List of tallest buildings in New York City in the context of "Early skyscrapers"

The New York Times Building is a 52-story skyscraper at 620 Eighth Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets near Times Square, on the west side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Its chief tenant is the New York Times Company, publisher of The New York Times. The building is 1,046 ft (318.8 m) tall to its pinnacle, with a roof height of 748 ft (228 m). Designed by Renzo Piano and Fox & Fowle, the building was developed by the New York Times Company, Forest City Ratner, and ING Real Estate. The interiors are divided into separate ownership units, with the New York Times Company operating the lower office floors and Brookfield Properties operating the upper floors. As of 2025, the New York Times Building is tied with the Chrysler Building as the thirteenth-tallest building in the city.

The building is cruciform in plan and has a steel-framed superstructure with a braced mechanical core. It consists of the office tower on the west side of the land lot as well as four-story podium on the east side. Its facade is largely composed of a glass curtain wall, in front of which are ceramic rods that deflect heat and glare. The steel framing and bracing is exposed at the four corner "notches" of the building. The New York Times Building is designed as a green building. The lower stories have a lobby, retail space, and the Times newsroom surrounding an enclosed garden. The other stories are used as office space.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of New York state. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall including its antenna. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building until the North Tower of the World Trade Center was topped out in 1970; following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was once more New York City's tallest building until it was surpassed in 2012 by One World Trade Center. As of 2025, the building is the eighth-tallest building in New York City, the tenth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, and the 59th-tallest completed skyscraper in the world.

The site of the Empire State Building, on the west side of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets, was developed in 1893 as the Waldorf–Astoria Hotel. In 1929, Empire State Inc. acquired the site and devised plans for a skyscraper there. The design for the Empire State Building was changed fifteen times until it was ensured to be the world's tallest building. Construction started on March 17, 1930, and the building opened thirteen and a half months afterward on May 1, 1931. Despite favorable publicity related to the building's construction, because of the Great Depression and World War II, its owners did not make a profit until the early 1950s.

The Chrysler Building is a 1,046-foot-tall (319 m), Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework. It was both the world's first supertall skyscraper and the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930. As of 2019, the Chrysler is the 13th-tallest building in the city, tied with The New York Times Building.

Originally a project of real estate developer and former New York State Senator William H. Reynolds, the building was commissioned by Walter Chrysler, the head of the Chrysler Corporation. The construction of the Chrysler Building, an early skyscraper, was characterized by a competition with 40 Wall Street and the Empire State Building to become the world's tallest building. The Chrysler Building was designed and funded by Walter Chrysler personally as a real estate investment for his children, but it was not intended as the Chrysler Corporation's headquarters (which was located in Detroit at the Highland Park Chrysler Plant from 1934 to 1996). An annex was completed in 1952, and the building was sold by the Chrysler family the next year, with numerous subsequent owners.

One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and as the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. It is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.

The construction of below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the new building began on April 27, 2006. One World Trade Center became the tallest structure in New York City on April 30, 2012, when it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building. The tower's steel structure was topped out on August 30, 2012. On May 10, 2013, the final component of the skyscraper's spire was installed, making the building, including its spire, reach a total height of 1,776 feet (541 m). Its height in feet is a deliberate reference to the year when the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The building opened on November 3, 2014; the One World Observatory opened on May 29, 2015.

599 Lexington Avenue is a 653-foot (199 m) tall, 50-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes/John MY Lee Architects. It was the first building constructed by Mortimer Zuckerman and his company Boston Properties in New York City. The site was acquired for $84 million in 1984, and completed in 1986. The building is adjacent to the Citigroup Center and is considered a well-designed contextual partner to the area.

It is tied with both of the Silver Towers as the 104th tallest building in New York City. The lobby contains Frank Stella's Salto nel Mio Sacco. The property also contains an entry to the Lexington Avenue/51st Street station of the New York City Subway, served by the 6, <6>​​, E, and ​M trains. The entryway to the station features a sloped glass canopy. The building was completed without an anchor tenant.

Trinity Church is a historic parish in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The church is located at 89 Broadway opposite Wall Street, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its centuries of history, prominent location, distinguished architecture and bountiful endowment, Trinity's congregation is said to be "high church", its activities based on the traditions of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion in missionary outreach, and fellowship. In addition to its main church, Trinity parish maintains two chapels: St. Paul's Chapel, also in Lower Manhattan, and the Chapel of St. Cornelius the Centurion on Governors Island. The Church of the Intercession, the Trinity Chapel Complex and many other of Manhattan's Episcopal congregations were once part of Trinity parish. Columbia University was founded on the church's grounds as King's College in 1754.

The current church building is the third to be constructed for the parish, and was designed by Richard Upjohn in the Gothic Revival style. Trinity's first church was a single-story rectangular structure with tall steeple facing the Hudson River, which was constructed in 1698 and destroyed in the Great New York City Fire of 1776. After using St. Paul's Chapel, the parish's second church was built in the present location facing Wall Street and was consecrated in 1790. The third and current church was erected from 1839 to 1846 and was the tallest building in the United States until 1869, as well as the tallest in New York City until 1890. In 1876–1877 a reredos and altar were erected in memory of William Backhouse Astor Sr., to the designs of architect Frederick Clarke Withers, who extended the rear.

Central Park Tower is a residential supertall skyscraper at 217 West 57th Street, along Billionaires' Row, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, United States. Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the building rises 1,550 feet (472.4 m) with 98 above-ground stories and three basement stories, although the top story is numbered 136. Central Park Tower is the second-tallest building in New York City (behind One World Trade Center), the United States, and the Western Hemisphere; the 15th tallest building in the world; the tallest primarily residential building in the world; and the tallest building outside Asia by roof height.

Central Park Tower was developed by Extell Development Company and Shanghai Municipal Investment Group. The basement and first five above-ground stories contain a large Nordstrom store, which opened in 2019. The eastern portion of the tower contains a cantilever above the Art Students League of New York's building at 215 West 57th Street, intended to maximize views of nearby Central Park. The residential portion of the tower contains 179 condominiums, spanning on average 5,000 sq ft (460 m), with interiors designed by Rottet Studio. There are also amenities spaces on floors 14 through 16 as well as a private club on floor 100.

432 Park Avenue is a residential skyscraper at 57th Street and Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The 1,396-foot-tall (425.5 m) tower was developed by CIM Group and Harry B. Macklowe and designed by Rafael Viñoly. A part of Billionaires' Row, 432 Park Avenue has some of the most expensive residences in the city, with the median unit selling from 10.5 to 90 million dollars. At the time of its completion in 2015, 432 Park Avenue was the third-tallest building in the United States and the tallest residential building in the world. As of 2025, it is the sixth-tallest building in the United States, the fifth-tallest building in New York City, and the third-tallest residential building in the world.

432 Park Avenue has 84 numbered stories and a mezzanine above ground. The tower's exterior is a lattice of poured-in-place concrete made with white Portland cement. The tower is segmented into 12-story blocks separated by open double-story mechanical spaces that allow wind gusts to pass through the building. It features 125 condominiums and amenities such as a private restaurant for residents. The skyscraper has received mixed reviews from both professionals and the public, with commentary about both its slenderness and its symbolism as a residence for the ultra-wealthy.

30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. Completed in 1933, the 66-story, 850 ft (260 m) building was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was known for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), from its opening in 1933 until 1988 and then for General Electric until 2015, when it was renamed for its owner Comcast. The building also houses the headquarters and New York studios of television network NBC; the headquarters is sometimes called 30 Rock, a nickname that inspired the NBC sitcom of the same name. The tallest structure in Rockefeller Center, the building is the 28th tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in the United States, and was the third tallest building in the world when it opened.

30 Rockefeller Plaza's massing consists of three parts: the main 66-story tower to the east, a windowless section at the center, and a 16-story annex to the west. The building's design conforms with the 1916 Zoning Resolution; it is shaped mostly as a slab with setbacks primarily for aesthetic value. The facade is made of limestone, with granite at the base, as well as about 6,000 windows separated by aluminum spandrels. In addition to its offices and studios, 30 Rockefeller Plaza contains the Rainbow Room restaurant and an observation deck called Top of the Rock. 30 Rockefeller Plaza also includes numerous artworks and formerly contained the mural Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera. The entire Rockefeller Center complex is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark, and parts of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's interior are also New York City landmarks.