown streets, Shanghai rarely fails to make one heck of a first impression. And while the city's glamor may eventually fade under the stress...

Prince Charles warned Thursday that historic sites like the Tower of London have been "vandalized" by high-rise construction that threatens to ruin the character of the capital.The heir to the British throne, who spoke at a conference on city planning, argued that poor planning could...

A five-alarm fire in an abandoned skyscraper sent a plume of smoke trailing above ground zero Saturday afternoon as fire trucks and police cars raced to reach the building already decimated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Two firefighters were critically injured while trying to reach...

A gunman in a downtown skyscraper shot four people Friday, killing three of them, and took a hostage before being killed after police fired at him, authorities said.The shootings in the top floor of the 38-story Citigroup Center, which also houses a train station, sent...